Pot Set Lactose Free Milk Yoghurt

Make Yoghurt with Lactose-Free Milk using Mild or Tangy (Dairy-Based) Cultures.

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose. Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Lactose intolerance seems to be a complaint that is on the rise in our society and we at Green Living Australia have certainly noticed a significant increase over the years in the number requests we receive for help in producing lactose-free dairy products, including cheese and yoghurt.

Selection of culture:

It is recommended to use the Mild or Tangy dairy cultures for making lactose-free milk yoghurt. These cultures used in conjunction with one of the probiotic cultures will make beautiful lactose free probiotic yoghurt.

The Non-Dairy Yoghurt Culture is not recommended for dairy use as it has a different ratio of the bacteria species which can produce a dairy yoghurt with an undesirable texture.

As you will not be able to add a lactose-free milk powder to thicken the yoghurt we recommend either adding some Smooth Gel, which is a specially treated rice flour that gels and thickens giving your yoghurt more body, or you can drain some excess whey out of the yoghurt by hanging and draining in a tight weave cheesecloth for a short time. If drained for longer, you can make a lactose-free soft cheese,

If you are concerned with using the dairy cultures, perhaps it will help to know that with our culture you would be putting a match head-sized, or so, pile of powder that may contain a very low percentage of lactose into a litre of lactose-free milk that will most likely still have a small percentage of lactose that has not been converted to lactase. This lactose is highly likely to be consumed by the bacterial process during the fermentation of the yoghurt, especially if using a long ferment.

You Will Need The Following Items

• A yoghurt maker large enough to hold one litre of milk.
• A stainless steel pot to heat your milk in if using fresh milk.
• A dairy thermometer
• A sealed whisk
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients

• 1 litre lactose-free milk
• One to two tablespoons of Smooth Gel  (Optional)
• Two or three drops of Calcium Chloride  (Optional)
• 1 dose of Mild or Tangy Yoghurt Culture
  (Up to 100 doses per sachet culture)
• 1 dose of Probiotic Culture -- Optional

Directions for Thick Greek Style, Pot Set Yoghurt

• Heating treating or just heating the milk?
  • If using UHT lactose-free milk, heat the milk to between 37° and 43° C to avoid unbalanced culture growth and place into a yoghurt maker. This can be easily done by standing the carton into hot tap water for a few minutes.
  • If using fresh lactose-free milk, heat-treat your milk at 90° C in a stainless steel pot on the stove for 10 minutes. Cool your milk to between 37° and 43° C. and place the milk into a yoghurt maker. You can speed the cooling by sitting the pot into cold water. 
• Mix in one to two tablespoons of Smooth Gel. Add this slowly while whisking vigorously to ensure there are no lumps.  Smooth Gel is optional and is used to improve the thickness and mouthfeel of the finished yoghurt. 
• Add in two or three drops of calcium chloride, mixing well. We have found that two or three drops of calcium chloride will help improve the curd and produce yoghurt that is just a little thicker
• Mix in your yoghurt starter culture and optional probiotic culture, mixing in well to ensure the culture is evenly distributed throughout the milk..
• Maintain the milk mixture temperature between 37° and 43° C for 10-12 hours, or even longer, using your yoghurt maker.