[priya]

Will it be possible for me to make curds from powdered milk?  Does powdered milk curdle?

[Hyderabadi]

I believe it will curdle.

In the days when we used to buy milk from the neighborhood doodhwala, one used to enjoy the the shouting that went on occasionally, blaming the guy for supplying dabba ( can / box ) milk.

Proof being the poor quality of the curds!

[WonderWomanUSA]

I have a yoghurt recipe that uses both whole and NON-INSTANT powdered milk; let me know if that will work for you.

[iwanttogoback]

and if memory serves me well i think that i may have a recipe using skimmed milk at home, thanks wwusa for the memory jog!

i'll hunt it down tonight.

[priya]

WonderWomanUSA, on Sep 5 2007, 02:03 AM, said:

I have a yoghurt recipe that uses both whole and NON-INSTANT powdered milk; let me know if that will work for you.

WW - I have full-cream milk powder and skimmed - both instant, I presume - but I don't know what 'non-instant' powdered milk is.   With fresh milk unavailable here, I'm willing to try anything.  Oh, and we don't have yoghurt either

iwanttogoback, on Sep 5 2007, 04:57 AM, said:

and if memory serves me well i think that i may have a recipe using skimmed milk at home, thanks wwusa for the memory jog!

i'll hunt it down tonight.

Thanks iwtgb, like I said, I'm willing to try anything.

[iwanttogoback]

i actually have three recipes (in my old 'nursing mothers cookbook' - trying to tell us anyting priya? ) but two involve evaporated milk as well, so here's the third.

4 cups cold water
3 1/2 cups boiling water
2 cups skim milk powder (although i guess any powdered milk)
1 cup plain yoghurt

place cold water and skim milk in bowl and whisk until dissolved.
add boiling water then yoghurt and whisk again.
set as usual

let us know how you go.

[priya]

Pray tell, iwtgb, where do I find yoghurt??

Are we going Off Topic now and onto the Immaculate Conception?

[iwanttogoback]

sorry, i just assumed that if you were making yoghurt you'd have some to start it with!

how do you normally make it?  

[iwanttogoback]

ok, from our good sisters at mormonchic (i kid you not!), here's a recipe for what they call soft cottage cheese or curd.

2 cups boiling water
1-1/2 cups dry milk powder
2000 mg ascorbic acid powder OR
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white vinegar

Pour water into blender. Slowly add milk powder. Pour into saucepan (foam and all). Sprinkle curdling agent slowly around edges and gently stir over medium heat just until milk begins to curdle, separating into curds and whey. Remove from heat and let rest 1 minute. Pour into a cheese cloth lined colander. rinse with hot then cold water. Drain until no whew drip, about 1 minute.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups curds.

Refrigerate if not used immediately.

RC NOTE: (assuming 1/4 tsp ascorbic acid = 1000 mg ascorbic acid.)

check out the website mormon chic here.

[priya]

iwanttogoback, on Sep 5 2007, 02:19 PM, said:

sorry, i just assumed that if you were making yoghurt you'd have some to start it with!

how do you normally make it?  

I normally do make it with yoghurt, or Lacto - a local drink of thick curdled milk, but with milk and other dairy products being scarce, I needed a recipe for powdered milk (which I have).

The mormonchic   recipe seems ideal.  I'll give it a try tonight.  Thank you!

[gautam]

In Utahspeak curds means cheese curds i.e. chenna. That is what you will get when you do what Mormon Chic advises, trust me on this, as well as on Utahspeak. So Lady Priya, if you have non-fat milk powder and want to make dahi or yoghurt, you make up milk according to directions, usually by reconstituting said powder in  room temperature tap water.

Make it up thicker than advised. Scald and cool to 111Fahrenheit. Innoculate with your favorite fresh yoghurt culture. If you innoculate with sour milk culture, you will get a similar, Swiss-type yoghurt. Cover and keep in warm place, e.g. sunlight in Zim. You will have excellent thick yoghurt in 8 plus hours [depending upon incubation temps].

Now you can decide to what degree you want it soured: more incubation at warmer temperatures will bring forth that tang, and remove any lingering milk-powder taste. BUT, just as it is set, it will be bland, and still very tasty and excellent, with NO discernible powder taste. Your source of fresh culture will be important but I have no doubt you can secure 1-2 tablespoonsful per 2-4 liters of reconstituted milk.


Happy hunting!

g

[priya]

Sooo good to see you here, and a warm welcome

I have still to try this as my powdered milk became very precious when no fresh milk was available.  I now have a private source for fresh milk, so I'll be able to experiment without worrying too much about wastage if I have a disaster.
I will use sour milk as a starter or a souring agent, i.e. lemon juice, ascorbic acid or citric acid and see what happens.  Fingers crossed!

[jyotirmoy]

lemon juice, ascorbic acid or citric acid and see what happens. Fingers crossed!
Don't do that, you will have chena/paneer instead of dahi !!!!

[priya]

I bow to your superior knowledge....

However, at this stage of empty larders, as long as it's edible and filling I'm not particularly bothered whether it's curds or paneer, but  I will use only sour milk and hope the result will be a Swiss-type yoghurt.

[gautam]

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. As Jyotida says, just acid will curdle milk to its casein or chenna. But when the specific microbes get going, then you have the specific "setting". With yoghurt microbes, they work at a relatively higher temperature [111-116 F], then the kefir, filmjolk and the African sour milks like to do their thing at much lower temperatures. The Swiss style has this slightly mucilaginous texture that some like, some do not.

I personally have never quite gotten used to the the Swiss yoghurt but just love the kefir. However, there are the whole range of African sour milks about which I know nothing. The Masai, Nuer, and Dinka males consumed almost nothing else some decades ago and their health was incredible. Never ever fresh milk; the evening milk into gourds, consumed in the morning, the morning milk back into the gourd consumed in the afternoon. I have little knowledge of the Mashona people and their fermented milks, Tuli cattle yes, milks, no!!!!

g

[priya]

My curds, although a very small amount, turned out 100%, so I'll be adventurous and make more next time. Thanks for all the help given.

Now to the various milks - to which I must confess, I'm only aware of a few

The milk prepared in the gourd/calabash is delicious!!  This I have tasted locally, and in South Africa. The curdled milk in SA and here too is called amasi or, in Afrikaans, maas.  I could live on this, it's soooo good - especially if it's homemade.  I'll try and find out more regarding other types of sour milk from this region.

Here's a link for you to suss out other South African cuisines, which I'm sure you'll find interesting.

SA cuisine

[gautam]

I always try to supplement my US standard fresh milk with some milk powder. Say you have a liter of fresh milk, stir in 2, 3 or however more tablespoons of powder that will easily form a suspension. Then go on to scald, cool and incubate. You will find the yoghurt to be especially thick and satisfying. With the powder adding to the Solids Not Fat [SNF] fraction, the yoghurt will  'weep' less, less separation of curd from whey [syneresis].

Thanks for the African milk information, as also for the SA cuisine stuff.  Regarding the latter, I am spoiled for life reading the lyrical prose of Laurens van der Post.

[davidturner]

iwanttogoback, on Sep 5 2007, 01:04 PM, said:

I actually have three recipes (in my old 'nursing mothers cookbook' - trying to tell us anyting priya? ) but two involve evaporated milk as well, so here's the third.

4 cups cold water
3 1/2 cups boiling water
2 cups skim milk powder (although I guess any powdered milk)
1 cup plain yoghurt

place cold water and skim milk in bowl and whisk until dissolved.
add boiling water then yoghurt and whisk again.
set as usual

let us know how you go.

hello
thanks for telling me about making curd. its really nice.
---------------

Edited by Hyderabadi, 26 December 2008 - 06:01 PM.
Removed advt. link.