As one more week passes by, my next step in my 6 months challenge is to stop buying yogurts in individual plastic pots. Instead, I reuse glasses containers to do my own home made yogurt.
I enjoy plain yogurt and it is a good source of probiotics. It is also a good source of calcium and a low calorie food. You can buy yogurts anywhere in Bangkok though you have to be careful about the many brands coming with a lot of sugar. And then, each pot is going to waste.
Therefore I’m doing my own. Except the first one for the culture (every once in a while). That way, the only waste I generate is the milk carton. (unfortunately I have not found a zero waste milk source here yet, if you know of any, please leave a comment below).
how to do your home made yogurts
it’s actually very easy. I use a yogurt maker that I got from France 10 years ago or so.
I get a plain yogurt from my own making or a commercial one if i’m getting started. I take 1 L of milk (either fresh or UHT, plain or low fat as you prefer). Then you just mix the yogurt and milk properly and pour into single yogurt containers (I do 6 yogurts at once). Put all the individual containers into the yogurt maker and set it to 10 hours. (Make sure your yogurt maker is clean).
10 hours later you have 6 yogurts ready to be closed and put in the fridge.
The next day you can start enjoying your yogurts:
frequently asked questions
Can you use any type of yogurt to start?
So far, this has worked with every yogurt I have tried here, whether bulgaria, dutch milk, danone, Carolina,… I can’t say it will work with all but no bad experiences so far. The last one was dutch milk yogurt and this is my preferred one for now.
Do I need a yogurt maker?
The weather being hot in Thailand, there are people doing their own yogurts without a yogurt maker, just warm the mix (milk + yogurt) and kept in a closed container for 8 to 10 hours (or a little more if the temperature is a bit low).
Where can I buy a yogurt maker?
Mine was a gift from my family in France, but you can actually find some here on lazada for example. Verasu has some model as well.
Can I use any milk?
Again, i’m not sure but so far i’ve use plain and low fat milk, fresh and UHT with no issues at all.
Hope you enjoyed this article and more of you will start making their own home made yogurts to save the individual pots. As usual if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. If you want to see all the other steps I have taken to help heal the world, please check my 6 months challenge.
A cow would be a zero-waste milk source 🙂
thanks Greg, though I don’t think I can get a cow in my condo…
You can use any type of milk, the bacteria from your yogurt source don’t care. They ferment it, regardlessly.
I prefer the Yolinda yogurt brand as the starter (Tops or BigC Extra). It comes with live bacteria.
I put some yogurt in a pot, pour milk over it and keep it in my bedroom overnight. The nighttime temperature in the bedroom is typically 25C.
If you are expecting a really hot day, you can keep the culture in the fridge during the day.
thanks for sharing and confirming the natural way. I’ll give it a try (ie; just use my yogurt maker without plugging it in…). Thanks again.