News from the Farm Kitchen!

Today it’s time again to share a little something from the kitchen!

The kitchen is the most important room in our 400-year-old farmhouse for me. Here the family gathers several times a day – whether for eating, cooking, playing, doing schoolwork, making music, or simply sitting together.

Very popular here at Zittrauerhof is our fresh natural yogurt! Once or twice a week we prepare it fresh so that all farm residents and guests can enjoy it.

I learned this method of yogurt preparation from my mother-in-law Rosemarie and have done it this way ever since – and that’s exactly how I’m passing the recipe on to you, if you’re interested in making it! Ideally, for hygiene reasons, you should always use the same pots, whisks, etc. for milk processing and use these cooking utensils only for milk processing :-)

  1. Heat fresh whole milk to 90 degrees (I usually take 5 liters) – stir occasionally and measure with a thermometer)
  2. At 90 degrees remove from heat and let cool to 45 degrees (either place on a rack and let cool by itself or if you’re in a hurry, put the pot in the sink and run cool water in beforehand),
  3. Once the temperature is reached, add the yogurt cultures. I take a portion the size of a pea. Then stir quickly!
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  1. Pour directly into 6 large half-liter jars (first wash jars clean and if necessary put briefly in the oven to disinfect), fill with milk and seal
  2. Place jars in a large pot whose water is 45 degrees. Cover with lid and let rest for 10-12 hours. Ideally leave at the edge of the wood stove for 10-12 hours, then the temperature stays constant. If that’s not possible, you can also add warm water again from time to time so the temperature is maintained. Important with yogurt is that the jars are almost up to the lid in the warm water.
  3. Usually I make the yogurt in the morning and in the evening, after about 10 hours, I put the jars in the refrigerator, then they can still “set” and the next morning the yogurt is ready. Enjoy!!

I like to serve my yogurt best with applesauce and a pinch of cinnamon. But also elderflower jelly or spruce tip honey (rather runny) and other jams work excellently! Just try it out and find your favorite combination. Little tip: On hot summer days natural yogurt plain is very refreshing!

Or here a current creation: yogurt with strawberry jam and cinnamon!!!

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P.S: I usually order the yogurt culture from www.hoeller-marketing.at or from www.bhg.co.at. You then keep the cultures in the freezer, when using simply take out the needed amount and then put right back in the freezer. With one such packet as pictured above, you get by for a long time. We usually order the cultures for curd cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, etc. for a year at once or order together with other farm women.

Have fun trying it out and cooking along,

Your farmer Katharina