Ever since I got involved in this whole Bulgaria thing, I couldn’t get around certain cultural and culinary aspects. Speaking of the latter, there is no chance to miss the obsession of Bulgarians with their yogurt. Them actually calling it sour milk or “кисело мляко”. It is everywhere, it is used for a whole lot of dishes and it has a pretty cultural and historical meaning. Not necessary to mention the unique and only in Bulgaria existing lactic acid bacteria called “lactobacillus bulgaricus”. This specific type of bacteria imparts the Bulgarian yogurt very unique characteristics. In particular, it makes the yogurt much thicker and less sweet than what we are used to in Western Europe. It is even way sourer than the basic European equivalent. And in fact, it is not for nothing that they call it “sour milk”. But besides the consistency and degree of sourness, there is another very recognizable nature to be mentioned: the pure yogurt has no aftertaste. Meaning, it doesn’t contain any cheesy notes, just pure sour creamy flavor.
So, how does it work to make yogurt? And what ingredients and equipment are required for the process? Well, way less than you most probably might think. For the ingredients: Milk and bacteria. Easy as that. The bacteria is the main protagonist, for it is turning the lactose, (the milk sugar) into lactate (the lactic acid). For the equipment, it kinda looks the same. A pot, a stove, maybe some kitchen towel (or similar), and a container for the ripening process. If you are not that experienced in estimating temperatures, a thermometer would be advisable. There are a lot of so-called yogurt makers available on the market. Devices that keep the temperature of little containers at a specific level. But, like with almost all my DIY efforts, I like to keep the things as simple as possible. I always try to use the basic equipment which is inhabiting my kitchen anyway. The same goes for the bacteria. I actually never tried buying a pure bacterial culture. Instead, I’m using what you get from your everyday life supermarket grocery shopping: yogurt. I guess it sounds a bit redundant. Buying yogurt for making yogurt. But it makes pretty much sense when you are looking for yogurt bacterial cultures in the first instance. It is just the way you would treat your leaven. A small part of the old batch is used to inject the new charge.
That said, the recipe, or better saying the process, is pretty straightforward. However, I should mention that my approach is not very strict in terms of measurements and time. Most likely because I’m too lazy on the one hand and too impatient on the other hand. This always ends up in slightly different results concerning taste and consistency. But I don’t have the need for an industrially standardized product anyway.
The first thing that should be done is sterilizing the milk. I use basic supermarket-quality milk with a fat content as high as possible (3.7 % in most cases). In theory, the sterilization process shouldn’t be necessary, since the milk from standard stores is already pasteurized anyway. However, not risking too much experimenting, I heat up the milk to about 90°C, in order to kill every unwanted biological content. OK, I should be honest I guess. Most of the time I turn off the stove at a cooking temperature of 70°C. I don’t know if it makes a difference, respectively, if it even serves the purpose of sterilizing the liquid. But, knock on wood, I never had any issues so far. After reaching the desired temperature, the stove is turned off, the pot is taken off the plate and is left to relax and cool down. Cooled down to 43°C it is ready for the injection of the bacteria. One tablespoon of yogurt should be enough. However, if I have a bit more or the donator yogurt is a bit thinner I would stir in a bit more. And that’s basically it before putting the mixture to a nice sleeping beauty slumber.
Now the most inaccurate part of the whole process is about stretching your patience and certainly your nerves. Since there is no proper way to regulate and monitor the temperature, I always stick to my unbroken trust in the natural history of bacterial labor. The warm milk-yogurt mixture is transferred to a dedicated Bulgarian clay pot, called “gyuveche” (гювече). Actually, I use this only for authenticity. Any other container would do as well, except for steel pots. Those might affect the process in an unwanted manner. Wrapped in a towel it goes directly to the oven where it stays for half a day. The time is a pure estimation. Basically, it should be ready way earlier, but it doesn’t really hurt if it sleeps a bit longer. Beauty rest.
And then, the time has come. Revealing the transformation. The yogurt might be still a bit warm, so this is not the best moment for the flavor verification test. But one satisfying approach is checking the consistency. Which should be pretty thick in the case of success. If it is still not as dense as your desire requests, you might keep it resting for a few hours more. But if it is ready, it’s time to get some more transformation done. And there are a lot of different ways of using it. Besides just enjoying it pure or with fruits or cereals (the most common way in the West of Europe), there are specific Bulgarian dishes to try out. Tarator (таратор) for example is a cold yogurt soup flavored with cucumber, garlic and dill. Or what about a fresh glass of ayryan (айрян), the well-known sour milk drink simply made from yogurt, water and a pinch of salt? But that’s not the end of the line. It took me about 35 years of my life until I got to know the concept of cooking with yogurt. That includes Banitsa (баница), a pastry made from layered dough most likely filled with cheese, Musaka (мусака), a dish made from vegetables and minced meat, or Parlenka (пърленка), a flatbread. But whatever it will be, only the fact that you are using self-made yogurt makes it unique in a very pleasant way.
Since my integration efforts concerning Bulgarian society also involves culinary culture, there is always a certain stock of yogurt in the fridge. We eat it every day. And therefore, I guess it’s time to make some more. Sour milk 24/7.