The BEST for straining Greek-style yogurt and cheese curds!
I make large gallon batches of yogurt but do not like using the hanging bags for straining which are too small, too messy, and more difficult to clean than one flat piece of fabric (fine, layered cheesecloth or fine mesh nylon).This colander is a game changer! I simply line it with a single piece of 200-250 mesh food grade NYLON cut (pinking shears or hem edges) larger than basket size and it holds over a gallon of set, cultured yogurt for further straining into over 2 quarts of thick, luxurious Greek-style yogurt, with a minimum of effort and no wasted kitchen counter space for bags and bowls.To strain the yogurt faster, chop up the large yogurt curds spooned into in the colander, with a silicone spatula or stainless steel spoon and cover top of the now lumpy, soupy-looking thick yogurt curds with the extra nylon hanging over the sides of the basket.. Two hours later it’s done.Spoon the thickened, strained yogurt into a large bowl and use a hand mixer on high speed to beat yogurt into the BEST, smoothest Greek-style yogurt you’ve ever made. At this point you can also add vanilla, other flavoring, jam, honey, other sweetener or more savory flavors (think lemon extract, or still frozen lemonade concentrate, with a touch of ground cardamom) before filling your larger canning quart or 24oz jars.One gallon of milk makes about 72 oz of very thick, smooth Greek-style yogurt and you can combine yogurt and kefir cultures for an even better taste with more gut-friendly live cultures. Drain longer for ‘dream cheese’ yogurt.The whey goes down the drain (or if you save the whey, put a container in the sink, under the colander, to catch it for later use). Clean up for the colander and the nylon ‘filter’ cloth is a breeze. Because nylon has a very high melting point, you can actually boil it in water but I find that rinsing in very hot tap water does the job and both dry quickly.This is a MUST HAVE for anyone who makes yogurt or cheese, and it is also great for everyday use such as rinsing fresh veggies and fruit if you are into fermentation … or just good, clean kitchen habits. The basket is very strong and because it is adjustable, should fit most any standard kitchen sink, or utility sink if you do crafting or hand dying fabrics.If you are needing live cultures, try 1/16 tsp ABY3 Probiotic Yogurt Culture + 1/8 tsp LyoPro KEFIR Traditional Kefir Culture well stirred into the gallon of milk, cooled to 109º F, AFTER slowly heating while stirring, to 185º F and holding, covered, at that temp for 30 minutes in oven set to 185º or oven turned off with oven LIGHT only.Once you add the cultures, to the still warm milk in the pot (quickly cooled from 185º F to 109º F using cold tap water in kitchen sink) cover with a disposable shower cap and put the entire gallon pot into your bread proofer, or back into oven, TURNED OFF and cooled (not to exceed 110º oven which kills the live cultures) with oven light on.6 hours later you will have one amazing GALLON of well set cultured yogurt, which still needs straining for Greek-style or cheese yogurt, or use ‘as is' for regular yogurt or smoothies.Web search for TheCheesemaker to find the yogurt and kefir cultures mentioned above, together with their recipe (which I’ve modified somewhat) and a wealth of other yogurt / cheese making cultures, recipes and supplies.