Yogurt made with jalapeno pepper stems!
I finally decided to try pepper stems to make yogurt instead of purchasing starter or using store bought yogurt with live cultures. On a whim guessed at using six jalapeno stems with caps but no pepper attached to 1 quart of powdered milk before incubating. Did not stretch the process out making the pepper as starter first but put them straight into the heated and cooled powdered milk.
I incubate yogurt in a glass quart jar in the oven. Turn the oven on the lowest heat for 60 seconds and turn it off.
In goes the jar but do not put a lid on it or it’ll seal itself. I was not expecting much since the family decided they needed the oven all day and half the night so the batch wasn’t incubated as it should have been. I’d pretty much given up while it was still liquid after about 3 hours. This morning it is yogurt and no excess whey floating around that I’d read about. A bit spicy but a nice flavor though not one for breakfast. It would be nice to use in cooking, a savory cheese cake or as a dip. Just tried it (adding salt and powdered garlic) on some squash fritters and yum. I’m leaving the stems in to see if the flavor gets stronger. Maybe bell pepper stems would result in a breakfast yogurt.
I’ve put some of this batch into ice trays to see if they’ll work for future starters. Of course, this batch will be chained. My normal chains are 3-4 times using store bought yogurt as the original starter. The chained batches shouldn’t be as spicy so more versatile.
I have frozen jalapeno and serrano stems but will experiment to see if dehydrating stems would work as that would be a long term storage option.
Bottom line, it works and is an alternative for bad times.
Thanks for the yogurt recipe and the tips.
I hadn’t thought of trying to find alternatives to yogurt starter. What made you decide to use the jalapeno stems? That wouldn’t be my first guess! lol
I’m looking into substitutes for yeast, like sourdough starter. Not everything will be available when we need it.