Food Storage Series- Dairy Products from Powdered Milk- Sour Cream and Cream Cheese

Next up in the Food Storage Series is Yogurt Cream Cheese and Greek Style Yogurt.

This time I made the milk from powdered milk. I used 2 quarts of water and 4 cups instant milk. I used my blender to mix the milk but you could also just mix by hand until all the lumps are out.

I followed the directions for making basic yogurt as outlined in this post from the book Making the Best of Basics Family Preparedness Handbook

Now you begin making the Yogurt Cream Cheese and Greek Style Yogurt.

Ingredients needed

•Prepared Plain yogurt

•Salt (optional)

Preparation:

1. Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth, and place over a bowl.

2. Pour the plain yogurt into the strainer.

3. I left the yogurt to drain for 8 hours. I collected the whey that had drained off.

4. The yogurt left was the consistency of Sour Cream and that is what I intend to use it as.

This is also what is known as Greek Style Yogurt.

Attempting to show consistency.

I think you can see it better

in the shot below.

5. I reserved some of  the Greek style yogurt and wrapped it tight in the cheese cloth. I then filled a bag with some water and placed it on top of the cheese cloth. This will act as added weight and drain off more of the whey.

6. I let it drain for an additional 4 hours.

The yogurt left was the consistency of cream cheese

and that is what I intend to use it as.

Again, attempting to show consistency.

I think you can see it better in the shot below.

It is pretty amazing that you can get 3 different dairy products from 1 thing.
The yogurt tastes like yogurt, the Greek style yogurt tastes just like sour cream and the yogurt cheese tastes just like cream cheese. I added no seasonings or anything. The flavor changes just by the amount of drain time.
All this takes a little time commitment but the overall process in not hard at all.

Tips:
1. Use your yogurt cheese as a substitute for cream cheese, sour cream or mayonnaise. You can use it in recipes for dips, spread, sauces and dressings.

2. If you don't have cheesecloth, you can use a coffee filter or an old (but clean) pillowcase instead.

3. Save the whey that drains from your cheese, and use it in place of the liquids in baked goods recipes for some extra protein.