Finding non-sweet yogurt

[hedwards]

Why don't you just make your own? As long as you have access to milk, and some form of fermented milk product you shouldn't have too much trouble making your own. I'm seriously considering doing that in the near future.

 

Obviously, that's going to be more work than just buying it. But, it means that you have it available whether or not it's available in the store and you have more control over the finished product.

[abcdefg]

Why don't you just make your own?

 

Yes, you're absolutely right. I'm inclining in that direction. Especially since it seems I can also make bread in the same "incubator" machine.

[ChTTay]

If you make your own, how long will it keep in the fridge?

Is there any chance things can go wrong somehow and I can make myself sick??

[Angelina]

The best option is to make your own yoghurt in the traditional way as suggested by Prateeksha. Unfortunately, even fresh milk is expensive in China. 

 

If you have to buy it:

 

1. http://www.fieldschina.com/en/item-2566.html?path=461   

http://www.greenyard.cn   (Green Yard has THE best yoghurt. Pricey. Not overpriced.)

 

2. Herun (和润) (Can be found in Beijing. Not sold in Shanghai/Hangzhou. Better quality than number 3.)

 

3. 光明如实 (Overpriced. Quality is not so good, not being sweet is the only reason I buy it. Can be found in Shanghai/Hangzhou.)

[Angelina]

 @ChTTay Nothing can go wrong. Unless you use bad yeast. No other dangers.

[gato]

Just sterilize the container with boiling water and use common sense like using a separate serving spoon, and you'll be fine.

[ChTTay]

Common sense!!?????

[hedwards]

@ChTTay, I'm not a particular expert, but fermented milk products are going to be safer than non-fermented ones. Fermentation does nothing about poisons or pollutants in there, but theyd' be in the milk either way. But, the main reason why milk becomes undrinkable is bacterial and if you've already crowded out the dangerous ones with helpful ones, it's far less likely that you'll get sick.

 

Plus, a diet that's rich in helpful bacteria is going to help the body resist illness in general. Something like 80% of the human immune system is bacterial in nature.

[skylee]

Immune system? Now I am interested.

Something is wrong with my immune system and I have been taking a drug to suppress it. (I note from comments on the internet that many patients think that drug is harmful to the body and I tend to agree with this view.) Anyways. Should I eat more yogurt? Would it be good to my health / immune system?

[James3]

I'm no expert either, but I've noticed a surge in popularity of probiotics in recent years. Is this similar to yogurt?

[hedwards]

James, the main problem with the probiotics that people sell is that there's too few of them to make much difference. The only time I've had a clear indication that they were working was with the ones they sell for the mouth. And in that case you're talking about a much smaller surface area and probably a similar number of bacteria in the pills.

 

Anyways, one of the biggest frauds that's been perpetrated by health care professionals is germ theory. The idea that illnesses are caused by bacteria. In some cases it's technically accurate, such as e. coli, but in general it's not an issue of there being dangerous bacteria, it's an issue of the balance between the various bacteria and the general chemical balance of the body. Probiotics are best found in fermented foods as they're the only source we have available that contains a sufficient number of the strains we're interested in to make much of a difference.

 

Exceptions like e. coli 157 which are fatal in small amounts do exist, but most of the time it's not the bacteria that's the problem, the bacteria themselves are just a part of the ecosystem and they're overrunning things because of a different problem. I don't kill my bacteria unless I've got a clear indication of why I have too many of them and I'm addressing the issue. Antibiotics are antiquated technology that bring as much harm as good. It's just a shame that we haven't caught up with the Georgians and use bacteriophages like they do. They're cheap to produce and only kill specific strains of bacteria without affecting anything else.

 

Every culture I know of has at least one or two options. Pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir, cheese and such are all in various diets because of the bacterial load along with the ease of keeping those foods safe to eat.

 

Medications to suppress the immune system should only be used in extreme cases. From what I've read, often times those autoimmune disorders are the result of food being allowed to enter the blood stream without being processed. I've got my own autoimmune disorder and it's not terribly fun, but cutting out dairy, grain products and most of the nightshades tends to help with that. Depending upon how well I'm doing with that, I'll see the symptoms come and go. I'm just fortunate that the immune system is attacking the skin rather than something that's less easily repaired like the central nevous system. Although there's a lot of that around here as well.+

[abcdefg]

#24 --

Herun (和润) (Can be found in Beijing. Not sold in Shanghai/Hangzhou.

 

I looked for it in two large Carrefour stores yesterday without success. Also no Activa brand yogurt there. So scratch WalMart and Carrefour.

 

Kunming also has some imported foods at a German supermarket called Metro 麦德龙。But it's far away to the north, a 45-minute bus ride each way. 

 

Am edging closer and closer to the do-it-yourself approach. Have seen the bread machine @Gato mentioned, and will look to see if the yeast is also available locally.

[gato]

Duplicate post.

[gato]

will look to see if the yeast is also available locally.

The yeast is also available on JD.com. That's where we bought ours. I posted a link earlier.

To complete the breakfast set, I'd also highly recommend the Bialetti Brikka stovetop "espresso" maker. Been using ours for the last 4 months. The quasi-espresso made is extremely good. Could you save you quite a bit if you have a daily coffee/latte habit.

http://item.yhd.com/item/14126731?tc=3.0.5.14126731.1&tp=51.Bialetti%20brikka.124.0.11.K`7Z84w

BIALETTI BRIKKA 4人份

http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/coffee-discussion/282582-bialetti-mokka-versus-bialetti-brikka.html

Bialetti Mokka versus Bialetti Brikka

http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-07008-Brikka-Espresso-Machine/dp/B008G48DW4

Bialetti 07008 Brikka Espresso Machine

[abcdefg]

Yes, I remember that, and will keep it in mind. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm out of step and old fashioned; always first try to find things locally if I can instead of turning to the internet.

 

Have you found JD.com to be a good e-commerce site? Reliable and straight forward to use? How do you pay for stuff bought there?

 

I'll pass on the espresso maker, but thanks for mentioning it. I'm kind of a tea nut. Got into Chinese tea as a major hobby a few years back.

[gato]

JD.com is very reliable and professional, probably very close to Amazon level in the US.

I usually pay online with my Bank of China account. If you don't have a Chinese bank account, payment on delivery is also available in many cities (not sure if Kunming is included).

[grawrt]

I think gato should have his own kitchen corner

[gato]

Haha, abcdefg already got a head start on that in another thread. He knows far more about cooking than I do. I am just happy to find a better option for breakfast than Starbucks.

[abcdefg]

Thanks, @Gato. I do have a Chinese bank account, though I have not previously used it on-line.

[hedwards]

Does yogurt actually have yeast in it? The only recipes I've seen call for a starter of yogurt or bacteria. As far as I know, there shouldn't be any yeast involved in the process.

 

Unless folks are referring to bread.