Did you know you can make yogurt with milk and chili peppers?
I saw this idea on the blog of fermentation expert Sandor Katz. The article, Yogurt Cultured by Chili Peppers, relays the experience of a fermentation enthusiast in Israel without access to online starter cultures. I was intrigued and set out to find out for myself.
Will chili pepper stems truly ferment milk? The answer is yes!
How to Make Yogurt Without a Starter
This simple method for creating yogurt is an excellent option for culturing without a starter.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups milk (organic, pasteurized)
- 7 or more chili peppers
Instructions
- Rinse and remove stem from peppers. (Enjoy the peppers any way you like. You want the stems only.)
- Prepare milk. (Raw milk - heat to 180 degrees and cool to 110 degrees. Pasteurized - heat to 110 degrees. I suggest avoiding ultra-pasteurized.)
- Stir in the pepper stems.
- Pour into a glass jar(s).
- Culture the jar in the dehydrator, makeshift dehydrator, heating pad or yogurt maker.
- Check frequently as this culture happens more quickly than conventional yogurt.
- When milk has gelled, remove stems
- Enjoy!
I learned the hard way that it is imperative to remove the stem completely. Once I included the pepper tops (some of the peppers were even mild), and the pepper taste transferred into the yogurt.
The Israeli enthusiast said that the taste transferred in the first batch but from what I can read seemed to fade in subsequent batches.
I can’t vouch for the microbial content of this method, but the milk is clearly fermented, which means microbes are at work. I have yet to try this with alternative milk like almond milk or coconut milk, but no doubt my kitchen experiment will be ongoing.
Have you tried inoculating milk with a plant starter?
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Can regular pepper stems work?
Anna, I tried with sweet peppers and the taste wasn’t as neutral. I didn’t remove the stems as thoroughly however, so I may try again to see if the yogurt would set. I’ve heard of sweet potato stems working so my guess is there are other plant sources.
Wow — you have really opened my eyes to a new possibility. Never heard of plant-based starters before and I think it’s is a must-try concept for any curious/adventurous cook. Thanks!
Exactly – true adventure. Keep me posted, Helene.
Wow! Who knew!?! Thanks for sharing this.
MIND….BLOWN…this is awesome!!!!
I’ve never heard of a plant-based starter before. What a cool idea! Next time I get some peppers I have to try this.
I know I said this in the post, but it turns out much better if you use the stems only. I hope it works for you, Olivia!
This is so awesome! Giving this a try today!
wow…..my mind is totally blown by this idea! Who know? All along the key ingredient was sitting in my kitchen!!
Yes, mine was blown too!
It’s not often that I see something completely new on the internet, but I’ve never heard of this before! So cool! I’ve made my own yogurt for years, but I usually propagate some plain yogurt from the grocery store as a starter. This is a fantastic alternative.
Thanks Shannon. I’m sure you’ll have fun experimenting!
Was it sour like regular yogurt? Another cool experiment!
One tip for making the actual yogurt: I put the milk (with starter) into mason jars and then submerge them in the water bath of a sous-vide machine. You can also use an immersion sous-vide stick. Very handy for keeping the temperature constant
Yes, it tasted like regular yogurt to me. Great tip on the sous-vide machine. Thanks.
If I were to use the sous vide method what tip would I want keep it at
I’m assuming between 95 and 100 degrees. The website Cultures for Health may be able to answer this.
Wow !!!!
anbody has recipe for Kefir
For kefir, you must have kefir grains.
Hi, In india when we don’t have curd to set, we use tamarind. Its been used for centuries to make curd starter. Use the tamarind with the shell, just break it into smaller pieces. The curd is done in about 15 hours. The consistency is very good.
Another tip, boil just a cup of milk to make the starter. If you try to make lots, it will take forever. Make the starter using raw tamarind and use that for future batches.
Very helpful information!! Thank you for sharing Vidhu.
Hi Vidhu, could you please let me know how much milk (hot or cold) and how much tamarind that I need to make 1 batch yogurt. Can I use the result yogurt as the starter to make new batch w/0 tamarind?
Thanks Vidhu
Do you think this would work with dried chili peppers? My husband just bought me a whole bunch to make Berbere spice!
I don’t see why not. They can easily be rehydrated. Let me know if it works!
It works! I tried it yesterday and it set better than the fresh chillies for me. Lemon juice worked too – I did a three pot experiment with fresh green Chillies on the stem, dried red chillies on the stem, and lemon juice of half a lemon in three separate ramekins. After 11 hours, in an oven set to 30C, the only ramekin not to set was the one with fresh green Chillies. The other two came out beautifully and I have now set two pots of milk with them (one culture in each). They are now in the fridge and I can wait to eat them!
Hi folks i just love the way you experiment in order to get healthy food. Will join you from now on. I am lucky I’m living on an international university campus (in Oman, so always warm with chilli, tamarind, lemons growing in my garden). I will try to get some laboratory results for probiotic contents of yoghurt without commercial starter.. Or did anybody do that already? ( I am not a scientist, just teaching German language )
Can you use the resulting yogurt as your next starter or do you have to start each batch with new chili pepper stems?
Great question! As far as I can tell it will start a new batch just fine. I suppose it’s possible a fresh batch will need to be started along the way. I have not experimented with this! Great question.
Using dry red chillies technique to ferment milk is very popular in southern part of India.
Can you tell me the exact process please!!! Thanks!
The process is described in the post, Ambar. Let me know if you need further clarification.
This is really interesting! I’ve often made my own coconut yoghurt but have always used some store-bought coconut yoghurt as the starter. Andrea, did you end up trying this method with almond or coconut milk? I’d love to know if it works with plant-based milks!
I haven’t yet, Kyra, but you’ve spurred me on. I will report back!
Can you please let me know how the Almond/Coconut milk yoghurt turned out. If it worked, did you use home made almond or coconut milk, or did you, perhaps use tinned coconut milk/cream?
I’ve not tried it yet, Dorothy.
Have you tried this with Almond yogurt yet? I am on another health kick, I have been trying many different methods of making Almond Milk Yogurt.
I haven’t!
Hello Lyra and Andrea, I know this post was from a while ago but wondering if you did manage to try the coconut yoghurt off a plant based source?
do you use something like the Alpro coconut milk or more like canned coconut milk for curry like Arroy D?
please do share your recipe!
thank you
I have not done any more experimenting, Chanel. But if you find something that works for you definitely let us know!
This is such a cool idea! Thanks for sharing this at Savoring Saturdays linky party! Have a great rest of the week.
What kind of yogurt container/maker do your recommend for this method?
Arianna,
I use a dehydrator with mason jars. Any way to keep the temperature at around 100 degrees should work.
Hi, I do not have chillies either, does lemon juice work?
I have not tried that, Deepak. It certainly can make a curdled milk, but not sure if it will create yogurt with the consistency that we’re looking for.
I tried this. But I am not sure if it is curd or yogurt. The texture looks more like curd. Cheers.
If I use the chillies are my yogurt going to taste funny or have a hot teased
Surprisingly the taste is quite normal!
i tried it, and the milk was fermented. i just wanted to know does it contains same bacteria l. bulgaricus and s. thermophilus?
I assume it has beneficial microbes, but honestly not sure!
What bacteria are in this yogurt? Does it taste like regular yogurt?
Sheila
I’m not sure on the species, but it honestly tastes like yogurt. It doesn’t taste spicey at all!
here is the perhaps the answer
Abstract
Lactobacillus acidophilus is commonly used lactic acid bacteria for producing fermented milk products. In general household practice, curdling is known to occur faster in the presence of red chili. Herein we analyzed the enhanced effect of red chili (Capsicum annuum) and its major component, capsaicin, on Lactobacillus acidophilus (ATCC 4356) in the production of L-lactate in de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe medium at various temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, and 37°C). The addition of red chili showed significant increase in the amount of L-lactate produced by L. acidophilus compared with the control at all temperatures. Similar results were observed with addition of capsaicin alone. This was accompanied by an increase in the consumption of d-glucose. Capsazepine, a known antagonist of capsaicin, inhibited the production of L-lactate by L. acidophilus in the presence of both capsaicin and red chili. Because no increase occurred in the growth of L. acidophilus in the presence of red chili, the enhanced production of L-lactate in the presence of red chili or capsaicin is due to increased metabolic activity.
Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Hi,
Can I use the same method by using yogotherm? How much time will it take ?
Thank you
I would hope for a 24-hour fermentation, but 12 may be enough. You’ll have to see.
i have tried to make yogurt with red chilli but failed may i know why?
i dipped the chillis completly with stems in the milk at 45degree c
and kept in a casarolr forb 12 hrs
I’m honestly not sure on this. Sorry to hear it hasn’t worked. It could be worth another try.
A drop of Sauerkraut brine may work as well.
Hi, I think a variety of vegetables could be used as a starter. The bacterial is found naturally on raw vegetables and this is why Vegetables can be fermented to make sauerkraut. Raw milk also contains natural bacteria, I have fermented raw milk in its own by placing it in a mason jar with a cover of some sort to keep insects etc out and placing it on a paver in the sun for a few hours until it set – it was delicious. I don’t know if that will work as well with pasteurised milk on its own so if using pasteurised milk some kind of starter may be needed.
please can the temperature affect the bacteria in the chilly
I’m not sure, Christina. Sorry about that.
For thermophyllic cultures, one easy way to keep the temp up during culturing is to place the culturing milk in mason jars of whatever size works best for you, place them inside a medium or large ice chest (32-60 qt), then top it up to within a couple inches of the tops of the jars with the hottest water you can keep your hand in, or would bathe in. That water should be approximately 140F, and the insulation of the cooler will keep it perfect for culturing your yogurt with temps applied to the milk between 100F and 135F over several hours. I learned this and many other culturing tricks for thermophyllic culktures from Dr. David Fankhauser’s amazing pages on cheese, yogurt, and homesteading. The yogurt page can be found at
https://fankhauserblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/yogurt-making-illustrated/
and you can get to all the others from that page, or google “David Fankhauser”.
Thanks much for the chili pepper idea presented here. Many storebought yogurts now are using cultures made specifically with limited reproduction capability so that they won’t work for more than one or two batches, and some of those result in watery, semi-cultured yogurt even from the first batch.
Quick question for Andrea or anyone else who may have an opinion, I’ve recently seen mesophyllic cultures being offered online, and am curious about these, and the differences one might get from using them versus the temp-requiring thermophyllics. Any experience or comments about these?
I’m not sure on this Randy. Perhaps Cultures for Health would have some answers for you.
Great idea! Can this technique be used to make Camel milk yogurt? Thank you!
I’ve never tried that, but I assume so.
Please can I use powdered milk mixed with water instead of the unpasteurised milk for the yorgurt starter?
I know if it were me, I would try it.