जानिए सर्दियों में बिना खट्टा हुए गाढ़ा और मलाईदार दही जमाने की आसान ट्रिक्स

How to Set Curd in Winter: While setting curd at home, the biggest confusion is about when to add sourdough. The milk appears slightly warm, but sometimes the curd remains loose and sometimes it becomes excessively sour even after setting well. The vessel cools quickly in winter, so the temperature of the milk and the place where it is stored both matter. If you are using plain curd to make sourdough, then after heating the milk, let it cool to about 42 to 43 degrees Celsius. Mix the sourdough at this temperature and keep the vessel in a place where it remains warm. After the curd has set, keep it in the refrigerator instead of keeping it outside. This slows down the pace of increase in sourness and upon cooling, the texture of the curd also solidifies a little. It is natural for curd to be slightly sour. If you like mild flavored curd then take fresh sour cream and cool it as soon as the curd sets. (Image AI)

How much sourdough to add to half a liter of milk: Take half a liter of pasteurized milk. If you like creamy curd then you can use full cream milk. For this, keep about one tablespoon of plain curd as sourdough. If you have fresh curd already stored in the house, you can take sourdough from it. If you are buying curd from the market then choose plain curd and check the packet to see if it contains live cultures. Sourdough is curd in which the bacteria present coagulate the milk. Therefore, it is better to take freshly frozen curd instead of curd that has been stored for many days. (Image AI)

Heat the milk first, then bring the temperature down: Heat the milk in a clean, heavy-bottomed vessel over medium heat. Keep stirring lightly in between, so that it does not stick to the bottom. If you are using a thermometer, you can heat the milk to about 82 to 85 degrees Celsius and then turn off the flame. Heating the milk first helps improve the texture of frozen curd. After this, remove the vessel from the flame and let the milk cool down. The temperature of adding sourdough is different, so do not rush to add sourdough immediately after heating the milk. (Image AI)

In winter, it is better to check the temperature than counting the minutes: how quickly the milk will cool depends on its quantity, the vessel and the coldness of the room. Therefore, instead of waiting for a fixed time, check the temperature. Place the tip of a clean kitchen thermometer in the milk and do not let it touch the bottom of the vessel. Prepare sourdough only when the temperature reaches around 42 to 43 degrees. Without a thermometer, the warmth of milk can only be estimated. In this case, wait till the milk becomes lukewarm. If you are freezing curd for the first time in winter and want the same texture every time, it will be easy to measure the temperature. (Image AI)

First dissolve the sourdough in some milk: Take the sourdough in a clean bowl and add two to three tablespoons of lukewarm milk in it. Mix it with a spoon and make it uniform. Now add this mixture to the remaining milk and mix gently. Due to this, the curd gets spread throughout the milk and the curd lumps do not remain separate. After this, put the milk in a clean, dry vessel and cover it with a lid. If you want, instead of storing the entire curd in a big vessel, you can also store it in two small bowls. With this, it is easy to take out only as much curd as is needed at one time to eat. (Image AI)

Keep the vessel away from cold surface and wind: In winter, sour milk can cool quickly if kept on a cold windowsill or a cold stone counter. Wrap the covered vessel in a dry thick towel and keep it in a place in the house where cold air is not directly exposed. The towel helps prevent the heat from escaping from the vessel quickly. If the room is very cold, you can use an insulated box with a lid. Keep lukewarm water of about 43 degree Celsius around the curd vessel covered in it. The water level should remain below the lid, so that it does not go inside the vessel. (Image AI)

After about six hours, check whether the curd has set or not: If the heat continues, you can see the surface of the curd after about six hours. It often takes six to ten hours for the curd to set. The time may change depending on the sourdough and surrounding temperature. Avoid repeatedly lifting the vessel or moving the spoon. If the surface has set and does not appear to flow like milk, then keep the curd in the refrigerator. If it is a little loose then give it some more time in a warm place. If your curd often turns sour when kept outside overnight, then try freezing it during the day, so that you can keep it in the fridge as soon as it sets. (Image AI)

Keep the curd in the fridge as soon as it sets: If the curd is kept in a warm place even after it has set, it may increase in sourness. So when its surface gets frozen, cover it with a lid and keep it in the refrigerator. Keep the temperature of the refrigerator around 4 degrees Celsius or less. Let the curd cool for a few hours before serving. Cold curd often retains its shape better when taken out with a spoon. Take out only as much as you need to eat with a clean spoon and put the rest of the utensils back in the fridge. (Image AI)

If the curd remains loose, what to change next time: First check how hot the milk was at the time of adding the curd and how cold was the place where the vessel was kept. If the sourdough was old then take fresh plain curd next time. If the curd is setting but you want a creamier texture, try full cream milk and remove the curd only after it cools. By changing one thing at a time, you will understand how the curd sets well in your house. (Image AI)