DIY knowledge share
MARTHA'S HEIRLOOM YOGHURT
Instructions to share the culture and knowledge can be downloaded here >>
ABOUT Martha migrated to Australia from Lebanon in 1970. Speaking Arabic and unable to find any form of yoghurt in West Footscray, many of her homeland dishes went without. Until one day, she heard a man speaking Arabic in a milk bar. He gifted her a small amount of yoghurt from his family kitchen. What we know is that the mother culture originated in and migrated from Egypt prior to 1970. Martha continues to make yoghurt from this original gift. Martha taught Jen Rae how to make the yoghurt and lane in 2012.
Martha’s Yoghurt is a FAIR SHARE FARE ‘food is knowledge’-share project. It has traveled to Canada, Fiji, the USA and around Australia. Tips and methods reflect a dialogue between Martha and Jen, often translated through Martha’s daughter Priscilla. Martha uses recycled plastic tubs for a thinner consistency. Jen prefers jars for a thicker one. Martha incubates her yoghurt in the oven for a longer period to get a tangy-ier result than Jen’s. Martha’s advice is to remember to always save a bit from every batch to start the next. Jen's advice is to experiment with the process to find the right yoghurt for you.
Share the knowledge. Share the culture.
Please use the hashtags #fairsharefare and #marthasyoghurt on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook if you make a batch. We are tracking the knowledge-share and creating a community of yoghurt makers and help reduce the impact of industrial Greek-style yoghurt production on river ecosystems. If you run out of your yoghurt ‘mother’ culture, you should be able to find someone in your geographic community to source more.
Photographs by Emma Byrnes