It鈥檚 thick, creamy, rich, smooth, tangy and Vancouver Island-made 鈥� all great reasons to enjoy water-buffalo yogurt in your bowl or in a recipe.
It was a child鈥檚 dietary needs that got McClintock鈥檚 Farm stirring in that direction.
鈥淭he idea of water-buffalo yogurt came about when my daughter was an infant and I wanted to introduce dairy products. I was looking for a high-fat, plain yogurt with no added skim milk powders or thickeners, and couldn鈥檛 find one I was happy with,鈥� Sandra McClintock said.
McClintock鈥檚 Farm, which also sells produce, is in a rural part of Courtenay called Dove Creek. It鈥檚 a family-run operation that Sandra鈥檚 parents, Gerry and Val, established in 1988.
Sandra obviously got the farming bug from them, because after high school, she attended the University of Alberta and obtained a degree in agriculture, specializing in animal science. After travelling and working on dairy and other farms in places such as New Zealand, she returned to the family farm and started a water-buffalo dairy.
The new venture began with the purchase of 15 water-buffalo heifers from Fairburn Farm in Duncan and a bull from the Ontario Water Buffalo Company. She started milking those heifers in March 2012 and sold the milk to Courtenay鈥檚 Natural Pastures Cheese Company, which used it in their fabulous mozzarella di bufala cheese. She also started experimenting with making yogurt.
鈥淚 borrowed a home yogurt maker and decided to try and make my own with the water-buffalo milk. It was awesome,鈥� McClintock said. After several years of working out the logistics and planning, she started offering the yogurt to consumers in March 2015.
Making yogurt on a small scale听in a home yogurt maker was easy, McClintock said, because water-buffalo milk is naturally high in milk solids, so all you have to do is add culture and it turns out thick and creamy. But when she started making it on a larger scale, it was a bit like roller-skating in a buffalo herd: unpredictable.
鈥淚t has taken a lot of trial and error on a commercial scale, because the buffalo are exclusively grass-fed, so the milk varies throughout the year depending on pasture quality. This makes it challenging to make a consistent yogurt,鈥� McClintock said.
She seems to have figured things out, though. At the 2016 World Championship Cheese Contest, her product won 鈥渂est of class鈥� in the category for yogurt made without cow鈥檚 milk.
Adding to the flavour is the fact that it contains just over seven per cent milk fat. That鈥檚 rich for yogurt, although it鈥檚 only about half of what sour cream has.
McClintock said the animal鈥檚 grass diet and the nature of water-buffalo milk also means it has 58听per cent more calcium, 40 per cent more protein and 43 per cent less cholesterol than yogurt made from cow鈥檚 milk. Preservative- and additive-free, it might be suitable for those with lactose sensitivity.
McClintock said water-buffalo yogurt is great to use in smoothies or just mixed with fresh fruit. She added that it is also an excellent replacement for sour cream and makes a killer tzatziki sauce.
I had great success in using the yogurt in a no-cooking-required overnight oats recipe and in an Indian-style raita.
McClintock鈥檚 Farm water-buffalo yogurt is available at several grocery and health-food stores on Vancouver Island, including Lifestyle Market, Country Grocer and the Market on Yates and Market on Millstream. For a list of outlets, go mcclintocksfarm.ca and click on water-buffalo dairy.
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Summer Raita
Raita is an Indian-style preparation of yogurt and raw vegetables. I call this summer raita because I听used local, just-picked zucchini, carrot and mint. You can serve this raita as a dip for naan or pita bread or for sticks and florets of听raw vegetables. You can also听serve it as a condiment alongside Indian-style dishes, such as vegetables, seafood or lamb curry.
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Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: none
Makes: 1 1/2 cups
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1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground coriander seed
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 cup water-buffalo yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
Squeeze out as much moisture as听you can from the zucchini, then听place in a bowl. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Chill the raita at least one hour before serving.
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Overnight Oats with Summer Fruit
Instead of softening oats by cooking them, you simply soak the raw oats in a yogurt mixture overnight. The next morning, they鈥檒l be tender and plump and ready to top and eat; no need to turn on the stove.
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Preparation time: five minutes
Cooking time: none
Makes: one serving
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2/3 cup large-flake rolled oats
1/2 cup water-buffalo yogurt
1/2 cup almond beverage or cow鈥檚 milk, plus more as needed
2 tsp Chia seeds
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
鈥� cut or whole summer fruit to taste, such as berries, plums and nectarines
鈥� nuts and/or seeds, to taste, such as pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and chopped pecans
Combine the oats, yogurt, almond beverage (or cow鈥檚 milk), chia听seeds, honey (or maple syrup) in a 500 mL glass or mason听jar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to eat the next morning, thin the oats with a bit more almond beverage (or cow鈥檚 milk) if you find the mixture too thick. Top oats with fruit and nuts and/or seeds and enjoy.
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Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
