Having recently had a rare attack of earth-motherishness (not something that happens very often), I’ve started making my own yoghurt. It doesn’t really save very much money, but it does save lots of packaging, and is oddly satisfying. And the packaging saving has to outweigh the tiny bit of electricity used by the machine.

The recipe I’m using calls for the addition of skim milk, and I’ve been astonished to find that this is now – through rarity value it seems – almost a luxury item. A tiny 100g packet costs £1.29 in all of the local convenience stores.

This seems astonishing because when I was a kid skim milk was extremely cheap stuff. I remember it well, because when Mum was having a particular economising drive that’s what we’d have instead of real milk. And although they _claimed_ it dissolved like magic, it never seemed to in practice… a lump of milk-powder in the morning coffee really didn’t make it taste any better.

I’ve looked around and have now at least found a source of a larger packet (Planet Organic in Bloomsbury) – but it is organic, so cost about the same gram for gram – £3-ish for 300g. Still at least it is organic. (Although French – so you have to factor in transport costs…)

So now of course we’re all buying Tetra-packs with all of the water still in – and then discarding those same Tetra-packs into landfill. Progress?