I remember my mom making yogurt when I was little, and I remember making it when I was in college, but I had a special yogurt maker and yogurt cups and yogurt starter and ... in short, it was a big, complicated deal to make.
However, since we've been trying to save money, I've discovered that it's actually really easy to make yogurt. You don't need a special yogurt maker, and the most specialized piece of equipment you need is a candy thermometer. Since I already have a thermometer I use for canning and to make candy, I didn't need anything special.
The supplies list may look long, but you very likely already have everything you need.
Supplies:- large double boiler or two pans that fit inside one another (I use the two pan method)
- candy thermometer (thermometer that can attach to the side of your pan to measure the temperature of your milk)
- spoon for stirring milk
- tablespoon
- large bowl or measuring cup
- ladle
- containers to hold eight to nine cups of yogurt (I use four to five plastic one-cup containers, two one-pint glass canning jars, and one other container to hold the inevitable leftovers)
- plastic or glass containers to hold really hot water
- large cooler
- thermometer (optional)
- towel
Ingredients:- 1/2 gallon milk (whole, 2%, skim, whatever)
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk (optional)
- 6 tablespoons plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures
Short version:- clean your containers
- heat up milk
- cool milk
- add yogurt to milk
- put in containers
- leave in warm environment for 6-8 hours
- yogurt!
Longer version:First, clean all of your supplies really well. You don't have to sterilize stuff, but it does have to be really clean if it's going to come in contact with milk or the yogurt you're making.
Fill the bottom of the double boiler (or the bigger pot) up with some water. Put the top of the double boiler on or put the smaller pot in the bigger pot. Make sure the water won't slosh into the top part. Pour in the milk.
We love
Snowville Creamery milk. Pastured cows, no antibiotics, non-homogenized. L-O-V-E. I usually use 2% milk, but skim was all they had this time. It really doesn't matter unless you care about the fat content. Use what you have and don't get too wound up about it.
Add in the nonfat dry milk if you're using it; it makes the yogurt thicker and higher in protein. Stir it well and put the thermometer on the pan that the milk's in. Make sure the thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of the pan. I suggest sticking your stirring spoon against the bottom of the pan and lowering the thermometer until it touches the spoon. That way, you know you aren't against the bottom.
Turn the heat to medium high and heat the milk to 180° F. This will take about five minutes. Stir a few times to keep the heat distribution even, but there's no need to obsess over it; the water in the other pot will keep it from scalding. You're heating up the milk to kill any nasty bacteria. Even if your milk is pasteurized, I don't suggest skipping this step. At minimum, your milk needs to get to a nice bacteria-friendly 120° F for the next step
While the milk is heating, fill your plastic or glass bottles with very hot tap water and put them in the cooler to warm it up. Make sure you close the cooler lid. Put the thermometer in there if you have one handy.
Once the milk hits 180° F, turn the heat off. It's OK if it gets hotter as long as it doesn't boil. If it gets lower than 180° F, turn the heat back on for a minute or two. You want to leave it at about 180° F for five to eight minutes.
After five to eight minutes, you'll want to cool the milk down to about 120° F. I fill the sink with an inch or two of cold water and leave it there for five minutes or so while the water slowly drains out of our leaky drainer. Keep the thermometer in.
While you wait, spoon six tablespoons of the plain yogurt into the measuring cup or bowl. You can use commercially-made yogurt as long as it has live bacteria in it, or after you've made your own, just use the last of the previous batch, if you remember to leave some.
When the milk hits 120° F, ladle out about a cup into the measuring cup with the yogurt in it. Stir it really well. There's no need to whisk it, but it should be really well-mixed. Then remove the rest of the milk from the water (if you do that), and stir the milk-yogurt mixture into the milk.
Fill your containers. I usually use five or six 1-cup containers that I fill about 7/8 full. That leaves enough room for dried fruit and such later. I also usually fill a few bigger containers so I can make yogurt cheese or frozen yogurt.
Put the filled containers in the cooler with the hot water bottles. Try not to let the dog help too much. If you have a thermometer, put it on top of the containers, then cover it with a towel. Then, close the lid and LEAVE IT ALONE.
OK, you can check it after three hours and make sure the temperature is between 120° F and 110° F. That should feel very warm when you stick your hand in if you don't have a thermometer. If it's a little cool, you can either leave it in for an extra hour or two or you can do what I do and refill the bottles with hot water.
After six to eight hours, take out your yogurt. The longer you leave it it sourer and thicker it will be. I usually leave it for seven hours. I've left it as long as ten hours when I was unexpectedly invaded by family members and the yogurt didn't kill me. But you probably shouldn't leave it much more than that or nasty things could happen.
Stick your yogurt in the fridge. Add flavorings to it when you're ready to eat it. I like honey and dried cranberries. Jeff likes to add vanilla and honey. Sometimes I add ground flax seed if I'm feeling really healthy.
Enjoy your yogurt. Try to remember to save some for the next batch. :)
I find I need to make yogurt every two weeks. This makes plenty for us for breakfast and for yogurt cheese in lieu of cream cheese. YMMV.
Enjoy.
Labels: food, recipes
