Do It Yourself Yogurt

Hi,

This is the simplest recipe I have found for do it yourself yogurt. R has been making it and it has been delicious. The ingredients and procedures are quite flexible. The recipe has been adapted from Sunset magazine.

1 qt. milk (full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat) We have settled out on using 2% milk
2 Tablespoons, very fresh plain regular or Greek-style live-culture yogurt (full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat) We've been using Greek style yogurt

1) Pour milk into a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. When milk foams up, pour into a bowl and put bowl in a sink of cold water. Cool milk to 110 degrees.

2) Whisk 1/4 cup 110 degree milk with the yogurt in a bowl, then whisk into milk. Pour into 2 large glass jars, cover, wrap jars in towels, and put them into a cooler. Add a few more jars filled with hot water to cooler to keep the milk warm. Let the milk sit 8 to 12 hours to set (it will look and taste like yogurt when it's done). The longer it sits, the tangier it gets; chilling stops the process. Yogurt keeps, chilled, up to 1 week.

The end product is not as tangy as the Cabot's yogurt that we had been buying, but the flavor is still quite nice. Perhaps during the summer when the room temperature is higher, the yogurt will be tangier. R has been turning the yogurt into Greek style yogurt by straining the yogurt overnight in the fridge with a colander lined with cheesecloth. If the yogurt is to thick, you can just add in some of the whey that has been separated out.

DIY yogurt is delicious and is about half the price, but not nearly as much fun. I hope you have fun making your own yogurt.

Hugs,
Mammekosan