Many years I have attempted yogurt and have been successful in as much as you would cook with it, but never made yogurt I could just eat straight out of the jar. Most of the time it was kinda runny and or thin. I would us it instead of buttermilk in biscuits, cornbread, etc. I bought a yogurt maker last summer, and while it is nice having one, it isn't necessary for successful yogurt making. My yogurt was still the same consistency as before. So in frustration and ready to give up I went to the internet to get the answer. So without further adieu, here is how I did it.
HOMEMADE YOGURT
Homemade yogurt!
1 Quart of whole milk2 TBS of store bought plain yogurt that is at room temperature (Make sure it has active cultures. I like Cabot 10% milk fat). Once you make this first batch, you will set aside some in the fridge for the next batch. SAVINGS!
Things to know before you start:
Don't use a wooden spoon. Use a metal spoon. Don't ask me why. I was told this tip and it made all the difference.
Seed yogurt- is the yogurt you set aside for the next batch. If you aren't going to be making yogurt inside a week, then you will need to feed your seed yogurt. You will warm some milk and stir it in to give the culture some food. I just find it easier to make another batch of yogurt. If I have to warm milk anyway.
Heat your milk up to 180 degrees. I will heat my milk in a quart mason jar sitting in a pan of water. At the same time, be preheating your oven to 180 degrees. Heating the milk alters the makeup of the milk to make it more receptive to the culture. Remove the milk from the stove and place it, in the pan, into the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, TURN OFF YOUR OVEN, and remove the pan from the oven. Take out the jar and sit it in on the counter to allow it to cool to 110. When it has cooled to 110, add some of the now cooled milk to your culture. Just a couple of TBS and mix it well. You just want to thin it some. Then add the thinned culture to the rest of the milk. If you have a yogurt maker, Kudos. Set it up and off you go. A yogurt maker is not necessary. I used to take a Playmate cooler (Any cooler will work, but keep it small), fill up a couple of pint jars with very hot water and put them and the yogurt in. Then I would put hand towels all round. I once saw a lady who very shrewdly inserted a light bulb into the lid of a Styrofoam cooler and used that as a heat source. Now I put my yogurt in the oven with only the oven light on. Just make sure the yogurt is sitting more towards the door of the oven and not right up against the light. That light can get warm. I will sometimes place a towel on the rack since it may still be too warm from the previous 180 degree temp. That's what I sit my containers on. The idea is to incubate your yogurt keeping the temp above 80 degrees but not so hot that it kills the bacteria. Place the jar into the oven and leave it for about 4-8 hours. You will know it's set up when it doesn't move much in the jar and you see a little bit of clear liquid moving around. You can also gently press down on the top of the yogurt with the back of a spoon. If it leaves an impression, then it's done. It will set up even more as it chills. You can let it sit for up to 8, even 12 hours, but the longer it sits the more tangy it will be. Mistakes in yogurt making are still great for a substitute for buttermilk. So give it a try. It's something that is not very labor intensive. My cost analysis for this initial batch, culture included, is 32 oz. for 1.49 and that is because I used a Greek yogurt culture and they are more expensive. Now that I have made my yogurt and therefore my culture for the next time, my cost for 32 oz. of yogurt will be .68. Compare that to the cost of a 32 oz. container of yogurt on sale at the store. The cheapest I have seen is a sale price of $3.99. Even buying the more expensive yogurt for a culture still put me cheaper than store bought.
NO WHEY! GREEK YOGURT!
Big FYI here. You can make your own Greek yogurt by simply straining your homemade yogurt. The whey that is drained off is a great source of protein and it also aids digestion. You can add it to biscuits, corn bread, quick breads muffins, soups etc. In fact I will use whey to replace milk called for in baking items where yeast isn't called for; a 1:1 ratio. The only change I make is to add a little baking soda. If you're making oatmeal, put your oats in the bowl the night before with 2 TBS of Whey and the water to cook them with let it soak overnight then cook it up the next morning. You can also use it to soak dried beans, rice, and other grains. A good resource for using the whey is the book " Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.
YOGURT CHEESE!
Take cheese cloth, Muslin, or even a clean pillow case; Put your yogurt in the cheese cloth and hang it up over a bowl ( of course) to catch the whey. Once you think all the liquid has drained off, Place the yogurt, in the cloth you have it in, into a stainer and add a little weight to it to push out more whey. After that, take another piece of clean cloth (you can sacrifice that pillow case to get multiple pieces. Worth it!), and line a small ( bout 1 cup size) refrigerator dish. Take your yogurt out of the previous cloth, and place in the dish on top of the cloth you just put in there. Wrap the fabric around the yogurt. A little extra fabric is fine. You can just pack the extra in It will help remove any other moisture. Let it sit in your fridge a day or so. Remove the yogurt from the fabric, and you will have yogurt cheese. Use it like cream cheese. You can add fresh herbs to it and have some awesome spread. I will work a little salt into mine, but you don't have to if you don't want to. It's fine as is.
So what are you waiting for! Go for it!
