Homemade yogurt.... Just thinking about it, makes me think of when I was a child. I can vividly remember when I was barley tall enough to see over the kitchen counter, waiting--with bowl and spoon in hand--for my mother to finish making her delicious blueberry yogurt. And I can still feel the magic of the moment when she finished adding blueberries and giving it a final stir (and I could finally eat some). Maybe it's childhood nostalgia, or maybe it is actually the best-tasting yogurt around, but there's nothing I enjoy more than having a nice, big bowl of cold homemade blueberry yogurt on a summer's day.
It's really so simple to make, and I would urge anyone who likes yogurt to buy the few supplies you need and start making your own. You only need yogurt starter, milk, and a yogurt maker (plus whatever fruit, if any, you want to add, along with a little sugar). To see some yogurt makers and yogurt starters (I prefer Yogourmet brand starter), just click here.
As for yogurt makers, there are generally 2 different types of yogurt makers out there. One is an insulated canister that fits a mayonnaise-sized jar inside--I prefer this style (it's the one pictured)
, it requires no electricity (you don't plug this in), it just does it's thing on it's own the and yogurt comes out marvelously. The other type of yogurt maker is an electric version, and this style tends to have a bunch of little jars that sit inside of little cup-holder-like compartments. I have tried this second style and I prefer the first for a couple reasons: (1) I don't like the small portion size of the second style and prefer to have a whooping bowl-full rather than a bunch of little jars full (you can only fill the jars 1/2 way); (2) the little jars are difficult to clean and the large jar is easy to clean; and (3) I like thick, non-runny yogurt, and I think the large jar does a better job of firming up the yogurt than the little jars. Plus, if you are "going green," the large, insulated canister is much greener than the "plug-in" version--especially when you consider that I recommend keeping the yogurt inside of the canister, or with the machine on, for about 18-20 hours.
Ok, so, now that I've written a book about the yogurt-makers themselves, let's get to it.
Step One: Measure out the milk you will be using. It can be skim, 2%, or whole. Organic or regular. I prefer using 2%, Organic milk, if possible. Since I am using the large jar, I just filled the jar with milk to measure how much I would need.
Step Two: Heat your milk in a sauce pan until it is about 180 degrees. I like using a medium heat because you don't want to scald the milk. Try not to let it go above 180 degrees (I let mine go over a bit, no harm done, but if it had gotten much hotter, it would have boiled, which means: starting over).
Step Three: Once the milk reaches 180 degrees, turn off the burner. Let the milk cool to 108-112 degrees (this takes a while, so don't forget about it!).
Step Four: While the milk is between 108-112 degrees, pour your yogurt culture into the bottle you are using, add 2-3 ladles of milk, put the top on the bottle and give it a nice, good shake. Check the bottom of the bottle to make sure there are no lumps or pieces of the yogurt culture stuck on the bottom.
Step Five: Once the small amount of milk and yogurt culture are well-mixed, add the remaining milk to your bottle. Put the bottle inside of the incubator-canister, and put it aside.
Step Six: 18 to 20 hours later (or in fewer hours if you like yogurt that is drinkable or just not too thick), remove the bottle from the canister and put it in the refrigerator.
Step Seven: Once the yogurt has cooled off (I like to wait a few hours), add whatever fruit you like (I like to use frozen fruit because it tends to dye the yogurt with a bit of color, and as the frozen fruit thaws, it gives off some of its juices so the yogurt is well-flavored throughout). If using fresh fruit, I'd give it a good chop and try to get it to release some juices so the flavor of the fruit is mixed with the yogurt itself. Add sugar to taste, and Enjoy!
This is the simplest thing to make, and, if you enjoy yogurt as I do, you can save a bundle of money by making your own. Also, it's nice to know that your yogurt only has milk, fruit, yogurt starter (which is quite healthy for you), and a pinch of sugar. No commercial yogurt have such a short (and natural) list of ingredients. And most commercial yogurt's won't taste nearly as good as your own. I hope you give this a try!
