Simple yogurt
Yogurt is stupid expensive compared to the milk from which it is made, particularly if you want Greek-style yogurt.
So I decided to do it myself.
Making Yogurt
The most difficult step here is obtaining some starter yogurt. Yogurt is formed by letting some specific bacteria munch on milk, so you need those specific bacteria. Generally, you can find yogurt with live active cultures at the grocery store. Look on the ingredients list for a bunch of Latin names. There should be about six.
You will need about half a cup of starter.
There are many ways to make yogurt. I find the slow cooker method easiest [1], but there are a number of other ways to achieve the same effect. For a more complete list, and much more information on the yogurt making process, see [3].
In a slow cooker (very easy)
I have used this method many many times, quite successfully.
You will need:
- 1/2 gallon of milk
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- A small bowl
- A slow cooker
- Some containers for finished yogurt
- A thermometer (optional)
Now then:
- Pour half a gallon of milk into the slow cooker.
- Heat on the lowest setting until the milk reaches 200F. This takes 2.5 hours in my 6 quart slow cooker. Careful not to heat the milk too much or it will start to separate, and you will be on your whey to cheese.
- Turn off the slow cooker and let the milk cool to about 115F. This takes 3 hours in my 6 quart slow cooker.
- Remove about a cup of the warm milk.
- In a small bowl, mix the warm milk and 1/2 cup of yogurt.
- Return the warm milk/yogurt mixture to the slow cooker.
- Wrap the slow cooker in a couple of large towels. Alternatively, place the slow cookers in the over with the oven light on.
- Wait 8—12 hours.
- Remove yogurt from slow cooker and place into containers
- Place containers full of yogurt into the refrigerator, and let cool for at least 8 hours.
Not in a slow cookers (easy)
You will need:
- 1/2 gallon of milk
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- A small bowl
- A large pot
- A candy thermometer
- Some containers for finish yogurt
- Patience
Now then:
- Pour half a gallon of milk into the pot.
- Heat the milk on low until the milk reaches 200F (just below boiling). Stir frequently. Careful not to heat the milk too much or it will start to separate, and you will be on your whey to cheese.
- Remove the milk from heat.
- Let cool until the milk reaches 115F.
- Remove about a cup of the warm milk.
- In a small bowl, mix the warm milk and 1/2 cup of yogurt.
- Return the warm milk/yogurt mixture to the pot.
- Wrap the pot in a couple of large towels. Alternatively, place the pot in the over with the oven light on.
- Wait 8—12 hours.
- Remove yogurt from the pot and place into containers
- Place containers full of yogurt into the refrigerator, and let cool for at least 8 hours.
Making Greek-style Yogurt
The internet has lots of shortcut methods for making Greek-style yogurt, such as adding powered milk to the milk while making yogurt, adding pectin or other thickeners to the finished product, etc.
But only a terrible person would use these methods.
To make true Greek-style yogurt, you will need:
- Cheesecloth
- A large bowl
- Some method of suspending the yogurt filled cheesecloth above the bowl (example later)
To suspend the cheesecloth above the bowl, I use:
- A thick rubber band
- A wooden spoon
As an alternative, see [2].
Now then:
- Line the large bowl with cheesecloth.
- Dump yogurt into the lined bowl.
- Bring the corners of the cheesecloth together, and tightly rubber band them together.
- Lay the spoon across a shelf in your refrigerator.
- Place the large bowl under the shelf with the spoon across it.
- Loop the rubber band through bottom of the shelf, and slide the spoon through loop.
- Allow the whey to drain from the yogurt to reach the desired consistency. The longer it drains, the thicker the yogurt will be. I usually let it drain about 8 hours.
The left over whey has many uses. Generally, I replace water/milk in my baking recipes with the whey.