MAKING YOGURT
Words and images by Rhian Ellis

I started making my own yogurt to save money. I have a flock of chickens and like to feed them a snack of yogurt every day; the probiotics are good for their digestion and the calcium makes for harder eggshells. And of course since I was buying so much of it, my family was eating more, too. But it really is expensive, especially if you want to go organic! Also, I was uncomfortable buying so many giant plastic containers.


Fortunately, homemade yogurt is easy to make and as cheap as the milk you use, about half the price of store-bought yogurt. I was surprised to find it actually tastes a lot better, too: much less sour and more creamy. If you like sweet or fruity yogurt, you can add whatever you like to it, but don't be surprised to find yourself eating it plain, straight out of the container.







What you need:
* milk (a quart or so – it will make the same amount of yogurt)
* a spoonful of yogurt with active cultures for starter, plain and unsweetened
* a pot to heat it in
* a bowl to mix it in

*containers to put it in (mason jars or used yogurt tubs work well, but transparent ones make it easier to check for doneness)
*And a way to keep it warm for 4 to 12 hours



How it works: Yogurt is characterized by active yogurt cultures, which are bacteria that grow and reproduce during the fermentation or incubation stage of making the yogurt. The bacteria eat the lactose, or milk sugar, and produce lactic acid, which combines with the proteins in the milk and make it solid, thick, and tangy. It's important to kill off any pre-existing bacteria in the milk before introducing the yogurt cultures – that why you boil the milk. But if the milk's too hot when you add the culture, the high temperature will kill the good bacteria.

  1. Buy some good milk. The flavor of the yogurt depends on the quality of the milk you use. You can use full-fat or skim, cow's or goat's milk, even reconstituted dried milk. Soymilk generally needs other thickeners in order to set up properly, though. Organic 2% milk makes my favorite, most reliable yogurt. Goat's milk is also good, though I've found that when I use it I have to drain off a layer of water that forms on top of the yogurt.
  1. Heat the milk on the stove to just before boiling. When bubbles form around the edge and steam rises from the surface, you're good. Keep an eye on it, since milk has a way of suddenly boiling up and overflowing onto your stove.
  2. Let cool until the milk feels same temperature as your pinky, or just barely warmer. If it feels at all hot, it's too hot! You can use a thermometer to check that it's between 110-115 degrees, but I find that my pinky or knuckle is more reliable. (Be sure to wash your hands first, of course. You don't want to introduce any weird bacteria to your yogurt.) This will take 40 minutes or so if your house is freezing like mine is, longer if you live in Florida. If you forget about it and it gets too cool, just heat it up again. Be sure to take off the skin that forms – the layer keeps the milk warm longer and makes gross lumps when mixed it.
  3. Pour off about a half cup of the cooled milk and mix it with your yogurt starter. I usually use a store-bought yogurt -- a small cup will make four to five batches – but you can also save a little of your own yogurt to start the next batch. Apparently it will lose potency after a few generations, though. Read the label and makes sure it lists the different cultures. I think Greek style yogurt gives the tastiest, creamiest result, but it's fussier, and sometimes doesn't work. Dannon is plain, tart, and reliable, and Brown Cow seems to have the most different active cultures, sets up beautifully, and is also delicious. Experiment and find your own favorites.
  4. Pour the rest of the milk into the bowl and mix thoroughly. It should smell nice and yogurty. Then transfer it to your containers.
  5. Incubate! You can wrap it up and put it on top of a warm stove, or put it in a cooler packed with warm water bottles, or in a large thermos that's had hot water poured in it, or set it in your stove at its lowest setting. Just make sure the temperature stays under 120 degrees, or the heat will kill the cultures. If it turns out you really love homemade yogurt, a yogurt maker is a worthwhile investment – you can find a decent one for around $20.
  6. My yogurt has taken anywhere between 3 and 18 hours to set up. The longer it takes, the tangier it will be. When it reaches a consistency you like, refrigerate it for a few hours. There might be a little bit of water to pour off, and then stir it. Delicious!
  7. Once in a while, for mysterious reasons, even when directions are followed perfectly, yogurt will fail to set up. The resulting runny, semi-yogurty liquid can be used fed to animals or used in cooking just like
    buttermilk, which is milk with lactic acid added.

Rhian Ellis is a writer and mother from upstate New York, where she has a small farm. When not finding creative outlets for writing, she creates wonderful hand-dyed wools, and more for sale: Phiberia Handspun Yarns


For information on her writing, please see her blog at: www.wardsix.blogspot.com


 

 


 

 

 

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