Yogurt

My newest obsession is making home made yogurt.

Homemade yogurt with puree blueberries and granola

The only thing I would recommend is a thermometer to check the milk temperature and that it is oven safe too.

I start by boiling 7 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of heavy cream (each cup of milk makes for a cup of yogurt) to 180 degrees, then cool it down to
110 degrees.
The fastest way to cool  it down is by placing the pot in the sink with cold water.

For a while I was getting raw milk. The raw milk I would only heat up to 110 degrees instead of 180 degrees that way it kept all the good "bacteria" and not kill anything by pasteurizing it. If you are using raw milk then you do not need the cream since raw milk is naturally creamier.

I would preheat the oven since I don't have a yogurt maker or an electric blanket.
The oven must be no higher than 110 degrees or else it kills the culture.
I was using plain Greek yogurt at first since my health food store does not sell a yogurt starter.
I do two tablespoons of the Greek yogurt for every 4 cups of warm milk.
I have now been using two tablespoons of my own yogurt mixture that I reserve from my last batch and have had great results so far. I mix it well in the containers that will store the yogurt in the fridge.
Then I place it all in the oven with a pot of boiling water in the bottom to help maintain the oven temperature. The yogurt must be in for a minimum of 8 hours up to 24 hours.
At 24 hours the yogurt is completely lactose free since the live culture eat the lactose.
Sometimes half way through I reboil the water if I feel the oven temperature has dropped.
Then it all goes in the refrigerator to cool down.

After a few hours it's ready to eat. It comes out very thick and creamy.
You can drain and reserve the excess liquid. I just stir it in since it does not bother me.
At this point you can add a little vanilla extract since it is very plain. and unsweetened. I
usually skip that part. But I have been thinking about using a little lemon extract.

I love to eat it with fresh fruit puree and granola. Just honey is great too.
I have served it up with a spoonful of red current jam or apricot jam with granola for my friends.
Basically any jam or jelly will work. It is so much healthier than the supermarket stuff that is loaded with artificial sugars and preservatives. The hardest part is the wait.

One time I made it earlier in the morning and I had it in the oven for 5 hours before I realized that I had forgotten the starter! I had basically made warm milk. But it turned out okay. I took it out and used some of my left over yogurt from my last batched. Whisked it in said a prayer to the yogurt gods and back in the oven it went. 16 hours later I had yogurt! I figured since it was at the ideal temperature it would be okay.

I go through 8 cups of yogurt every week. I need to find a glass container that can hold a gallon. Be great to make it every two weeks instead of every week. I eat 6 ounces in the morning and again in the evening.

I swear I am addicted.

Yogurt is great to help maintain good probiotics and digestive health. It is also a great diet aid plus the calcium is good for your bones and it is much easier to tolerate than milk especially if you make it lactose free. I do not recommend using low fat or fat free milk since it will give you a very watery consistency. You can leave out the cream but I feel that it makes it thicker.

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