|
|
Making Homemade Yogurt
by Crystal Miller
Yogurt takes a little bit of time to make. Not actual ‘working on it’
time but time for it to sit and culture. Yogurt is a cultured product,
much like cheese. It is a very easy and economical to make.
Before you begin there are a few things to make sure you have on hand
and a few things to know and understand about the process. Most of what
you need you will be able to find in the grocery store.
You need to begin with “starter yogurt”. Starter yogurt is yogurt that
has been made with active live cultures; this is the friendly bacteria
that will turn your milk into yogurt. You can buy a small container of
yogurt at the grocery to use for this purpose. Make sure that the
container says “Made with live cultures” or something of this nature.
You want to buy plain yogurt, not flavored. Each time you make yogurt
you will need some starter. You can use your own starter, but over time
it looses its potency and your yogurt will not turn out. So I always
begin with store bought yogurt. You can freeze your starter yogurt in
ice cube trays so that it is convenient to have on hand.
As far as tools for making yogurt go, you will need a thermometer. A
candy thermometer bought from the grocery store will work just fine. You
will need a large pot to heat up your milk and then something to
incubate your yogurt for about 12 hours. The temperature of the yogurt
must stay between 90 and 110 degrees during this incubation time.
There are a variety of ways of maintaining this temperature. If you have
a gas stove, putting your yogurt in the stove and leaving the pilot
light on may be enough. Make sure you have a thermometer in the oven so
you can keep an eye on the temperatures. If you have a stove that you
can set at around 100 degrees, this works also. Another method that
works is to use a small styrofoam ice chest. While you are making the
yogurt fill up the ice chest with hot tap water. Right before you set
the jars in the ice chest empty the water, place filled jars in the ice
chest, and fill with 110 degree water up to the bottom edge
of the lids. Put the cover on and place a blanket over this. After about
4 hours check to make sure the water is still the right temperature
(between 90-110 degrees). If the water is cooling down, dump half of it
out and replace with 110 degree water and cover again. Check every 1 ½
hours or so to make sure the water is staying warm. If the temperature
of your yogurt gets to high or to low then it will kill the culture. So
it is important that during the incubation period that your temperature
stays between 90 and 110 degrees.
Here is my easy and tasty homemade yogurt recipe
Homemade Yogurt
Crystal Miller
8 cups milk, cow or goat (I raise Nubian goats and use my own goat’s
milk most often, but have made lots of yogurt with cow’s milk from the
store) 1/3 cup powdered milk (this is optional but will make a thicker
yogurt)
¼ cup pure maple syrup, optional for sweetened yogurt
½ cup starter yogurt
Before you begin wash 2 – quart sized canning jars. If you want to use
4- pint sized jars instead that would be fine too. Have the metal rings
and lids ready to cover the jars when you are done.
Pour your milk into a large cooking pot. Heat the milk up to 185
degrees. Allow the milk to cool down to 110 degrees. The cooling can
take a long time. If you want to speed the process up fill your sink
with cold water and place the pot of hot milk in the water and stir and
stir. The temperature drops fairly quickly this way, so make sure to
have your thermometer handy to keep checking.
After you reach 110 degrees add the remaining ingredients and stir until
everything is dissolved very well. Pour this mixture into your ready and
waiting jars. Put the lids on and put them into what ever place you are
planning to incubate and culture them. Leave them there for 10 to 12
hours. Try not to disturb the jars to much. When the yogurt is firm it
is time to remove them and put them in the refrigerator to get nice and
cold. Usually 12 to 24 hours. If you make and incubate the yogurt during
the day it can refrigerate overnight and be ready for breakfast the next
day.
If you would like flavored yogurt you add fresh cut up fruit or a little
bit of flavored jam when you are serving your yogurt.
About the Author
Crystal Miller is a mother of 8 children and enjoys her God given role
as wife, homemaker and mother! She has a homemaking and country living
web site called The Family Homestead
www.thefamilyhomestead.com and has a free monthly newsletter called
Homestead Happenings. You will find sign up information on her website.
|
|
