Making Yogurt

In case you wanted to know, here is the recipe I used to make yogurt. :) It us fun, and surprisingly easy! I figured it costs me about $4 to make a half gallon of organic greek yogurt. Almost half that cost is the cheesecloth which you can't reuse, so I am going to try a strainer this time, or maybe the "cheesecloth" towels, at least I could wash those. That would take my cost to just the cost of the milk, which is about $5 a gallon!

Yogurt

Heat the fresh milk to 190 degrees, or to the point that it’s steaming and beginning to form bubbles.

Let the milk cool to around 110 to 115 degrees, somewhere between very warm and hot. For each quart of milk, stir in two tablespoons of yogurt, either store-bought or from your last batch (just something with live active cultures), thinning it first with a little of the milk.

Then put the milk in a warm jar or container or an insulated bottle, cover it, and keep the milk still and warm until it sets, usually 12-14 hours. You can simply swaddle a quart jar in several kitchen towels. You can also put the container in an oven with the light bulb on. (I put mine in the garage).

Once the yogurt sets, refrigerate it to firm its structure and slow the continuing acid production. To make a thick Greek-style yogurt, spoon it into a fine-mesh strainer or colander lined with cheesecloth, and let the whey and its lactic acid drain into a bowl for several hours. (Don’t discard the whey, whose yellow-green tint comes from riboflavin. It makes a refreshing cool drink, touched up with a little sugar or salt.)

There is also a GREAT YOU-TUBE video of a greek man making greek yogurt, it was really helpful! :)

Happy yogurt making!