Honey Yogurt Made Fresh!

At least once in your lifetime, you should try to make homemade yogurt. It's not that hard to do and just in case all the dairy farmers in the world go on strike and you have to buy your own cow, you'll know how to get that yummy, creamy yogurt for your granola.

You'll need:

Clean Quart Jar (I use three at a time)
Pot
Hand Towel
Candy Thermometer (or something similar)
Milk (any kind, depending on your % preference)
Yogurt with lives cultures (I use Greek Gods or Dannon is a good one too)
Spoon
Bath Towel
Cooler

Now that you have had time to gather all of your ingredients and items :)...I'll share with you the next step. Tomorrow...

It's been a few more days than I had anticipated, but I am finally ready to type the rest of this post! Here's what you do if you'd like to take your milk and turn it to yogurt.

Step 1: Fill your jar with milk, leaving an inch of space at the top.

Step 2: Place the hand towel in the pot, set the quart jar on the towel and fill the pot about 1/2 to 3/4 full. (The towel is to keep the jar from rattling on the bottom of the pot as the water boils).

Step 3: This step is to kill any bacteria that might keep the yogurt cultures from growing. Bring the water to a gentle boil and wait until the milk reaches 180 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, a good rule of thumb is to watch the top of the jar of milk. A film of skin will develop when it gets hot enough.

Step 4: When temperature is reached. Carefully remove jars from hot water and set them on the counter until they cool down, between 90 and 120 degrees. You should be able to touch the sides of the jar. The temp will be very warm, but not to warm to burn or be too uncomfortable. If you want to speed this process up, you can gradually set them in a cold water bath that is increasing made colder by ice and if you get it too cold, you just warm it back up in your pot of water. This can take around 30 to 40 mintues depending on how quickly you bring the temp down.

Step 5: Set your pot of hot water inside the cooler, close the lid until you're ready to add the yogurt.

Step 6: Now that the milk is cool enough, you add the yogurt. 2 Tablespoons are stirred into each jar. Don't whip the yogurt around too much, just gently stir.

Step 7: Put the lids on jars and then place them in a towel lined cooler. The pot you used to boil the jars of milk is already in the cooler and has made things steamy for you. On one side, you put the hot pot of water and the other, you set the jars. The jars are then wrapped with the towel and the lid of the cooler is closed for the next 6-8 hours at least. The longer you leave the yogurt to incubate, the stronger the flavor. I usually make it in the morning around 9AM and then let the milk sit all day. Around 8PM that same night, I take the jars out. Next time I am going to try to be patient and let them sit overnight. If you let the yogurt incubate overnight, add some boiling water to the pot to bring the temperature up before you close the cooler down for the night.

Step 8: Take the jars out and you should have yogurt! There is some whey that has separated from the solids, you can pour that off or save it for something else. (I have heard it's great in vitamins and protein, but I haven't yet been able to add it to my soup or anything. Maybe a smoothie???)

Step 9: You can stir your yogurt and add your flavorings at this point OR you can do what I like to do: Strain it and make Greek yogurt with it.

TO MAKE GREEK STYLE YOGURT: take an old t-shirt cut into a large square. Spoon one quart jars worth of yogurt into the middle of the cloth. Bring up the corners and then the sides to create a pouch or a balloon of yogurt. Wrap a rubber band at the top to keep the balloon from losing any yogurt. Secure it with a stick or chopstick. Let hang over a pan or bowl for a couple of hours or overnight. You will be amazed at how much whey comes off the yogurt. Depending on how thick you like it, is what will determine how long you let the yogurt strain. If you let it stand too long, you just mix in some reserved whey until you find the consistancy you like.

To get the flavor of the yogurt most of you had at my house a few weeks ago, add 1/3 C. of sugar to the 6 Cups of strained yogurt. Add vanilla flavoring and drizzle about 1/4 C. of Agave (or honey). Gently stir and enjoy! My kids' favorite flavor is coconut and banana. I just added a few drops of each and they loved it. Remember you can adjust the taste with anything you'd like. I tend to go more tart than sweet, so there's a good chance you'll want to add a bit more sugar.

So, maybe you can tell me if you try it and how it worked out. I am writing these instructions awefully quick and hopefully I am not to vague. It is so simple to do and if you love yogurt, you're going to save a lot of money making it at home. Not to mention the health benefits when you control the amount of sugar and sweetener you use and the manufacturer.

Jenny makes homemade yogurt with a different method. Here is a picture of the process. It's definately compact. If you buy a heating pad, make sure you don't get one with an automatic shut off.