Yogurt!

Making yogurt is so simple! I started making yogurt about 2 years ago when Matt bought me a yogurt maker as a gift. I hadn't consistently made it in a while, and the aforementioned yogurt maker is in a box somewhere that hasn't yet been unpacked (and probably won't be, until we buy a house!) But, I've found a new method that ANYONE can do, and I think it's even easier than using the yogurt maker! It does take some patience and time...so be ready for that. I would start about 4 hours before you plan on going to bed.

Tools:
Crock Pot
Candy Thermometer
Bath Towel
Cheesecloth or Muslin towel (if making it Greek-we'll get to that!)
Large bowl

Ingredients:
Skim milk (or whatever you like)
plain yogurt (I used Fage Total 0)


Method:
Step 1: Pour 2 quarts of milk into your crock pot. Cover with lid and set on high. Set a kitchen timer for 2 hours.

Step 2: Check the temperature with your thermometer! You're looking for between 175 and 185. Too warm will ruin your consistency later.

Step 3: Turn off your crock pot. Set your kitchen time for 2 hours.

Step 4: Check the temperature. Needs to be around 120.

Step 5: Take 1/4 c. of your plain yogurt and put it in a pyrex. Add about a cup of milk from your crock pot and mix it together. Add the whole thing back to the crock pot and stir, stir, stir!

Step 6: Turn the light on in your oven. Take your crock pot and place it inside of your oven. Cover the top with the bath towel, folded over a few times, to keep it nice and toasty!

Step 7: Go to bed.

Step 8: After a lovely 8-10 hours of sleep (yeah right!), it's time to check on your yogurt! It will have an inch or so of clearish, yellowish liquid on the top. This is called whey, and it's not tasty. Very carefully drain the whey off into the sink. Your yogurt will slip out if your not careful! And now, you have 2 quarts of beautiful, homemade plain yogurt. Store it in the fridge in a Tupperware container. It will thicken slightly in the fridge.

Step 9: Remember to save 1/4 c. for your next batch of yogurt!

GOING GREEK
If you prefer a thicker, greek style yogurt, you can easily transform your beautiful plain yogurt with a couple of extra steps (and more time, of course). Be forewarned though, it will greatly decrease the volume of yogurt you end up with. This is why Greek yogurt is more expensive and has twice the protein.

Method:
Step 1: Line a large bowl with cheese cloth or a muslin cloth (I used one of Nora's old muslin swaddling blankets and are too small now!).

Step 2: Pour in your beautiful plain yogurt.

Step 3: Gather up the edges to make a little yogurt bag. It will need to be suspended several inches over your bowl so that the whey can drain out. There are a couple of ways to do this. One thing you could do, is tie it to your faucet over your kitchen sink. I tied it to the wire shelves inside my fridge over the bowl. The bottom line is: it has to drain out - so be creative - and it's best for it to hang out (ha!) in the fridge.

Step 4: Wait. Depending how thick you want your yogurt to be. I'd recommend at least 2 hours. Once I left it draining all night in the fridge, the finished product was magnificent, but there was only about 2 cups of it!

Step 5: Scrape your yogurt off the towel with a spatula a store it in the fridge!

NOTE: You can achieve some thickness by adding non-fat powdered milk to the milk in the crock pot during the initial heating process. You'll have to play with the amount though, I haven't done this in a while! It won't be as thick as it would be if you strain it.

So there you have it! Homemade Yogurt! You should try it at least once, and may the Schwartz be with you. (Little Spaceballs joke...did you get it?)