I want to feed my family only the healthiest, tastiest yogurt available. I don't want to spend a fortune to do it, and I don't want to add hundreds of yogurt containers to our landfills. So what is a girl to do?
Make my own yogurt!
Have you ever read the labels on yogurt containers? Aside from the active cultures they contain there are usually a slew of additives. I prefer to minimize the chemical additives in our food as much as possible but I am not willing to spend a fortune on the most expensive brand. Making my own yogurt is so easy and very cost effective, each cup I make is less than 25 cents.
Ingredients/ Equipment:
1) Local Milk: You can check out eatwild.com or localharvest.org for dairies in your area. If you are still having trouble you can google it. Or email me and I can help you track it down. I love a challenge!
2) 1 container of PLAIN yogurt OR Yogurt starter (Whole Foods)
3) Instant read thermometer
4) Yogurt maker (I found mine at Ace Hardware several years ago for about 20$)
Directions:
1) Heat 4 cups of milk to 180F.
2) Then let it cool down to 108-112F
3) Mix 1 cup of your favorite brand of PLAIN yogurt OR 5g of yogurt starter into a small amount of lukewarm milk, just until smooth. Then pour back into the quart of milk. Mix well.
4) Pour into your yogurt maker.
5) Let warm for 4-6 hours, or until it has reached the thickness you like.
6) Refrigerate
That is it. You can continue to make more batches of yogurt by reserving 1 cup of yogurt to mix with your next batch. You can do this about 3 times before you will need to start with a new cup of store bought yogurt or a new bit of yogurt starter.
Once you get used to making yogurt it is so fun to try different brands of plain yogurt. They all contain different combinations of lactic bacteria which is what gives each brand a different taste. I was on a Greek yogurt kick for awhile but lately Siggis is what the kids like.
You can add a spoonful of local honey or maple syrup to sweeten it up or my favorite is a bit of strawberry jam... delicious.
What do you think? Something you could tackle?
I had no idea you could make your own yogurt. So creative and green! Inspired by your last post and really want to try to make my own bread. liz
ReplyDeleteSo do you think it's cost effective? I've been wanting to try it but the yogurt makers are a little pricey and then if you have to buy a yogurt starter every few times I wonder? I love greek yogurt and use it instead of sour cream in recipes. My kids like it too. I might have to see if I can find a yogurt maker on sale! :)
ReplyDeleteNEED NEED NEED to do this...it is totally on my to-do list...thanks for the kick in the butt to get on it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so out of the loop. I've never even heard of a yogurt maker! Sounds fun. My kids love yogurt. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA tip for others..... don't leave it in there too long... like overnight. I've used my yogurt maker once. I left it on all night and made the sourest yogurt I've ever had in my life! I had to dump it all out :(
ReplyDeleteOnce again, you've inspired me to try it... I need to dig mine out :)
Honestly, I don't know how you find the time! You know I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for a yogurt maker and a bread machine, now. And on a photography note, I tried to use my table top tripod and it made not one bit of difference. Sending you a separate email with some more tips i found...
ReplyDeleteYogurt maker??? How cool!!! I would love it if you would link this up to my Marvelous Mess party….each party I feature one project on my sidebar for a week!! Here is the link: http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/2011/03/marvelous-mess-3.html
ReplyDeleteI have successfully used yogourmet and love it! I do NOT use a yogurt maker, just wrap a heating pad all around a quart size mason jar ANS it works very well. I use rubber bands to keep the heating pad touching the jar allmover. It is about 1/3, at most, the cost of store-bought yogurt!!
ReplyDeleteYou can make it your slow cooker too. Try to find the recipe on the Internet
ReplyDeleteI found the recipe for the slow cooker!! I'm excited to try this when I run out of my greek yogurt! Thanks for the great idea to make yogurt at home!
ReplyDelete