Yogurt!

My favorite kind of yogurt, the live culture, whole milk kind with the cream top, seems to have disappeared from the store shelves recently in favor of exclusively low fat and non fat varieties. There are several reasons we don't want low fat or non fat yogurt in our family. The first is that my kids are vegetarians, and growing rapidly. They need some good fat in their foods. Number two is that doing without that sweet, creamy layer of goodness on top, for us, IS. TOTAL. SUFFRAGE.(!) Hence, we were forced to make our own. It was surprisingly easy, something I can see myself doing regularly and keeping as a staple in the fridge. I love that I'll no longer be contributing to plastic waste by buying it and it's live culture so I feel good about the pro-biotic benefits. Plus, it's *really* good.

Yogurt!

Equipment: large stock pot, candy thermometer, large sink for water bath, bath towels, optional but helpful picnic cooler, two 1 qt. containers for storing your yogurt in -sanitizing all equipment which comes in contact with your yogurt is essential.


Ingredients:

• 8 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp. live culture yogurt (you can purchase a culture for this purpose, but using 2 Tbsp. purchased live culture yogurt such as Nancy's or Stonyfield farms is all you need to get started)
• water 
• ice
• maple syrup and vanilla extract for flavoring, if desired

How to:

•  Heat milk to 180 degrees on stovetop. Watch closely. Do not stir.
• Meanwhile, create ice bath in your sink which will reach at least the same level as the level of your milk in pot
• When temp hits 180, quickly remove pot and place in ice bath. Check cooling temp. until milk reaches 120 degrees. Stir the milk during this process to help cooling and consistency.
• Remove pot from sink and pour into containers (if I'm using flavorings, like vanilla or maple syrup, I first add it to the container and stir it into milk. The warmth helps it.)
• Add your live culture yogurt starter and stir.
• Cover with container lid loosely and cover completely with towels. Set aside someplace where it won't be bumped or bothered. The picnic cooler works well for this step and helps the heat come down gradually, which helps the consistency from this point.
• Leave this way 6-7 hours undisturbed. The longer you leave it the more souring occurs, so go with your taste instincts. Store in coldest part of your refrigerator. 
• Put about a 1/2 cup of your yogurt aside for future starters (do not use a starter from already used yogurt as it could be contaminated and could contaminate future batches). You will be making this again!

Flavoring suggestions: 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract plus 2 tsp. maple syrup per quart container makes a great vanilla flavor. 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup on it's own makes a great maple. For fruit flavors, I think I would use plain or maple or vanilla and add the fruit by the serving.

For greek yogurt, simply lay a piece of cheese cloth over a strainer placed in a bowl (bowl should allow strainer to sit with room between it and bottom of bowl and leave in the refrigerator to strain overnight. We made a delicious sweet whipped labneh (Lebanese cream cheese) from our strained yogurt this morning to eat with our granola. I'll share that recipe later, with more labneh ideas!

XO, Debbie