Home Made Yogurt
We love yogurt. But it can get expensive in remote places. Its very cost effective and easy to make your own. We discovered making yogurt cruising through the Bahamas. The individual 4 oz cups sold for $3 or more. But making it in bulk meant we had some every day and kept our cruising budget in check. For a exceptionally thick yogurt, add 3.2 oz of powdered milk to whole milk prior to heating...
Equipment
- Pot that will hold half a gallon of milk or about 2 liters
- A warm place that maintains 100 F or 43.3 C
- Plastic Container to hold 2 liters or 1/2 gallon
- Candy Thermometer or "Laser" Thermometer
- Cheese Cloth
Ingredients
- 2 Liters Milk I prefer whole milk, but have had success with Skim
- 2 Tbsp Plain Yogurt or Yogurt Starter
Instructions
- Place milk in pot on stove and heat to 180 degrees F, or 82.2 Celsius. Careful do not burn it
- Turn off heat and cool to between 115 to 120 F
- When cooled to above transfer to plastic container and stir in the starter or plan yogurt
- Place in warm place for 5 hours or overnight to achieve desired consistancy.
Notes
Simply heat the milk on the stove to the desired temperature. Remove from heat and cool to under 120 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, transfer to the plastic container, then stir in the starter (or plain yogurt).
It has to culture for several hours. The yogurt usually takes about 5 hours. The longer it cultures the more "sour" it will taste.
When its done culturing you can optionally strain out the whey to produce a more dense yogurt. I hang mine in cheese cloth for up to 2 hours, as I like Icelandic style skyr yogurt. The beauty of making it oneself is that you can have the exact consistency you desire. After straining refrigerate.
Serve the with a little honey and fresh fruit. Enjoy!!!
Oh... Sometimes, for whatever reason, the milk will not set fully and is more of a very thick liquid. We will let this sour up and use it in recipes that call for Sour Creme or even Butter milk.