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Step-by-step DIY yogurt recipe inside
The way I make yogurt is: heating a half gallon of milk up to 180-185 degrees. Immediately remove from heat and let cool down to 120 (but no lower). Take a few scoopfuls of the warm milk and ladle it into a measuring cup or a bowl. Then add your yogurt starter or existing yogurt to the measuring cup/bowl, using maybe 2 tablespoons of yogurt as a starter? I just wing this step. I've had good luck with Stonyfield, still experimenting with true cultures from a cheesemaking store. Once you've mixed the yogurt into the small amount of milk you've measured out, pour the whole thing back into your pot of warm milk. Doing it this way allows the culture to be properly/evenly distributed across the entire pot of milk.
Now take a small cooler and fill it up with 120-125 degree water. Normally, I just use the hottest water that comes out of our tap because I know our water heater is set to 125. If you keep your water heater higher or don't know how hot it is fill it up with the hottest water you can stand to leave your hand in for an extended period of time (I'm just saying that as a guage, don't actually stick your hand in scalding water. :-)). If it's scalding to you, it'll kill the culture. You do want it to be hot.
Take your milk with the yogurt mixed in and put it into jars or something that can be seal air and water tight. Submerge the jars completely into your hot water in the cooler. The water should be over the lids and they should be completely submerged. Cover the cooler and let sit for 4-8 hours. The longer you let it sit, the tangier it'll get. I normally pull it out at 5 1/2 to 6 hours but the person I originally got this recipe from left it overnight because she liked it really tangy. Once you pull it out, it'll be firm but not store-bought firm. Take the jars and leave them in the fridge overnight. The next morning they'll be firm -- very close, if not exactly firm, as the store-bought stuff.
If your yogurt is not firm, one of several things happened:
- However you were keeping your yogurt warm failed. Above 120-125ish, the culture will die. Below it, they'll go dormant. They need heat.
- Your culture was bad. Some of the store bought brands don't have "live, active cultures." You want the container to say this because you need the living culture to set up shop in your milk.
- Your culture (yogurt) had some junk in it. The more extra ingredients you see in your "starter" store bought yogurt, the more it could interfere with the culture. Some things I've read suggest that even Stonyfield is bad for using as a starter but I used it and it worked just fine.
Another trick that some people do is add dry powdered milk to their warm milk. It will thicken the end product considerably. I've never found it necessary, doing what I said above turns out pretty thick and excellent tasting yogurt. You can find info on how it works by googling around.
To make greek yogurt out of DIY yogurt, line a strainer with cheesecloth, set the strainer over a large bowl, and fill the strainer with yogurt and put in the fridge overnight. The liquid drains away and you're left with much firmer yogurt, like the greek yogurt I used to buy in tubs from the grocery store.
Re: Step-by-step DIY yogurt recipe inside
Hmmm...I keep being tempted, but this seems a lot of work, especially since I'd strain it afterword!
I do the prep steps, then pour it into a casserole dish.
Turn the oven on for a couple minutes on the lowest temp, then turn it off. Turn the light on - the bulb provides a bit of heat.
Put dish in oven. Leave 8-12 hours. Eat yogurt (or strain for greek).
No, as long as it says "active bacterial culture" somewhere on the label. I've never bought yogurt that didn't say that, though.
This takes DH about 15-20 minutes to do, which I don't think is too bad for over a week's worth of yogurt.
Flavourings and sweeteners go in after the culturing - so the end of this process.
His way really does sound like much more work than it needs to be, to me. The easy way has never failed me.