Green Living
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Homemade Yogurt
Do any of you make your own yogurt? I made it years ago, but I can't remember how exactly I did it. There are lots of variations on the internet, so I'm just looking for some recommendations. TIA.
Re: Homemade Yogurt
Homemade Yogurt (makes 4 quarts, which will keep for at least a month in the fridge)
For vanilla yogurt directions, see the bottom of the recipe.
Ingredients
1 gallon of milk
1 cup yogurt starter(you can use a small cup of plain Dannon or Yoplait yogurt, or you can use a cup from your previous batch.)
1. Place four quart glass canning jars, four lids, and four screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.
2. Pour one gallon of milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185-195 degrees Farenheit(90-90 Celcius).
3. Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120-130 degrees farenheit(50-55 degrees celsius)
4. Stir one cup of yogurt starter into the cooled milk, using a whisk. Stir well to ensure that the starter is thoroughly incorporated into the milk.
5. Pour the milk into jars, and put the lids and bands on. Place them into a cooler.
6. Heat one gallon of water to 120-130 degrees F(50-55 degrees C) and pour into cooler.
7. Shut cooler lid and leave in a warm place for three hours. When the three hours are up, place the yogurt in the refrigerator.
To make a delicious vanilla version of this yogurt, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the four quarts of milk when it?s cooling in the sink. Then stir in 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla, depending on your preference, and proceed as usual with the recipe.
Man, that looks complicated.
My recipe is simpler, and has always worked fine.
1. Scald 2L milk - heat in a pot on the stove to 185 *F. Do not boil. Do not use ultra-pasteurized milk (UHT).
2. Cool to about 110 *F.
3. Mix in some plain yogurt (anything with "live bacterial cultures"). About 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup.
4. Pour into a clean casserole dish.
5. Put casserole dish in oven with light on, no heat. Leave 6-8 hours. Eat yogurt.
Going to guess it does vary by oven.
I have successfully done it in four different locations with no problem. I'd probably try the crockpot method before I bothered with the water in a cooler method.
If you have radiators or an old stove with a pilot light those things work well for the heat source.
We bought a yogurt maker about 2 years and it's been a great investment because we make a batch about 2x a week. It came with 7 glass jars and lids, so it's super convenient since it's already in individual portions. We just make plain and put a spoonful of all-fruit or some other jam in the bottom to sweeten it. When fruit is fresh we cook some down with sugar and add that instead. Super easy.