Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Homemade Yogurt
Ingredients -----------------1/2 gallon of milk 1/2 cup of powdered milk one container of commercial yogurt with active cultures Method 1. Heat Milk: Heat 1/2 gallon of milk to 185 degrees F. Any type of milk will work, e.g. fat free, 2% or whole. This should take about 25 minutes in a 500 watt microwave. The temperature can be measured with a candy thermometer. Don't boil the milk. 2. Add Powdered Milk: Stir in 1/2 cup of powdered milk. The additional milk solids make the yogurt thicker. 3. Cool Milk: Let the milk cool to 115 degrees F or less. The yogurt does not seem as sour if you cool to 105 degrees. Once again, you can measure the temperature with a candy thermometer. This should take about an hour and a half at room temperature. 4. Add Culture: Add one container of commercial yogurt with active cultures. Vanilla or plain works best. Other flavors will add color and flavor, though they will work too. 5. Strain Mixture: Strain mixture with tea strainer to remove excess dry milk. Otherwise the excess dry milk will leave grit at the bottom of the bowl. 6. Incubate Culture: Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at 105 to 115 degrees for 8 hours. If you turn your oven light on and set the bowl in the oven all night, this should work. Wrapping the bowl in a bath towel with a heating pad turned on low will also work. Don't let the temperature go over 115 degrees or the culture may be killed. 7. Cool: Place bowl in refrigerator. After a few hours the yogurt should be cool and ready to eat. |
