I have almost always been a yogurt lover. Even in my 20′s, I would eat yogurt almost every single day. When I used to think of making my own yogurt, I was mystified. Why would people do this when you can just buy it at the store? This was at the same time that I’d buy the low fat artificially sweetened yogurt in the small containers. Now I realize that those little containers that are advertised to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet, aren’t healthy at all. I was just giving myself a dose of powdered milk and artificial sweeteners. I may not have even received any good ‘live cultures’ because they would pasteurize the milk AFTER they add the cultures, which reduces the good bacteria in the yogurt because they are heating the milk up to pasteurize it.
This is when I switched to buying organic whole yogurt that says on the label that it’s cultured after pasteurization. I also made sure that no powdered milk was in the ingredient list (some organic yogurt still has powdered milk in it, including Nancy’s brand).
Why is powdered milk so bad, you ask? Well, I was surprised too. And I was even more surprised to learn that the dairy industry regularly adds powdered milk to nonfat skim, 1% and 2% milk, but they don’t have to list it on the label (I’m not sure why). Powdered milk contains oxidized cholesterol, which can cause heart disease, not whole, real milk. For more information on this subject, please go here.
I used the ‘cooler method’ to make the yogurt, as detailed by Cara from the Health, Home & Happiness blog here. Cara did a great job documenting the cooler method process in pictures, and it worked! I cultured my half gallon of raw milk for about 24 hours, and only changed the water out one time. I was left with tangy yogurt that I could actually eat plain, since I’m getting used to tangier foods on their own. It’s more of a loose yogurt, not a super gelled, but some whey could be drained off to obtain a thicker ‘Greek-style’ yogurt, if desired. And you can then use the whey to lacto ferment grains and vegetables, such as sauerkraut.
Here are some alternatives to eating yogurt in the small containers:
- I now mix my yogurt as I eat it. If I’m packing a lunch I have 8 ounce containers with lids to use.
- Sometimes I mix yogurt with homemade applesauce. The applesauce that I made during the summer is so sweet (naturally from the fruit) that I don’t need to add any more sweetener at all.
- I like a dollop of homemade strawberry jam in my yogurt. Other jams or jellies would be good too. This makes it easy to control the sweetness of your own yogurt, depending on what you want that day.
- A good breakfast: soaked granola over yogurt with just a drizzle (teaspoon or so) of grade B maple syrup.
- Use yogurt where you’d use sour cream. I like a dollop of plain yogurt on my curried lentils, it cuts the heat in the curry and the sourness goes well with the lentils.
- My girls love smoothies, which are a great way to get yogurt into kids. They blend frozen berries, plain yogurt, a raw egg or two, some vanilla and Rapadura or maple syrup as sweetener. If I’m there I will also drizzle in some cold pressed flax oil to give them some additional omega 3 fatty acids. This is their most favorite after school snack.
Yogurt
Rating: 4 forks (key)
Difficulty:Â Easy
Page in NT: 85
Ingredients:
1/4 – 1/2 cup good quality commercial whole milk plain yogurt, or yogurt from a previous batch
1 quart whole milk, can be pasteurized, but preferably non-homogenized
a candy thermometer
Preparation:
To follow the ‘cooler method’ (no candy thermometer needed) detailed by Cara from the Health, Home & Happiness blog please go here. Or follow directions below.
If you’re using raw milk please see alternative directions below…
The final product will be thinner than commercial yogurt, but is easy to make. Gently heat the milk to 180 degrees. Stir in the yogurt and place in a shallow glass, enamel or stainless steel container. Cover the container and place in a warm oven (about 150 degrees, or a gas oven with pilot light) overnight. In the morning, transfer to the refrigerator. Throughout the day you may want to drain some of the excess whey off the yogurt.
If you’re using raw milk: place the quart of milk in double boiler and heat to 110 degrees. Remove 2 tablespoons of the warm milk and add it to 1 tablespoon yogurt (commercial or from the previous batch). Stir well and pour into a quart sized wide-mouth mason jar. Add a further 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons yogurt to the jar and stir well. Add the rest of the warmed milk. Cover tightly and place in a dehydrator set at 95 degrees for 8-12 hours (in your turned off oven with the oven light on may also work). Transfer to the refrigerator.
Photo courtesy of KirrilyRobert on Flickr
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad it worked!
Congrats on the yogurt!! I agree – it’s easy & so much cheaper!
I have found that when I use non-homogonized milk, the yogurt is much thicker. I was suprised to find this in my experience & thought I’d share it.
I love yogurt from raw, whole milk. I use a mesophilic culture (thermophilic is the kind you have to keep at a certain temperature) which cultures right on my countertop at room temperature!
I’ve found that my regular electric oven with the light on (it’s an appliance bulb, also the kind used in lava lamps) is enough to make a nice yogurt if left for about 18-24 hours.
I tried using the cooler method, but I’ve got a kitten with a thing for my styrofoam coolers and he invariably gets inside, knocks the whole thing over, and I end up with warm water and milk all over accompanied by happy cats licking up the bounty.
Question: I have been making my own yogurt using a crockpot… cooking 1/2 gallon raw milk on low for 2 hours, turning it off for 3-1/2 and then mixing in a 1/2 cup of starter yogurt and letting it sit overnight. After that I’ll strain it to make the yogurt thicker and make use of the whey.
Is this beneficial? Or should I be doing it different?
Thanks for any help!
My 5 year old son likes the yogurt in small containers. So when I make yogurt at home put some in half pint canning jars especially for him. Maybe the appeal is that it is convenient, or it could be that the small jars look cute. We mix in homemade jam like you suggest.
Hi there. Are the temperatures farenheight or celcius?
Hi Jo… these temps are in fahrenheit… sorry!
I love using yogurt in place of sour cream too… I stir a big dollop into chili and definitely use it in a lot of curry dishes!
Another thing I’ve been doing is blending it with fresh flax oil using a hand blender. Then I blend in organic berries, chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, or whatever else I have on hand. It’s a great cancer-fighting breakfast dish and so delicious too!
I ordered Greek yogurt cultures from culturesforhealth.com a week ago and it’s supposed to arrive today… sooo excited to finally try making my own!!
I use the cooler method when I make yogurt but I don’t use nearly as much starter as 1/2 cup. 1/4 cup would be the most I’d use for a quart of milk. It also really helps to cool the milk after it’s heated to 180 (I can only get pasteurized, non-homogenized milk right now). If I stir in the starter while it’s that hot it seems to end up much runnier. I have also found my yogurt ends up thicker (without extra straining) if I culture it in 2 pint jars instead of 1 quart jar. I’m not sure why but it works for me
Thanks to your post on crackers, I am going to haul up the dehydrator this week and make them again. I LOVED those crackers and have no idea why I stopped making them, except maybe that I loved them too much
I found a website cheesemaking.com. They sell a “yogotherm” a simple insulated container for making 2 quarts of yogurt at a time. I ordered one off their website, so we will see how good it works. I can’t wait to try it out! I looked at the cultures they sell and most appear to contain dry milk. I know you can use yogurt you already have as a starter, but do you ever use culture you bought?
Yes, I actually just bought a yogurt culture from Cultures for Health that you can culture on the countertop. I just started using it and it is a lot easier than the heating method, but they all have their pros and cons. I am going to try out a few more of their products and then do a future post on the cultures. that yogotherm sounds cool, let us know how you like it!
Yum! I do homemade yogurt too, and just “upgraded” my method to using an actual yogurt maker. I love it! I usually end up straining mine so that it’s thicker.
I find that adding in more yougurt (as the starter-usually 6-8 oz to 1/4 gallon milk) makes the over-all product thicker and reduces the need to strain it.
Also, I use raw milk and put the yogurt into mason jars in a cooler for 7 hours with about 4 cups almost boiling water). It works well. Do I need to be concerned about the temperature being maintained in the cooler for health safety reasons?