We eat a lot of yogurt in this house. Sometimes it is in smoothies or drizzled with honey and granola or (if you are Little B) the best finger food a girl can shove in her mouth. Little B hates milk; so yogurt is one of the easiest ways for me to make up for that in her diet. For me, it is one of the few dairy items that my stomach can tolerate (oh ice cream, how I miss you!).
Yes, yogurt is always in our fridge. But yogurt can be expensive. And finding a full-fat version is sometimes challenging. Plus, the store bought variety usually has a lot of sugar, too. So after reading an inspiring post over on The Frugal Girl, I decided to give this whole homemade yogurt process a whirl.
The first attempt was a complete failure. Little B was running around too close to the stove demanding attention. And because of that the yogurt-making instructions became more like guidelines. My yogurt ended up completely liquid, smelling like boiled milk. So if you try this out for yourself, make sure you follow instructions exactly and, better yet, have someone else wrangle your child away from the stove top so that you can focus.
The first time seemed intense to me, but I think that it was because it was the first time and the 1-1/2 year old crazy little that lives with me. But the second time was much easier. Once you get the basics down and know that you can accomplish the task at hand, the whole process is much less intimidating. Now I could do it in my sleep. Okay, that is a lie. But I could probably do it with a 1-1/2 year old crazy person screaming "mama, up!" at me the whole time.
Here are my notes based on my first attempt being a failure and the second being a success.
Now, let's talk about the result. The result is awesome! It tastes a little different than store-bought, a bit of an extra tang to it. But it is good. For Little B, I mix in a spoonful of homemade jam and she devours it. It tastes good with granola. And because it is plain, I find that I am using it more often in other dishes in place of mayo or sour cream. The best part, I can do this process about once a month and have yogurt stocked in our fridge while saving money. Hooray!
Yes, yogurt is always in our fridge. But yogurt can be expensive. And finding a full-fat version is sometimes challenging. Plus, the store bought variety usually has a lot of sugar, too. So after reading an inspiring post over on The Frugal Girl, I decided to give this whole homemade yogurt process a whirl.
The first attempt was a complete failure. Little B was running around too close to the stove demanding attention. And because of that the yogurt-making instructions became more like guidelines. My yogurt ended up completely liquid, smelling like boiled milk. So if you try this out for yourself, make sure you follow instructions exactly and, better yet, have someone else wrangle your child away from the stove top so that you can focus.
The first time seemed intense to me, but I think that it was because it was the first time and the 1-1/2 year old crazy little that lives with me. But the second time was much easier. Once you get the basics down and know that you can accomplish the task at hand, the whole process is much less intimidating. Now I could do it in my sleep. Okay, that is a lie. But I could probably do it with a 1-1/2 year old crazy person screaming "mama, up!" at me the whole time.
Homemade Yogurt
(adapted from The Frugal Girl)
1/2 gallon of milk
1 cup yogurt starter (I recommend a small cup of plain name brand yogurt)
1. Place glass canning jars, lids, and screw-tops in a large pot. (I used whatever we had on hand which was mixture of pint and quart jars.) Fill so that an inch of water covers the tops of the jars; 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 the milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185-190 degrees Farenheit(90-90 Celcius).
3. Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120 degrees fahrenheit(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 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.
Here are my notes based on my first attempt being a failure and the second being a success.
- Watch that thermometer like a hawk.
- For the starter, use yogurt that has never been opened and stick to name brand plain flavored. I did not do this on the first attempt and it did not turn out as well.
- Add enough warm water to the cooler that the jars are about 3/4 submerged, but not high enough that the water line hits the lid. I have a big cooler so 1 gallon did not seem like enough.
- Definitely put the lid on the cooler. Little B took the lid off without me knowing and I think the temperature was not warm enough to make the transformation from liquid into creamy yogurt.
- For me, I also let the yogurt sit in the water filled cooler for almost 8 hours. I did that based on instructions on other yogurt-making sites. For me, that worked better than 3 hours.
- For your first attempt, make sure you have plenty time and ample room to make a mess. This is not an undertaking that I would recommend multi-tasking with, at least not until you have done it a few times.
Now, let's talk about the result. The result is awesome! It tastes a little different than store-bought, a bit of an extra tang to it. But it is good. For Little B, I mix in a spoonful of homemade jam and she devours it. It tastes good with granola. And because it is plain, I find that I am using it more often in other dishes in place of mayo or sour cream. The best part, I can do this process about once a month and have yogurt stocked in our fridge while saving money. Hooray!
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