Making homemade yogurt

Yep, it’s official – I’ve lost my mind. (Pfffft to all you people who thought I’d lost it long ago.)

I love yogurt. Most mornings I’ll have a cup of yogurt with fresh fruit and granola. Unfortunately, I’ve become a bit of a yogurt snob and, when you’re staying in a town that only has about 130 people, you don’t get a lot of choices at the local “mom and pop” stores.

I did a little research on how to make homemade yogurt and it’s actually pretty easy. You don’t need any fancy equipment except for a thermometer and a couple of airtight jars. (Besides, all those expensive yogurt making machines just take up room – and I don’t have any to spare.)

Essentially, you heat up your milk to 180° then let it cool to 110°, add your yogurt starter (which can be any plain yogurt as long as it has live cultures or a package of yogurt starter.), place your yogurt into jars (I used 2 2-quart airtight glass jars) and place in a cooler with hot water (about 120°) and let it sit for 8 – 24 hours. The longer it sits, the more tangy it’ll become.

I let mine sit overnight and today I’m making it into “Greek Yogurt”. You just place the yogurt into a colander lined with cheesecloth or, as my mom used to due when making certain types of jelly, hang it in cheesecloth over a bowl.

The liquid at the bottom of the bowl is whey.  You can use it for a variety of things including smoothies and juices or add it to soup, but I doubt I’ll use it. lol.. Guess I’m not that frugal after all.