As you've probably noticed from our weekly grocery list we eat a lot of yogurt in our house. My son eats the full fat version, usually yo baby and I have a love affair with
Fage or Greek yogurt. My husband isn't a fan of eating it straight, but he does eat it. I substitute yogurt for sour cream and mayonnaise in many recipes. It's also great to add to chili or curry dishes if you find they are too hot.
Yogurt is incredibly healthy too, and new research shows it just may add years to your life. It's loaded with calcium, phosphorous, b12, potassium, protein... Yogurt boosts your immune responses, lowers
ldl and raises
hdl cholesterol, it increases fat loss, helps prevent osteoporosis, helps prevent and heal arthritis, protects against ulcers and reduces the risk of high blood pressure among a list of many other things.
While store bought yogurt is good, nothing can compare to homemade yogurt. And, since we're all about pinching those pennies, it's cheaper! You don't need any special equipment but I do own a yogurt maker just because I don't like to sit around checking the temperature of my yogurt all day. I bought a
Salton on Amazon for about $20, well worth it. It doesn't have any bells or whistles and you don't need them. All you need it to do is incubate your yogurt at a constant temperature.
I use yogurt for smoothies, in recipes, mixed with flax seed meal, topped with granola, mixed with berries, you can even use it to make frozen yogurt. I started giving my son yogurt when he was seven months old and mixed just about any baby food puree possible into it. He LOVES it.
See :)
Isn't he a cutie :) And, I'm in total LOVE with his eyes. I have hazel eyes, my husband has green. Somehow this child ended up with one green eye and one blue eye! But, I digress. Back to the yogurt...
The process for making homemade yogurt is easy, this will make about one quart of yogurt.
4 cups of fresh, organic milk (your choice of full fat, 2%, skim or fat free)
1/3 cup of powdered milk (I always use non-fat) or 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (this is your thickener)
1/2 cup organic room temperature yogurt, unflavored (this will be your starter)
2-4 tablespoons of honey or sugar (optional)
A pot and a stove :)
A candy thermometer
Something to incubate the yogurt in.
The first step is to slowly heat your milk, powdered milk (or gelatin) in the pot until it reaches 175-180 degrees, stirring often. If you want a sweeter yogurt add your sugar or honey during this step as well. You do NOT want the milk to boil, this will ruin the flavor of your yogurt. Once you reach 175-180 degrees remove the milk from the heat and continue to stir for a minute or so to prevent the milk from scalding. You want it to foam, but not boil. You do need to be sure you reach this temperature though, otherwise your yogurt won't set.
Next, allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees. If you pour the starter in now you'll kill the bacteria. Once the milk has cooled add the starter.
Stonyfield Farms yogurt seems to be the best starter I've tried, it incubates the fastest. I've also used Fage which creates a great flavor of yogurt but takes longer to incubate. You can use yogurt from your first batch of homemade yogurt but don't use yogurt from a second batch as it likely won't have enough bacteria in it to work. Stir the starter in gently until it incorporates completely.
Place the milk in a pre-heated yogurt maker for 6 to 12 hours. It can take as little as 3 hours though, it just depends on how firm you want your yogurt and what flavor you are wanting. It is VERY important that this container is clean and sanitized otherwise you run the risk of introducing unwanted bacteria to your yogurt. If you don't have a yogurt maker you can leave the milk in a pot and put it in the stove set at a low temperature (or with just the bulb on) or anywhere else in your house that will keep it at a constant temperature of around 110 degrees. Some ideas are to wrap the pot in a down comforter and set it on a heating pad. I've just found that purchasing a cheap yogurt maker was much easier. This way, I can make yogurt overnight, while I'm sleeping. I like sleep.
When your yogurt is done you should see a clear liquid at the top, called whey, and the yogurt will have set.
I pour off the whey as I prefer thicker yogurt but you can mix it back in if you'd like. You can use the whey to replace liquid in quick breads, it makes for wonderful southern biscuits. The longer you allow the yogurt to incubate the stronger the flavor will become. You can play with different time frames, different amounts of powdered milk, different fat varieties of milk and different starters (including powdered starters) to get the flavor you want. You can also flavor your yogurt with vanilla, honey, agave nectar, fruit purees, the possibilities are endless.
If you like Greek yogurt you have one more step to go. Once you've poured off the whey you need to strain the yogurt with a cheese cloth for one to two hours. Then, scrape the yogurt off the cheese cloth into a glass jar and voila, Greek yogurt! You can also add seasonings to this and use like a cream cheese spread.
Refrigerate and serve! YUM!
So, for sweeter thinner yogurt add sugar to the milk before heating and incubate for a shorter amount of time.
For thicker yogurt incubate longer, use a bit more powdered milk and/or you can use a bit of unflavored gelatin.
For tangier yogurt, incubate longer.
This is the recipe I follow for my son, it's similar to the full fat version of stony field farms:
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup natural sugar
Mix the top three and heat to 180 degrees. Allow to cool to 110 degrees and stir in:
1/2 cup organic room temperature starter (I use stonyfield farms for his yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla
Add to preheated yogurt maker and allow to incubate 6 to 8 hours. Once you refridgerate for a while the cream should rise to the top, just like stonyfield farms does. Add your favorite fruit puree (or your childs) and there you go!
Even with the 1/4 cup of sugar this recipe has about 2 grams less sugar than yobaby per 4 ounce serving. All other nutrients are just about identical.
Coming up next... homemade pita bread!
