I've always been enamored with making things from scratch, whether it be food, a bicycle, a sweater.... but I always assumed it would be many hours of labor, unattainable supplies, with subpar results. Don't get me wrong, some projects are extremely time consuming and involved, (see my future hand knitted sweater post in 2014). Recently I was at work and overheard someone talking about making their own yogurt, and thought to myself, WHAT? I CAN MAKE MY OWN YOGURT? I get more excited about these things than perhaps a normal person would, but I was fascinated. I asked so many questions, what one would need, how long it takes, how involved is the process. You would think I eat yogurt all the time by my excitement, but in reality I probably eat maybe 10 single size servings of yogurt a year, at most. Nonetheless, I was ready to try this, I went online, perused many yogurt makers (despite Alton Brown's advice to never buy a one-function appliance)...at an average of $50 each. They have less expensive models that have 7 or so small jars, which through my research it seemed people are less pleased with as they become more of a hassle, and the large single container units seem more preferred. It was hard to justify such a purchase for someone who really doesn't eat yogurt, so I looked more into the mechanics and various recipes. There was also a yogurt "machine" that was electricity free and got rave reviews. Upon closer observation it seemed only to be a thermos. So, that is what I decided to try, at least to start out. IF it is truly worth it, AND homemade yogurt is SOOO much more amazing, THEN I will consider such a purchase.
SO, my experiment begins...
Ingredients:
3 cups milk
3 TBS starter yogurt (I used Dannon plain nonfat yogurt)
raspberry, strawberry, or any other preserves (optional)
raspberries (optional)
Supplies you may not have on hand:
Thermos large enough to hold all liquid (just a regular thermos, see picture below)
Cheesecloth
Candy Thermometer
Put milk in a saucepan with thermometer and bring to 180 degrees. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees, take milk off heat. Add sugar and vanilla, stir. Taste and adjust to your liking. Let milk come down to 115 degrees. (You can speed the process up by putting pan in an ice bath, but it really did not take much time at all for it to come down in temperature.) Next pour 1/2 cup of milk into a bowl or mug with the 3 TBS yogurt. Mix together and combine back into milk mixture. Stir and pour into thermos. Tighten lid, and let sit for 5ish hours (I've also read that it can be made in as little as 3.5 hours). (I inadvertently left it for 6 1/2 hours, as I went out surfing for the day) The time is pretty flexible. The longer it is left to ferment the tangier or more sour it will be. Refrigerate. When serving I added some homemade (not by me) raspberry preserves and some fresh raspberries....it was pretty good.
Once you make your first batch you can use 3 TBS of that as your starter for the next batch, so you don't have to keep buying the Dannon yogurt.
*Fun fact - The reason for the Dannon Yogurt, or any outside starter is that it contains the cultures necessary to turn milk into yogurt, and they easily multiply when given the chance. So when you add them to your milk, at a certain temperature (and this is the reason for the 115 degree temperature as the cultures can not survive or multiply if it is too hot or too cold) the bacteria multiply and turn the milk into yogurt. Maybe it's not water into wine, but still fascinating to me...
Why would I need a yogurt machine? One thing a yogurt machine can do, that I am unsure one can do with said thermos, is it can create probiotic yogurt. If you leave it in the machine for 24 hours it ferments longer and breaks everything down to a point that a large amount of lactose intolerant people can eat it with no problem.
What do I do with the leftover whey?
Not really sure, but found some suggestions here:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/292137-yogurt-whey-nutrition/
What we can learn from my mistakes...experiences.
What I would do next time....I would not add the sugar and vanilla. I would add flavors and sweeteners after making the yogurt. I don't think I would strain out the whey, as I liked the consistency with it, after all I just ended up mixing the whey back in. This way it would be full of all the nutrients and protein the whey provides and I won't dirty an extra bowl and cheesecloth.
Worth it?
I waver back and forth...will i do it again, probably, all the time, certainly not. It was a good experience, interesting to watch. I'm sure in the future i'll try some fun flavors, then again can't I just buy a large container of Dannon and mix in flavor...yes I could! There is a difference, not a huge difference but some. If you like to control the consistency, this is for you, not that you can't just strain the Dannon....nonetheless, I say try it and judge for yourself. It's always fun to say you made your own yogurt!
Will I buy a yogurt machine? Probably not. As neat and fascinating it is, I think there are other things I might spend time making, perhaps a donut machine might prove more useful to me than a yogurt maker. Once you get to know me, you too will agree!
