Making yogurt at home is easy, requires little active time and saves loads of cash. You can easily culture a whole gallon of the most fancy schancy yogurt as long as the container reads "Contains Live and Active Cultures." Here, the traditional yogurt recipe gets ramped up a little with the addition of whey. I also like to add vanilla and Sweet N' Low Brown to the milk once it has cooled a little.
*You will need a candy thermometer*
1 quart of low-fat or 2% milk
2 scoops unflavored or vanilla whey or soy protein powder
4 oz of plain commercial yogurt (with live and active cultures)
heavy bowl
thermometer
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 100 F or start a hot water bath set-up. Alternatively, heat your oven in the warming mode and shut it off as you start to cool the milk (see below).
1. First, heat the milk in a large saucepan, stirring constantly so a skin does not form. Heat the milk slowly until it comes to a simmer and keep it there for about 5 minutes. DO NOT allow the milk to go into a rolling boil or burn.
2. Take the pan off the stove and allow the milk to cool to about 115 degrees F. The milk should not fall below 100 F during the whole culturing process.
* Heating the milk to a simmer is important because it kills harmful/competitive bacteria, so you healthy cultures can dominate!*
3. While the milk is cooling down, purée 2 scoops of whey with 1cup of warm milk; blend until smooth and add back to the milk mixture.
*Avoiding clumps here*
4. Once the temperature has reached 115 F, whisk in 2 tablespoons of store-bought yogurt containing live and active cultures with ½ cup of warm milk; add the mixture the rest of the warm milk and stir thoroughly.
5. Cover the bowl, wrap it in a towel. Place the entire thing in the oven which has been turned OFF for 20 minutes or so. Alternatively, you may also fill a small cooler with hot tap water and set the yogurt dish inside.
*I like to use a stain-resistant tupperware, since it is heat resistant and has a cover that thats. Also, the tupperware eliminates the need to transfer the yogurt when it has finished culturing*
* Adding the yogurt starter before the milk is adequately cooled will kill your little friends! So be patient!*
6. Allow the yogurt to set for 4-8 hours; the longer you leave it the 1) harder it will be; 2) more acidic it will be (sour); and 3) more healthy culture it will contain.
Serves 4
Nutrition (with 1% Milk): 170 Calories, 16g carbs, 20g protein, 2g fat
Random Side Note: If you happen to happen to be overtaken by an impulse-spending urge and buy a bag of cultured cheese, do not melt it! This will also kill the cultures that are useful!
