RECIPE OF THE WEEK: HOMEMADE YOGURT

Happy 4^th of July, everyone!

We’re celebrating by getting together for grilled figs stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in paper-thin slices of prosciutto, fajitas with homemade guacamole and salsa, a big fruit salad, and some homemade ice cream. After dinner, the whole family is heading down to the trail. Something tells me that my niece and nephew won’t make it all the way around, even on their bikes, but Eric and I plan to do two hours. Gotta work off that ice cream!

Now, by special request…. almost every morning, I start my day with a lovely bowl of homemade Greek-style yogurt. Once upon a time I spent a ridiculous amount of money on delicious, fat-free Greek style yogurt , which is thicker than your typical American stuff and a lot better for you. (I like Fage and Oikos brands). Then somebody or other mentioned that it was very easy to make your own, so I looked into it. And it is, ridiculously easy. You don’t need any special equipment that isn’t already likely to be kicking around your kitchen, but like anything else, it’s a lot easier if you have one or two items. One of these is a yogurt maker. The other is a cheesecloth bag.

Yogurt is, essentially, fermented milk. At some point in the distant past, some Middle Eastern goat herder opened up his skin of milk that had been sitting in the sun for several hours, only to find a creamy, pungent substance that turned out to be reaaaaaaaal yummy. And full of all kinds of useful nutrients and flora. That Activia crap they’re selling now? Any good yogurt with active live cultures has the flora that they are pushing as being so good for your digestive system. The problem is that most commercial American-style yogurts are overprocessed, stuffed with sugar and artificial flavorings, and devoid of the nutritional value of the homemade stuff.

There are lots of techniques for making homemade yogurt, but I haven’t tried any of them and can’t speak as to their effectiveness. I’m just not that much of a hippie. I’m more of a techno-hippie. So, I bought a yogurt maker.

Yogurt makers come in all shapes and sizes, but they are essentially nothing more than incubators that keep the milk at a consistent temperature. I did some research and chose the two-quart Yogourmet model, because it’s the least amount of fuss and makes more at a go than most. 

You can make yogurt with just about any kind of milk --- cow, goat, sheep, even soy! --- but I prefer to use organic nonfat cow’s milk. Here’s what works for me:

 Equipment:

Large saucepan
Candy Thermometer

Measuring cup
Whisk
A couple of bowls (one small, one large)
Cheesecloth bag
1-cup size plastic reusable lidded storage cups

Ingredients:

2 quarts nonfat milk
2-3 tablespoons of yogurt containing active live cultures (you can also use a commercial yogurt starter)
1 cup nonfat powdered milk*
1 packet unflavored gelatin*

*Note: if you are using whole milk, you don’t need the powdered milk or gelatin. If you’re using 2%, 1%, or nonfat, you need the additions to add some solids.

Before you get started, fill your sink about a third full of ice water, and set up your yogurt maker according to directions. For mine, I simply fill it with warm water to the level indicated, and plug it in. Put a small bowl containing 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt with live active cultures close to the sink.

In the saucepan, whisk together the powdered milk, gelatin, and nonfat milk, making sure they are thoroughly combined.  Heat until the milk just starts to boil, at about 180 Farenheit, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the burner and place in an ice water bath until the temperature reaches 118-114 Farenheit. Remove the saucepan from the water bath.

Spoon a little of the cooled milk into the bowl with yogurt, mix thoroughly, and return the mixture to the cooled milk. Mix that up real good, too. Then pour it in the inner container that comes with your  yogurt maker, pop on the lid, place in the yogurt maker and pop on the outer lid, and come back in 5-8 hours, depending on how firm you like your yogurt.

I incubate mine for 5 hours, and then I drain it. I like a pretty firm yogurt, myself.

To drain, pour the contents of the yogurt container into a cheesecloth bag and suspend the bag over a large bowl to drain. The longer you drain it, the firmer it will become. I like it pretty firm, so I drain mine anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Drain it long enough and you will have yogurt cheese, nice to spread on your bagel! My friend Karen does all kinds of delicious things with hers, like adding garlic and carmelized onions.

The yellow liquid which is draining is the whey, which contains lots of vitamins and looks like pee but tastes like … well, like a very thin milk. I’m sure there are uses for it, but I give it to the dogs. They love it.

Eric and I decant the finished product into single-serving Tupperware containers (1 cup), which makes it convenient and quickly shows us when we need to make more. We like to eat it with a half cup of fruit (usually fresh organic berries), a handful of walnuts or pecans, and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. It’s a great, healthy meal or snack, and pretty filling, too.

I also use the yogurt in place of sour cream, and though I haven’t yet tried baking with it, I think it would work wonderfully.

Enjoy!

Comments

[David Goldbeck]

Wonderful to see you writing about yogurt cheese. We like it so much we wrote a cookbook and guide to expand its uses. I hope you will allow us to share our enthusiasm: Yogurt cheese (or YoChee as we call it) is a wonderful versatile ingredient you can make at home to improve your own yogurt. Simply by draining it. It has substantial health, taste and cooking benefits (a creamy food which is low or no fat plus high protein and calcium). I hope you will take a look at,” Eat Well the YoChee Way” our guide and cookbook to this important food. We even paid ($1,000) to have yogurt cheese analyzed in a lab for nutritional content. The book really increases the use of yogurt cheese to main courses, soups, sauces, desserts, and much more. (Nutritional content included). Inexpensive durable drainers (starting at $9.) make it easy and clean. Our website YoChee.com contains a free yogurt cheese how - to slide show, nutrition information and free recipes. Thanks.

[kelley]

Thank you so much!! I have to tell you this vacation thing is awful for me. Haven't even read my cards, but this is the recipe I am cooking when I get home. I know I can do this, but it's really hard right now. Thanks for your encouragement.

[sop2mezzo]

I've used it in baking, as a replacement for sour cream in a casserole and it was FABULOUS. Couldn't even tell, plus it gave it that sour cream tang.

It's also amazing for cake frosting. Whip it up with some frozen berries (or a jam, just something runnier- could mash fresh berries), a bit of something sweet like cane sugar or maple syrup and frost away. Top/decorate with slices of fruit and maybe some nuts. DELICIOUS!

[H. Skippety]

The HippetySkippety Test Kitchen (Executive Breakfast and Irish Coffee Division) hereby approves this recipe.

However, the cat snubbed the whey.