I love yogurt. I don’t mean fruit-on-the-bottom cups or that Activia junk that fixes your colon. I mean good old-fashioned plain yogurt. I eat a lot of it and I buy a lot of it. And I’m an idiot for it. There’s no reason to buy yogurt except once because it’s incredibly easy to make. In fact, I don’t even know the right way to do it and it still comes out right every time. Here’s what you need:
- Yogurt
- Milk
You need a spoonful of yogurt as a starter to turn the milk into yogurt. I heat a quart of milk – you can play around with amount of milk but I always use whole milk because it tastes so good – in a big pot until it gets a little warm. My mom told me that the best way to measure when to take it off to heat is to stick your pinkie finger in there and if it’s almost hot it’s ready. While that doesn’t sound very scientific in practice it works. Then you can let it cool down or, if you’re like me, forget to let it cool down. It doesn’t matter. Mix a heaping spoonful (a soup spoon) of yogurt with some of the milk in a bowl. Then add the rest of the milk. Cover with some foil or plastic wrap, put a towel around it (I don’t know why) and stick it in the oven. Leave overnight. Or if you’re like me, forget about it the next morning and take it out after 24 hours. It doesn’t matter. Then put it in the fridge until chilled and enjoy.
The yogurt comes out creamy but not that thick. It’s not runny either but it’s not going to be as thick as what you might get in the grocery. Don’t worry – this is the way yogurt is supposed to be.
Some tips: If the oven is a little warm it helps the yogurt. I try to make yogurt when I’ve used the oven earlier in the evening. The yogurt will be of the same general quality and taste as the starter. If you use Dannon you’ll get Dannon-like yogurt so use a yogurt you like. For the yogurt in these pictures, I used that trendy Greek strained brand that’s all the rage. The quality of the milk is pretty important too – obviously. And use the yogurt you make as the starter for the next batch.
Now… what to do with all that yogurt? Well… usually I just eat it cause I love plain yogurt. But if you’ve been brainwashed into thinking plain yogurt can’t be good – blend it together with some fruit. Add it to some granola – preferably home-made because it’s so much better that way. Make ayran – Turkish yogurt drink. That’s about 1 part yogurt to 1.5 parts water and salt to taste. Make lassi by using mango juice instead of water (and salt). Add chopped cucumber, dill and a bit of water to make a summer soup (drizzle with olive oil and top with an ice cube). Lose the water and add garlic to make a sauce. Marinate chicken breasts with yogurt and garam masala. Strain the yogurt with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and use it like spreadable cheese. Use your imagination.
Yogurt is great.
is it cheaper to buy your own yogurt? i think i looked into it once and milk is so expensive that it was more cost effective to buy yogurt. of course, then you might have gelatin or other nasties mixed into it.
Well… a quart of good milk costs about what? 4.50 at most? This is organic whole milk. Regular milk is cheaper. That makes a lot of yogurt. Think of that whole quart turned into yogurt. I know that the Stonyfield small cups cost a dollar each and Dannon cups cost about 75 cents each. I feel like the amount of yogurt is at the very least 10 of those cups. You definitely cover the costs with the amount of yogurt you make. The added expense is when you add extra stuff like fruit but in all honesty most flavored yogurts are disgusting. We just don’t admit it.
There is also the issue of whether you eat that much yogurt. If you are like me and eat a lot it makes sense economically because you can keep using the previous batch as a starter for the next and all you pay for is the milk. If you don’t eat much yogurt then it doesn’t make as much sense.
Can you give at least a sense of quantities of milk to use?
Also the towel thing and even the oven thing seems pretty superfluous – if you’re right about making yogurt being as forgiving as you say it is… tell you what, I’m gonna use some greek yogurt as a starter, some Silk plain soymilk as the milk, cover it at room temperature on top of my counter, and get back to you with the results.
Of course, this could also be a recipe for a disaster…
OK sorry for the late reply… I didn’t see this comment. So for the amount of milk, I use a quart. And I think the reason you cover with a towel and put it in the oven is to keep as much heat from escaping as possible. I think it’s heat that gets everything working so you have to have warm to hot milk. And that’s probably why a warm oven helps. But keeping it on all the time might lead to curdling.
I saw a Good Eats episode the other day where Alton Brown makes yogurt but as usual I think he goes a little overboard. You definitely don’t need a thermometer. I’ve definitely made yogurt without a preheated oven. And you definitely don’t need half a cup of starter. I usually use two tablespoons.
But like I mentioned, the yogurt I make isn’t thick like store-bought stuff. But it’s good enough for all the applications I mention and straining is pretty straightforward.