Homegrown Yogurt: A Photo Essay with words…
Once upon a time, I read French Women Don’t Get Fat. Actually, I read it twice. Once, when it first came out and was burning up diet book shelves all over; once, a few years later, because I remembered liking her attitude about food. I liked her theory that one should love every morsel they eat and walk everywhere they go, and be stylish, drink champagne, and love pastries and yogurt. Now that’s my kind of diet book.
Most of the recipes in the book are a bit, ummm, not all that appetizing in their description. But the idea that fresh, homemade yogurt should be a principal player in every stylish woman’s life struck me as so beautiful in its simplicity.
I am a stylish woman. I love yogurt. Finally, some direction in life!
I am embarrassed to say that before this book the idea of homemade yogurt had never occurred to me. Yogurt was something I bought in the dairy section, somewhere between the cottage cheese and the 2% milk. Although I loved it with all my heart and soul, I never really considered how it came to be. Perhaps it just leaked out of special yogurt cows.
Of course, I ran right out (and by ran, I mean I logged on to Amazon) and got myself a yogurt maker. That is what Madame Guiliano suggests. That is what I did.
I would find out later, through friends, of let’s say slightly more exotic ethnic backgrounds, that you don’t need no stinkin’ yogurt maker to make yogurt, all you really need is a pot, some milk, and a bit of yogurt to start you off.
But I have a yogurt maker, and therefore I will make slightly more fancy-shmancy, individual-serving-sized batches of yogurt .
I have had this wonder making machine for a couple of years now, it’s lovely to wake up in the morning after setting my batch of milk-y goodness to solidify overnight, but honestly, most of the time it’s really just much easier to go out and buy yogurt. But easy is not the name of the game to a true foodie. My commitment to homemade yogurt is renewed. Most specifically because it tastes so good. So clean, so fresh, so unprocessed! It may not be the easiest process in the world, but from a sensual perspective homemade yogurt is worth the time invested.
Please allow me to regale you with my Yogurtrific photo-essay:
A quart of milk brought up to a pre-boil. You know, that not quite bubbling point. If you use low fat milk, like I do, adding a touch of powdered milk as a thickener is a good idea.
Removing the almost-boiled milk from heat, and letting it cool down to slightly warmer than room temperature. This takes a while. Milk doesn't cool all that quickly apparently.
At somepoint, in your excruciatingly long wait for your milk to cool measure out 1/4 cup of yogurt. Now this may seem counterintuitive seeing as how you are currently making yogurt, but you need all those fancy bacteria to get all up in your milk for the real party to start.
Now, here's where things get downright scientific. Mix your slightly-warmer-than-warm milk in with your yogurt. Stir till it's all mixed and pretty...
Now--mix that milky concoction in with the rest of your warm milk. Stir so all that bacteria feels comfortable in its new home.
Pour your almost-yogurt into your yogurt maker. In this case I have a 8-canister jobbie, but most yogurt makers just make one large batch.
Set it and Forget It! (Hmm, is that trademarked?) I like to cook mine for 10.25 hours, but depending on your preferred thickness level cooking time differs. I like it thick.
10.25 hours later: Your very own congeled dairy product!
Now it's time for a cool down. Once they're done cooking, let them set in the fridge for a few hours. Depending on the tightness of your storage container homemade yogurt can last a few weeks with proper refrigeration.
Well there you have it, adventures in homemade yogurt making. If I had it to do over again, well I probably would get a standard, cheaper yogurt machine that just makes one large batch. All those little cups, albeit convenient for yogurt on the go, are a bit annoying to manage.
Of course, I could just forgo yogurt maker all together and just use a good ole pan and fire to make my favorite breakfast treat, but where’s the fun in that. I do love me some kitchen gadgets.
[...] yogurt. For those of you that wonder how I do that, I wrote about the process on my other blog, Forkful of News. I use a yogurt maker, but you can definitely make it stove top. I just love kitchen gadgets. [...]