A lot of people have been asking me how I make my yogurt. I like the thick, creamy Greek yogurt.
So here's what you need:
a quart jar
a small container of plain Greek yogurt (I use organic, you can also use regular yogurt)
2 TBS powdered milk
3 1/2 cups milk, scalded (I'll explain below)
a warm place to put your jar, I have a yogurt maker, but I'll give you some suggestions below.
I use raw milk so I have to scald my milk. You have to do this because you want to choose the kind of bacteria that grows in your milk(whatever is in your starter). You do this by placing the milk in a heavy pan and heat it, stirring constantly, till little bubbles form around the edge of the pan. You have to cool the heated milk down to at least 110 degrees. I usually just test it with my finger and when it's the same temperature as my finger, I know it's ready. Now, I add the powdered milk and the plain yogurt. You don't have to add powdered milk, but it makes it thicker and adds calcium and protein. Mix them up thoroughly, put a lid on the jar and put it in a warm place for at least 7 hrs.
Here are some ways people have kept their yogurt warm:
Wrap your jars in a heating pad on the lowest setting.
Place the jar in your oven with the light bulb on or if you have a gas oven with a pilot lite that's usually warm enough.
Place your jars in a cooler with a jar of hot water and replace the hot water every hour.
After 7 hrs check your yogurt. If it's sour enough (you get to decide, some people like it really sour, I don't) you place the jar in the fridge for 6 hrs to stop the growth of bacteria. I usually leave it in the fridge overnight.
Next you line a colendar with a coffee filter and put the yogurt into it. Set the colendar into a bowl, put a plate on top of the colendar and set the whole thing back in the fridge. Keep checking it till it reaches the right consistency, nice and thick. If it gets too thick, just mix some of the whey from the bowl back into the yogurt till you get the right consistency. You can add anything you want to this!! I add a little Kefir milk to mine to make it even healthier.
