My friend, Juvonda from Hoosier Heartland Alpacas, shared her yogurt recipe with me. She incubates hers in her oven, and it works perfectly. My oven won't let me set it at such a low temperature, so I wanted to figure out another way. After much thought, I settled on trying to do it in my "Wonder(ful) Cooking Bag." It worked perfectly! Here is what it looked like when I opened it all up this morning:
And here is Juvonda's recipe:
Homemade Yogurt
1 gallon whole milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt with live cultures
Over medium-low heat, heat the milk in a stainless steel kettle to 185 degrees F (85 C)
Remove from heat and allow to cool to 115 F (46 C)
Whisk in 1/2 cut plain yogurt, thoroughly.
Cover with lid and either put it in your oven at 115 F (46 C) overnight, OR, into a cooking bag like above or wrap it up a lot with fluffy quilts in a basket or box.
Let it sit at least overnight. Longer is fine.
Pour into glass jars or a glass bowl, cover and refrigerate.
That's it! Easy Peasy.
Be sure to save 1/2 cup yogurt for your next batch.
I see she makes a gallon at a time? Do you? We only do a quart, sometimes 2 quarts at a time. I prefer regular yogurt over the thicker Greek style.
ReplyDeleteI did make a gallon this time. If I want to make less, I ferment it in quart jars in a basket linked with a heating pad set to low and then covered well with towels. It is awfully good yogurt. Athanasia, how do you ferment your yogurt?
ReplyDeleteI do it the same way I warm my bread dough, in the microwave. Our unit is over the stove so I just turn the light on and it warms it enough. I also have a 30+years old Salton brand yogurt maker that holds ceramic cups. I feel that that is wearing out though because the yogurt has been thinner. My daughter received a very nice maker from her in-laws last Christmas that is round like a crock pot and you can put individual containers in or one large.
ReplyDeleteI remember making yogurt back in college when I lived with an aunt and uncle. I used the stove because it had a pilot light in it that kept the inside of the oven just at the right temperature.