Homemade Yogurt

Yesterday I received an e-mail from my cousin.  I am so thankful for a cousin who finds domestic endeavors as exciting as I do.  My family consumes a lot of yogurt.  Any recipe I have seen in the past has always called for a yogurt machine to process it.  I couldn't justify buying a yogurt maker because I felt it would take too long to see the savings of making it on my own, especially since I have gobs of coupons for it.  I made this recipe the day I received it and this morning I got to try it.  All I can say is "YUMMY!"  I don't think I will ever buy store bought yogurt again.  To start the yogurt for the first time you need 1 6-8oz container of plain yogurt (I used Greek style).  After the initial batch you no longer need to buy any, you just use 1 cup of what you made.  You also can make it organic by using organic milk and organic yogurt.  This makes plain yogurt, but after it is made you can add anything you want to it.   Just make sure you reserve 1 cup before you add anything so that you have some for the next time you want to make it.  This recipe was originally found at a web site called jchandmade.typepad.com

What you will need:  A heavy bottomed large saucepan, large bowl with a fitting lid, 1/2 gallon of milk (I used whole, but you can use what you want), 1 6-8oz container of yogurt, 3-4 bath towels (not pictured).

The first thing you need to do is rinse the saucepan in hot water and then dry it off.  Pour the milk in the saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until it just barely begins to simmer (not boil) and there is a skin on top.

Take the pot off the heat and let the milk cool until you could put your finger in it for 10 seconds.  It still needs to be hot, but not scalding.  Pour the milk into the bowl and add the yogurt.  Stir, not whisk, the yogurt into the milk until it is mixed in well.

Put the lid on the bowl.  Place one of the towels on the counter and put the bowl on top.  Wrap the bowl up with the towel and place another couple on top.

If you are making this at night like I did, you leave it on the counter overnight.  You could also make it in the morning and let it sit until the evening.  Either way, after at least 8 hours, take the towels off and remove the lid to see if it has thickened and "gelled".  You can tell if it worked by the way it looks-it should look like yogurt.  If it doesn't, you may let it sit longer.  Before you put it in the refrigerator, take a paper towel and soak up any water that is resting on the top.  You will have to change out these paper towels for new ones.  Put the lid back on and put into the fridge.

After you scoop out everybody's servings, smooth out the yogurt again and place another paper towel on top to absorb more of the water and create that creamy thick top. I took mine out of the bowl and into a plastic storage container with a lid at this point.  Once it stops absorbing water, you don't need the paper towel anymore.  Don't forget to reserve a cup for your next batch before you add anything to it.    I added a teaspoon of homemade mixed berry jam and granola.  This supposably gets better with time.  I can't wait to find out! (Update:  I have discovered that keeping a fresh folded up piece of paper towel on top of the yogurt makes the yogurt get creamer as time goes on.  I just change the piece of paper towel every time I scoop some out.)