Kitchen Chemist
How to Make YOGURT
Is yogurt good for you? Just consider all the ads you see on television touting the benefits of probiotics or “good bacteria” for digestive health.
What’s more, a recent study from the University of Toronto claims that probiotics might also help to soothe anxiety. Turns out there is a partnership between your brain and gut called the “enteric nervous system.”
The Basics
Like kefir, yogurt’s fermented-milk cousin, yogurt is produced by beneficial microorganisms which turn milk sugar into lactic acid. The acidity gives yogurt its familiar taste and causes milk proteins to coagulate, forming the creamy mouthfeel we associate with yogurt. Unlike kefir, though, yogurt fermentation takes place at a temperature somewhat higher than room temperature.
Getting Started
Culturing yogurt means being able to maintain a temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 hours or more. To maintain the proper temperature, you could use a Yogotherm; it’s a plastic pail that fits snugly into an insulating styrofoam jacket. See Photo 1. This method produces a one-quart batch of yogurt.
For several years now we have, instead, used a Euro Cuisine yogurt maker; this appliance uses a tiny amount of electricity to maintain the proper temperature for yogurt cultivation.
The Euro Cuisine yogurt maker comes with 7 jars and lids so we have automatic portion control. After incubating, we simply screw the lid on each jar and refrigerate our grab-and-go yogurt.
Cost Savings
Store bought yogurt is often featured on sale. But even compared to sale prices, homemade yogurt saves you money. We estimate that each cup of yogurt we make at home costs us less than 20¢.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
8 STEPS TO MAKING YOGURT
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1.With constant stirring, to prevent scorching, heat a quart of milk in a saucepan to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. We use reconstituted nonfat dry milk but any type of cow’s milk will work.
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2.Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
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3.Add some yogurt starter culture and mix well to distribute. You can use grocery store yogurt that has “live cultures,” freeze-dried yogurt culture purchased at a health food store or online, or a couple ounces of yogurt from a previous batch of yogurt that you or a friend made.
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4.Pour the inoculated milk into clean container(s) suitable for the incubator you are using. See Photo 2.
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5.Allow the yogurt to incubate for 8 hours or longer. We generally make yogurt in the evening and let it incubate overnight.
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6.When the yogurt is done, it will be gelled. See Photo 3.
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7.Cover the yogurt and refrigerate. We generally make only one quart’s worth of yogurt at a time; that way, our yogurt is always fresh. Spoilage has not been an issue for us, in part because we use up our yogurt so quickly.
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8.Reserve a portion of yogurt to use as your starter culture for the next batch of yogurt you make.
© 2010 Cynthia E. Field, Ph.D. All rights reserved worldwide.
What You Need
milk • yogurt starter • incubator
YOGURT TIPS
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Use a food thermometer to monitor the temperature of the milk. You don’t want to boil the milk. Nor do you want milk that is insufficiently cooled; temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit would kill the good bacteria in your starter culture. -
If you like a thicker yogurt, add an extra 1/4 cup of nonfat dry milk to the saucepan of milk you are heating.
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Experiment with sweeteners. We have added blueberry syrup from Trader Joe’s as well as fruit preserves, jams, and fresh or frozen fruit to our yogurt just before eating it.
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Enjoy your yogurt in desserts, in lieu of sour cream on baked potatoes, or even in baking. One of our favorite brownie mixes - No Pudge - calls for plain yogurt as the only ingredient. Trader Joe’s has their own version of this brownie mix; it’s called “Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Fat Free Brownies.”
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Learn more about the history of yogurt, sometimes spelled “yoghurt.”
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Ask your vet if yogurt would be good for your pet. Our toy poodles love yogurt and we give them a teaspoon or so every day.
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Try making yogurt from other kinds of “milk” besides cow’s milk. We have enjoyed goat’s milk yogurt, soy milk yogurt, and even coconut milk yogurt. But we’ve not made these at home. If you are living with lactose intolerance, you might be able to enjoy yogurt, especially the non-dairy versions.
Homemade yogurt costs little and tastes great.
Photo 2. After milk has cooled and yogurt starter culture has been added, carefully pour the liquid into clean jars or other suitable containers.
Photo 3. Finished yogurt will be “gelled.” It’s ready to refrigerate and enjoy!
Photo 1. You can incubate yogurt without electricity in a Yogotherm.
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