Homemade Yogurt

This is something I have always wanted to try, and if I had known how easy it was going to be, I would have tried it a long time ago. The ingredients couldn't be any simpler, the steps are very straightforward, and the end result is absolutely marvelous. I came across the recipe in Stephanie O'Dea's Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (it is also included in More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, which I like even better) - but you can also find it on her website, A Year of Slow Cooking.

O'Dea recommends making this on a day when you are going to be around, as there are different steps to follow throughout the day. I started it at 8:30 am and put it in the fridge to drain around 9:30 pm. When we woke up this morning, we had a huge bowl of the thickest, richest yogurt imaginable.

A vertical spoon!

The recipe is included in full here. A few things to note:

- After the eight hour stretch, the yogurt is ready to eat.  If, however, you follow the suggestion to drain the yogurt, you end up with Greek-style yogurt, as thick as sour cream. This is mentioned in the notes if you read all the way through the recipe, but I'll detail it again here. Line a strainer with a few paper coffee filter and set it over a big bowl. Pour the entire contents of the slow cooker into the strainer and stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This separates the whey, which can then be discarded.

- I used full fat Vitamin D milk. From what I read on the website, you can use lower fat milk but then you might need to thicken it up with gelatin. Your call.

- The yogurt lasts for 7-10 days in the fridge, and you get a lot of it, so prepare for lots of smoothies. And the cost effectiveness is pretty startling, as detailed on O'Dea's site:

• One 6-pack of yo-baby is $6.50 (24 ounces) 
• One gallon of almost totally organic milk is $3.00 (128 ounces) 
• One gallon of yobaby would be $34.67 or 10 times what it cost you to make it, more or less.

So go make a batch this weekend, and throw together some granola while you are at it!


Enjoy!

Mmmm....smoothie! (cup design can be found here)