Homemade Yogurt

 For Christmas Santa brought Aaron and I a yogurt maker.  Yes, that right, Santa... we were very good parents this year!  We whipped up some yogurt in our new Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker and MAN was it fantastic.  We wanted thick yogurt so we did the boil method to create a nice thick consistency.  I purchased yogurt starter which are only good for a few uses.  We are planing to purchase starter that will live forever if taken care of properly form cultures for health.  I will say that the starter we used created a delicious and creamy yogurt that even Megan will eat without any added flavour or sugar!  We have only made the one batch so far but I am very pleased with the product so far and would highly recommend making your own yogurt.  Not only do you control the ingredients but it is far cheaper than any store bought yogurt you can find.

Seriously... how yummy does this look!

The How-To:
Warm up your milk medium-low until a temperature of 160-180 is reached.  For thicker yogurt heat to 180 and hold for 30 minutes.  Remove saucepan from heat and monitor the temperature. When the temperature hits 110-115º F, add your starter to one of your yogurt maker jars. Add some of the heated milk and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan a little at a time, stirring well.

Pour mixture into your jars, cover securely with lids and place jars into your yogurt maker. Put your jars into your yogurt maker which simply is a temperature controlled vessel and follow cooking instructions. It will take 6-10 hours, depending on tartness and firmness desired. When done, chill jars in refrigerator for a couple of hours before eating. The delicious yogurt will keep for up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator. 


Also, if you want to make yogurt but don't want to purchase a yogurt maker (range between $20-$100; ours was $50) you can; here is a link to get your started.