Fresh Yogurt
Photo: Annabelle Breakey
You can make easy yogurt at home: Made fresh, it's nothing more than milk with a few tablespoons of storebought yogurt stirred in, which, after several hours of sitting around, turns all of the milk to yogurt. And it's full of probiotic bacteria (aka live cultures), thought to encourage healthy digestion.
Because fresh homemade yogurt--unlike commercially produced yogurt--has no gelatin, it has a soft, loose texture; if you want it to be firmer, you can boil the milk for 10 to 15 minutes before cooling it, to evaporate some of the water. (The yogurt will have a slightly "cooked" taste, though.) Or you can drain it in a cheesecloth-lined colander, set over a bowl in the fridge, until it's as thick as you like. If you'd like it to be tangier, just let it develop for a few more hours in its warm environment before chilling.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Pour milk into a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. When milk foams up, pour into a bowl and put bowl in a sink of cold water. Cool milk to 110°.
Step 2
2
Whisk 1/4 cup 110° milk with yogurt in a bowl, then whisk into milk. Pour into 2 large glass jars, cover, wrap jars in towels, and put in a cooler. Add a few more jars filled with hot water to cooler to keep milk warm, and cover cooler. Let milk sit 8 to 12 hours to set (it will look and taste like yogurt when it's done). The longer it sits, the tangier it gets; chilling stops the process. Yogurt keeps, chilled, up to 1 week.
Ingredients
1 qt. milk (full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat)
2 tablespoons very fresh plain regular or Greek-style live-culture yogurt (full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat)
Directions
Step 1
1
Pour milk into a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. When milk foams up, pour into a bowl and put bowl in a sink of cold water. Cool milk to 110°.
Step 2
2
Whisk 1/4 cup 110° milk with yogurt in a bowl, then whisk into milk. Pour into 2 large glass jars, cover, wrap jars in towels, and put in a cooler. Add a few more jars filled with hot water to cooler to keep milk warm, and cover cooler. Let milk sit 8 to 12 hours to set (it will look and taste like yogurt when it's done). The longer it sits, the tangier it gets; chilling stops the process. Yogurt keeps, chilled, up to 1 week.
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