Making it yourself has some great benefits. It is more cost-effective, assuming you use your maker enough, especially if you opt for organic. You can control the ingredients. Instead of dyed, processed, sugared up fruit-like fillings, you can add real fruit. Yogurt is full of helpful bacteria that help with digestion, a daily serving is recommended. Also high in protein.
In French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano, she makes yogurt and recommends it for a healthy diet. She has an article called The Magic of Yogurt and states that yogurt is good for weight loss and for preventing weight gain. This leads me to believe that yogurt is indeed Magic.
That’s right, today we are inducting a new food to the Magic Food Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Yogurt for being magic.
I bought my making supplies at Glengarry Cheesemaking which is the best and only source in Canada for all your cheese and yogurt making needs. If you are in the U.S. The New England Cheesemaking Company is a good source.
I have the Yogotherm yogurt maker. Pretty basic. It’s a 2 litre pail that fits into a insulated thermas. It was about $70. There is no need to buy this fancy maker. The internet has many homemade makers ideas that will work fine.
You also need yogurt culture. It is possible to use a bit of already made yogurt as culture but I’ve never tried it. Culture can be found at the sources above or at a health food store. I can even find it at the grocery store. There are different kinds, so experiment with them. Find one you like best. There is also kefir culture, which is great if you are going to use in smoothies.
Then you need milk. I’ve tried cow and goat.
Milk must be heated, then cooled. Each culture has slightly different heat requirement. It is extremely helpful to have a thermometer. A candy or meat thermometer won’t work unfortunately. You can buy one from the sources above or find one at a kitchen supply store. The thermometer needs to be able to measure 60 to 200 F, 10 to 100 C.
You heat the milk. Wait for it to cool and add the culture. Waiting for it to milk to cool is the most tedious part.
I also like to add honey or maple syrup and vanilla.
Then put it in the yogurt maker and wait. Usually about 4 to 6 hours.
We’ve also tried buttermilk and sour cream. These require a different culture. The sour cream is out of the world good!!
How do you eat your yogurt?
Jenn is up tomorrow with Whole Grains! Stand by vegetarians and vegans!
I make my own yogurt too! It’s so easy, and cheap. I use leftover yogurt to start my batches, and a heating pad. It works well for me, and I do use a candy thermometer…lol.
I put yogurt on all kinds of stuff. I really like plain yogurt with black beans – the organic yogurt tastes like sour cream when they’re mixed together. My favorite way to eat my homemade yogurt is with my homemade granola cereal – it’s yummy!
I’ve never used a previous batch of yoghurt as a starter. I should learn as I am forever out of culture.
[...] b) New ideas about preparing foods, like our Eggs post. c) The Make Your Own recipes, BBQ sauce or Yoghurt. d) Our 2 cents about food and food procurement, as in Sometimes I Judge or A Sucker Every Minute [...]