Long before we got Perfect Flavor up and running, making fresh ice cream, cheese and yogurt, we were making yogurt at home.  There are many, many reasons why we thought that making our very own yogurt at home was important.  From a crunchy point of view, we loved the idea of making lots of our own food from scratch.

From a healthy point of view, we were discouraged for some time over the state of commercial yogurt.  Turn over almost any commercial yogurt in the store and you’ll see ingredients way beyond just milk and cultures (which are the only ingredients that should be in there!).  You’ll see ingredients like gelatin, pectin, corn starch, powdered skim milk, chemical dyes, HFCS and more!  All of these ingredients are completely unnecessary to the production of yogurt, but are added by big, BIG commercial producers of yogurt to ensure a “consistent” product every time that is smooth, thick, and creamy.  What does this mean exactly?  Well, it means that dairy products are inconsistent by nature.  Depending on the type of cow, the ever changing fat content of the milk depending on the cow’s diet and the season in which the cow was milked, and the cultures used.  In fact, yogurt made with just milk and cultures can often turn out slightly different every time it is made.  PLUS, real yogurt, like the kind you find in Europe or the kind you make at home, is MOST often much thinner than the kind we’re used to from Yoplait, Dannon, or other brands.  Adding unnecessary ingredients like pectin, gelatin or other stabilizers is only added to increase thickness, and like I mentioned before, consistency.  If you see a yogurt on the shelves with any other ingredients besides milk and cultures, then in my opinion it is not a true yogurt.

When we began making yogurt and selling it at Perfect Flavor, we encountered almost immediately many customers who were very confused when they saw how “thin” our yogurt consistency was.  It was only when we encountered chefs, the family members of dairy farmers, europeans, and a small number of educated local consumers that we got the response we were looking for.  Finally, they said, here was a yogurt that was the real thing!  And we agreed.  Now, the question is, how can you achieve this real yogurt at home for less money and more fun than buying it at the store?  Easy.

There are two main ways to make yogurt at home.  The first is using an incubator: a small piece of equipment that you can purchase for little money online.  The second is using an oven.  I have used both methods and find them to both be effective!

I first came across the act of making yogurt at home using an incubator when I lived in France.  Needless to say, I was in absolute awe of the fact that I could watch my French hostess pour milk mixed with culture into small glass jars placed in an incubator at night, and in the morning have delicious yogurt in time for breakfast.

When back from France but visiting my dear friend, Samira’s, Bengali mother in Toronto, Ontario, I was curious about the delicious yogurt we ate at her home at almost every meal.  It was then that Samira’s mom taught me how to make homemade yogurt in the easiest way possible: at home with the help of an oven.

For the incubator method, your equipment needs are a little higher, therefore you’ll want to give yourself a week or so to procure your necessary tools.  You’ll need a medium saucepan, a working thermometer whose range starts at at least 100 degrees, great quality raw milk or organic milk (the less processed and pasteurized, the better!), an 8 ounce cup of plain, unsweetened yogurt as your starter (choose Brown Cow, Stoneyfield Farm, or Seven Stars–better yet: a local brand is BEST, but remember to look for the brand with the right ingredients.  You do not want to start your yogurt off on the wrong foot with unnecessary ingredients) and of course an incubator.  My current favorite yogurt incubator is Euro Cuisine.  eurocuisinemakerFor this model, make sure to purchase a set of extra glasses on amazon.com so you can make a batch of yogurt while one is still in the fridge.  I like this model in particular because not only is it easy to use, but it’s got glass jars.  With the constant questions raised with the health risks of plastics, especially plastics that are coming in contact with your food while being heated, go with glass and rest assured that you’re not adding any phthalates into your diet.  This incubator is also very easy to clean and has only two buttons: an on/off button and a timer to use for setting how long your yogurt incubates for.  Here’s the recipe:

Take 1 quart of milk, place in your saucepan and heat until the milk reaches 110 degrees F.  This will happen sooner than you think, so stay near the stove and keep an eye on your thermometer.  Remove your milk from the stove and have a pitcher on hand.  Spoon all 8 ounces (1 cup) of your yogurt into the pitcher, then little by little, add the warm milk while whisking until you have a smooth yogurt starter/milk combination.  The small amount of yogurt you have added will be very happy to be mixed in with the warm milk, and once incubated, the cultures present in the mixture will begin to multiply and thrive, turning your milk into full-on delicious yogurt.  Pour your milk/culture mixture into each glass jar, tighten lids, and place in the incubator.  Allow to incubate for as little as 10 hours and as long as 16 hours (the more time the yogurt is in the incubator up to 16 hours, the thicker it will be and the stronger the taste).  I make this yogurt after dinner, allow it to incubate overnight, and place in the fridge in the morning.  The yogurt is ready to be eaten once it is done incubating-at room temp or cold.  Just for your own personal knowledge, the incubator keeps the yogurt at a constant 108 degrees F.  Do not be worried about food poisoning here!  Even though you wouldn’t normally leave milk out on the counter overnight, introducing yogurt culture actually combats the growth of negative bacteria that might make you sick.  Think of it this way: yogurt culture is good bacteria that kills off the bad bacteria naturally.  This does not mean that you would want to never refrigerate your yogurt, just that in the 10-16 hour window that it’s not refrigerated is not going to hurt you.  In fact, those cultures present (probiotics) aid in digestion and help the digestive system to break down all of the food you eat in a healthy, natural way.  This yogurt, once refrigerated, will last in your fridge for up to one month, however this all depends on the freshness of your milk and yogurt starter used.

Now, for those of you interested in trying your hand at yogurt making before committing to a piece of equipment, making it at home in your oven is a great way to start.  Here’s what you’ll need: an oven, a heating pad, a towel, mason jars with lids, a saucepan, a thermometer, milk and 8 ounces of yogurt culture.  Here’s the recipe:

Repeat process above by bringing 1 quart of milk to 110 degrees F, removing it from the stove and adding yogurt culture and milk together in a pitcher.  Meanwhile, prepare your oven: Turn your heating pad on its lowest setting and place the heating pad in your oven to gradually warm the oven.  Make sure you can still create a draft-free environment for your yogurt by ensuring that you can close the oven door with the cord of the heating pad sticking out the side.  Clean your thermometer and place it inside the oven but not on the heating pad.  This is to make sure your oven is maintaining the proper amount of heat for incubation.  Your desired temperature is 108 degrees.  If this means that you’ll need to increase the heat to medium, then do so accordingly.  Pour your milk/starter mixture into your clean mason jars, loosely screw on lids, and place in oven on top of your towel but not directly on the heating pad.  The heating pad should just be sitting somewhere in the oven.  Put a note on the outside with not only the time you put your yogurt in, BUT that NO ONE should turn on oven while your yogurt is incubating.  If the yogurt reaches 120 degrees or higher, the culture will die and you will not make yogurt.  This yogurt, if made at night, will also be ready in the morning, however you may want to experiment with it to let it go a little longer than 10-16 hours in order for you to reach your desired consistency.  Periodically before bed, check the thermometer in your oven by gently opening the oven door, or better yet, just by looking through the window, to make sure the temp is staying at an even 108 degrees F.  If you must open the oven door, do not jostle your mason jars.  Yogurt does not like to be moved at all while it is incubating.  If it does move, the consistency will be chunky and not smooth.

Troubleshooting:

If your yogurt, once incubated, seems to thin, refrigerate it first and the yogurt should become thicker in the fridge, especially if it’s got fat in it.

If your yogurt has lumps, this means that when you combined your milk and yogurt starter, you did not whisk thoroughly enough and distribute the cultures throughout the milk.

Any other questions?  Contact me!

We like to add a bit of organic sugar, raw honey, fresh fruit or wheat germ to our freshly made yogurt.  Have fun with flvoring yours OR just eat it plain!

Here’s to your health!!!