Yogurt - Good Milk Gone...Better

Yogurt is kind of like a sweet, tangy pudding. But, good for you. Topped with nuts, grains, and fresh fruit, you've got yourself a protein-packed nutritional breakfast. But, there are some pitfalls to having yogurt on a regular basis.

I've been trying to eat a whole lot healthier (no, it doesn't always work). One of the first things I started doing to that end was to read labels. Certain things were out. If the ingredient list started looking more like the recipe for an explosive device rather than food it was a no go. If it contained the words 'fortified' or 'enriched' it was gone. Bye bye. Learning how to read labels and decipher hidden meanings deserves a post all its, so I won't get into it anymore. Suffice to say, there are plenty of yogurts on the shelf that will stay there.

So, you navigate away from the negatives and start looking for some positives. That puts you on the path to 'all-natural' or 'organic'. And that tends to raise the price.  Slap those words on a package and it seems you can charge two to three times the cost. The reality is, yogurt only needs two ingredients: milk and bacteria (and maybe honey). And you want those cultures Aliiiiiiive. So, what do you do? Make yogurt yourself. 

If you're serious about this, you will have to buy some yogurt. But just to get started. After that, you just set some aside from each batch you make to start the next batch.

And this time, AB's process is quite near flawless. And, it's easier to do then using a yogurt starter. Or, better, a bit more fool-proof. And, in my humblest of opinions, tastier. Either using AB's method or using a yogurt starter, in the long run it will be cheaper than running to the store and buying a week's supply of yogurt from the store. Also, there will be seven less plastic cups a week taking up space in a landfill near you.

Also, be patient during the fermentation process. And, whatever you do, don't stir the mixture. You'll end up with something that looks like this:

 

It resembles cottage cheese in both appearance and texture. But not flavor. It wasn't bad but, it also wasn't right. Trust me on this.

 


Recipe Link

Note: The recipe I linked to is the "official" Food Network recipe which differs from the one from the show. The one from the show works 100% of the time. I've listed it out below.

What You'll Need:
1 Quart 2% Milk
1/2 cup powdered milk
2 Tbls honey
1/2 cup yogurt, room temperature

What You'll Do:
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk the milk, powdered milk, and honey. Heat over medium heat until temperature is between 165 to 180 degrees. 

Let mixture cool to 115 degrees. Whisk 1 cup of milk mixture with the 1/2 cup of yogurt. Whisk that into the milk mixture.

At this point...follow the directions in the recipe.