Adventures in Yogurt Making

So I've been kind of addicted to Fage's Greek yogurt, which tastes super creamy but comes in non fat version as well. At almost $5 a tub for about 2 cups volume, it was a little expensive. I've started adding more dairy to my diet lately and find myself craving milk, possibly from all the exercise and healthy diet I've engaged in. The question was how to go through a whole gallon of milk without letting it spoil.

Then I thought... why don't I make yogurt?

I looked up how to do it and it was ridiculously simple.

I used:

4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup commercially available plain yogurt
a plastic sieve
Large tupperware
Hot water
A cooler

Basically to make yogurt, I first boiled milk to separate the proteins and make it easier for the bacteria to digest. I boiled the milk until bubbles formed, then let it cool to 115 F. In a cooler lined with a bit of aluminum foil on the bottom, I placed 4 large tubs of hot, just boiled water.

I mixed the commercial yogurt in a little bowl with a small amount of the cooled boiled milk. Then added the slurry to the rest of the milk and stirred well. In the cooler went the closed tupperware of the milk, nestled between the hot water containers. Closed the cooler and 6-8 hours later I had yogurt.

Since I wanted a thicker yogurt I used the plastic sieve (don't use anything metal or you'll kill the bacteria!!!) to strain the yogurt in the fridge. What was left was a thick, almost cotttage cheese like yogurt that tasted very mild in comparison to the commercial version. Since I like a bit more tang, I will probably let the yogurt culture a bit longer next time, maybe 10-12 hours.

Super easy. Cost me less than a dollar for a medium sized tub of yogurt (the gallon of milk was only $1.59). Try it and you'll have tasty home made yogurt too!