If you like yogurts, you will love this recipe for making them yourself without colorant and preservatives! You will need a cooking thermometer to measure till 100ºC, although we can use some alternatives.
Ingredients
- 1 liter milk
- 1 natural yogurt
You can use whole, low-fat or skim milk depending on your preferences. Although be aware that whole milk gets more thickness yogurts than skim milk. You can optionally add dry milk powder to get more creaminess (3 spoons)
Recipe
1. Heat the milk to 85ºC (185ºF). If you do not have a thermometer, you will know the milk is ready when it smokes and raises a bit (without boiling).
2. Let cool it down until to 45ºC (113°F). If you do not have a thermometer, just let the milk cool until it is just warm to the touch.
3. Pour the yogurt into the warm milk while whisking gently.
4. Transfer the mixture to the pot. 5. Let the yogurt set. The yogurt must be in a warm temperature (45ºC) for 6 hours. I usually wrap the pot with some table clothes and inside a plastic bag and store it in the boiler room. It is not a temperature of 45ºC but it may work. You can also keep it in the oven at 45ºC.
6. Cool the yogurt. Put the pot in the fridge for at least 3 hours before eating the yogurt. You can keep the yogurt in the fridge for 10-15 days.
Once you start making your own yogurt, you can use some of each batch to culture your next batch. Just save 1/2 cup to use for this purpose. Usually, after a few batches, it will not cultured as the beginning, so you will need to get a new yogurt at the shop.
Alternatives
Flavored Yogurts. Using the same recipe you could add, for example, some fresh strawberries and 3 spoons of sugar in step 3, and mix all together with the natural yogurt. The rest of the steps would be the same.
Jam Yogurts. They are even easier. You just need to add some flavored jam at the botton of the pot before pouring the mixture in step 4. The rest of the steps are the same.
Yogurt Maker. If you start loving the yogurt world, you may even consider to buy a Yogurt Maker, the process to make yogurt would be even easier because you do not need to heat the milk.