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I made yogurt last night. 4 cups of it. It took me about 30 minutes, plus an overnight wait. When I woke up this morning, there it was waiting for me. It tastes just like any plain yogurt you'd buy in the store - a bit runnier, but that can be resolved with powdered milk or gelatin or by straining out some of the whey... Personally, I like it as it is.
I started out getting ready to try The Crockpot Lady's instructions, but as I was heating up the crockpot, I saw this comment from a lady named Judi. My final method was closer to hers than anything else, but slightly modified:- Thoroughly washed my pot. I wasn't too worried about it, since I was going to be boiling, but I figured I'd be careful. Also rinsed out my container (an old 32 oz yogurt container) with boiling water.
- Brought the milk to a boil, watching carefully so that it didn't foam over (which it will do very quickly, if you've never boiled milk before. Be careful.)
- Took the pot off of the burner and allowed it to cool. I'd say it was about 30 minutes, but I continually checked it until it was at "blood temperature" as Judi calls it (stick in a clean finger, and if you can hold it for a count of 15, its OK)
- Removed the skin from the milk (there wasn't much) and added the starter and it to the plastic yogurt container. I used Harris Teeter low fat yogurt. Judi said 1 Tbsp, but other recipes said 1/2 cup, so I went with that. Just stirred it in thoroughly to the milk.
- Wrapped it in two dish towels to insulate and left overnight. It was there for about 11 hours, but the instructions say 8 minimum.YMMV
This morning, voila! Those little creepy crawly bacteria (probably lactobacillus bulgaricus and/or streptococcus thermophilus) had done their jobs perfectly. I added some honey and a spoonful of preserves to taste. I've always been daunted by making yogurt, because the instructions I've seen either require a yogurt maker or very exact temperatures or multiple, multi-hour waits. Obviously, like everything else (see brewing and bread making), this doesn't have to be an exact science.
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