Eggs Dairy: Yogurt 07 by Recipe Cottage

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	Yogurt 07

		Yogurt 1/2 gallon 2% milk 1/2 cup starter 3.7oz dry milk (by weight) 2/3 cup sugar (or to taste), optional vanilla bean, optional In a large pot, mix fluid milk and dry milk. If desired, add sugar and vanilla bean (left whole). You cannot use vanilla extract with alcohol as the alcohol will kill the starter culture, but (surprisingly) the sugar will not affect the starter at all. The dry milk is what allows the yogurt to become as firm as commercial yogurt--without it you will have very soft yogurt--nearly liquid. Either instant or non instant milk will work as long as you weigh it. For volume measurements see the above website. Put the large pot of milk into an even larger pot of very hot water. You want the milk to heat as quickly as possible to avoid bacterial growth, so preheating the water is important. If you have a double boiler big enough, you can use that, but I don't, so this is how I do it. <smile> Heat the milk in your makeshift bain-marie to 165 deg F, and keep it at that temp for a few minutes. Over 180 degrees and the milk will scald and make funny tasting yogurt. Cool to 115 degrees F. Cool the milk immediately by putting the pot into a bowl of icewater. Once again, you want the temperature change to be fast to avoid bacterial growth. If you have remembered to bring your starter to room temp (I always forget to take it out of the fridge), cool the milk to 110 degrees (And remove the vanilla bean if you have used it). Add the starter. Starter can be commercial yogurt, but make sure it has live bacteria in it and no stabilizers. Of course, if you make it regularly, you can set aside some for the next batch every time you make it. It may be easier to mix the starter with a little of the milk mixture before putting it all in the pot--avoid using a whisk as yogurt does not set well if there is too much air in the milk. Keep it warm--110 degrees F is ideal. Under 90 degrees, the culture stops working; over 120 degrees it dies. At 110 degrees, I can have yogurt ready in 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Just how you keep the yogurt-to-be warm is up to you. Some options include: Put the final starter/milk mixture into a jar/jars and arrange them in a "nest" of blankets with a heating pad on low or medium. Place jars in a pan of 110/115 degree water and put them in a gas oven with the pilot light on. (The water will cool, so 115 is okay) Place pot in gas oven with pilot light on (takes longer as the temp drops--which makes the yogurt more tangy.) And my personal favorite--fill a cooler with enough 110 degree water to cover the jars, then cover the top and wait. Wait for yogurt to set, then refrigerate and enjoy! The yogurt set is pretty obvious, especially with the dry milk in the recipe. It will have some resistance when touched and will hold together when you tip the jar. It will take anywhere from 2 1/2 to six hours or more to set. More than eight hours and something is wrong. Try not to jiggle the yogurt before it has set--it can make the yogurt set up soft. All the recipes I ever read caution to sterilize everything ahead of time. I never do, and I have had no problems. If there is contamination, the yogurt will not set though, so you may like the extra insurance of boiling all your utensils and jars.