Homemade Yogurt- It's Easier Than You Think

My son loves yogurt,

and we've been going through it like crazy over here.

I have no major issues with store bought yogurt;
there are some really great options out there.

However, for my one year old,
who doesn't need "low fat"
and who doesn't need all that sugar, fake or otherwise,
the options are few.

So I've been pulling out the yogurt maker and making it myself.

If you've made yogurt before, you know how easy it is.

There are a lot of pros to making your own yogurt:

• it's considerably less expensive (you're only ingredients are milk, culture, and optional flavorings)
• you can control what you put in and what you leave out.
• it's better for you (see previous point)
• it takes minimal effort, but you'll feel really accomplished when you're finished. :)

A word on yogurt makers:

I have one, and I love it. The main perk of having one is that it sets your milk and culture at a very consistent temperature, and most of them set to a certain time (the difference in times differs a little depending on the kind of milk you use and how thick you want it to be).

Some of them make one batch. Mine, however, makes seven little jars which I both love and hate.

Love: I can take one serving really easily out of the house,

the jars have these numbers on the top so you can set it to the date that it was made, helping you keep track of how long it should be consumed

Hate: it's an extra (however small) step to pour the cultured milk into seven different vessels,

if I want to flavor with fruit or whathaveyou after the yogurt is made, I have to do it seven times.

All things considered, though, I'm happy with it.

Note: if you don't have a yogurt maker, looky here!

Alton Brown always comes up with creative ways to avoid buying extra appliances.

If you're thinking of making yogurt consistently, though, I highly recommend your own machine.

Here's my recipe (if it even qualifies as a recipe):

Pour 6 cups of whole milk into a high-sided saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer (bubbles just coming up the side of the pan) for about 2 minutes.

*Keep your eye on it! You don't want this to boil over, and it can do that really quickly.

Take the milk off of the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Whisk in 10 Tablespoons of powdered milk (this will thicken the yogurt).

Pour 1 cup of milk into your culture (about 3/4 C)

*For your culture, you can use some yogurt that you've already made, or you buy yogurt from the store, just make sure it's plain and when you look at the ingredients it should list "live cultures" somewhere.

Whisk together.

Then pour culture back into milk and mix well.

Pour mixture into your yogurt maker and set timer to 10 hrs.

I let mine go overnight.

Then refrigerate,

And done!

For flavorings, you can add any number of things:

fresh fruit,

preserves,

vanilla,

honey,

the list goes on and on.

See? So easy.

I hope you give it a try!