Making your own yogurt is easy

All you need to make your own yogurt is a few kitchen utensils which you more than likely already have. Making yogurt is one of the oldest forms of preserving milk on the planet. We are making yogurt, not building a rocket ship.

Homemade Yogurt (Laban)

Ingredients

1/4 cup non-fat dry milk ( powdered skim milk)

1 quart whole or 2% low fat milk

1/4 cup plain yogurt starter

1. Combine the non-fat dry milk and whole or 2% milk in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir until dissolved.

2. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat to 180F while gently stirring with a whisk.

3. Remove from heat and let cool to 110F or until the milk feels comfortablely warm to your little finger or when dropped on your wrist.

4. Put the yogurt starter in a small bowl and stir in about 1/2 a cup of the lukewarm milk until the starter is completely dissolved. Add the yogurt mixture to the remaining luke warm milk, stirring gently to blend.

5. Pour into individual glass containers or a one quart jar. Put the uncovered containers on a baking sheet in a unheated oven or cover them with clean dry towels and place in a warm, draft free part of the kitchen. Let stand undisturbed until the yogurt is set, about 6 to 8 hours. The lower the percentage of fat in the milk, the longer the yogurt will take to set. And the longer it sets, the more tart the yogurt.

6. To store, refrigerate, covered for up to one week.

SECRETS TO MAKING PERFECT YOGURT

1. Utensils used in making and storing yogurt must be sterile.

2. It is essential to use only very fresh whole or 2% low fat milk.

3. Check the temperature with a dairy thermometer or a instant read thermometer. In the days before modern technology, testing the temperature was by guess and by gosh, but it can also work very well. If you can dip your little finger into the warm milk and count slowly to 10 without burning your finger the milk is ready.

NOTE : For your first batch of homemade yogurt, use PLAIN store bought commercial yogurt. Make sure it has no perservatives or thickening agents in it. From then on , save at least 1/4 cup from your last batch as the starter for the next. In the Middle East, they call the starter rowbie. In homes where large quantities of yogurt are made and consummed, it is possible that it could be a direct descendant from the last generation, from a grandmother, an aunt, or possibly a neighbor.

You can also use a double boiler when heating the milk. This way will eliminate the possiblity of scortching the milk. Left over yogurt from the first commercial batch can be frozen in ice cube trays and taken out as required for future yogurt starters in the event you didn't save any for your next batch. Remember that yogurt making is the oldest form of milk preservation. Desert dwellers didn't have complex electrical systems to make yogurt, you don't either.

There are some good video's on you tube about how to make your own yogurt. There are also some not so good ones.

Enjoy

Disclaimer - Cooking was my bread and butter for 24 years, I worked for a little organization called the Canadian Armed Forces. I'm a cook, not a foodie, or a celebrity chef with my own line of cookware, a cook. Than means cooking everyday, regardless of what is going on around you. 3 deadlines a day, breakfast, lunch and supper. Repeat 364 times and that would be a year. This recipe is simple, it works, once you have got this down, feel free to branch out and experiment. Make Greek yogurt by adding fresh cream. Try omitting the powdered milk. Try adding flavourings.