Homemade Yogurt

Recently, I found this article in the New York Times online health section on homemade yogurt and I had to give it a try.

You see, right now in lab I am expressing a particular human protein in a bacteria called E.coli. Basically, I'm feeding bacteria, making them fat and happy, all the while slipping extra DNA into their susceptible little genome, then flipping a switch that makes the buggers pump out the protein like it was their only mission in life. Which, for my purposes, IS their only mission in life. Ah, if it could only be so simple.

The bacteria featured in yogurt are (hopefully) not E. coli., but rather lactic acid bateria, as the article mentions.

If you dare, try and make your own homemade yogurt--it's much more simple and less time consuming than expected. Plus, you can reap the reward of making something at home that most people wouldn't dare try to undertake!

I have to say, the consistency of this yogurt is not like that at the store, there are other additives and stabilizers that give the yogurt more structure. This yogurt is a little more runny, but still delicious when served with fruit and honey!

Homemade Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 quart whole milk (the article suggests that this tastes the best, but I'm also going to try 1% or 2% soon to see if it affects the taste and texture dramatically)

2 Tbs starter culture (plain yogurt from the store that has live active cultures)

Procedure:

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan, and heat over medium heat until the milk temperature reaches 190 F. (I used an instant read thermometer, and measured the temperature while stirring). The milk will be steaming, not boiling.

2. Take the milk off of the burner, and allow to cool in the saucepan until the temperature reaches approximately 120 F.

3. Take a few spoonfuls of the warm milk and mix with the starter culture in a separate bowl, diluting it so it can be better incorporated into the whole mixture. Then, mix the starter culture into the main saucepan, and transfer to an appropriate sized jar or tupperware, which has been sterilized with boiling water.

4. Swaddle (for lack of a better word) the container in several towels (I used 2), and place in the top rack of the oven with the light on. The light provides a warm environment, but is not nearly as warm as setting your oven to 200F.

5. Allow the yogurt to remain warm and still for about 4-5 hours, or until the yogurt has set. This means the consistency is thicker, and appears more like yogurt than milk. Move the container to the fridge to store for up to a week (or until things look funny...).

6. Enjoy with fruit, honey, granola, or whatever else your fancy might be!