Last night before going to bed I put together my first batch of homemade yogurt. I’d been toying with the idea of making my own for a while, but I didn’t realize it was such a hassle-free process or no “yogurt maker” appliance was needed. Leila over at Bilingual Baby posted a yogurt making tutorial a while back and inspired me to give it a try. Yogurt is by far one of my favorite foods. Fresh anything is almost always better, and rarely does anything top homemade goodness so I wanted to find out for myself if good yogurt could be improved by making it at home. I pretty much followed Leila’s instructions with just a couple deviations. She suggests you use an earthen bowl, but I gave all mine to my girls years ago. I used glass. Feeling very optimistic about the outcome, I doubled the recipe. Instead of wrapping my bowl in a blanket I used a large, thick bath towel.
This morning when I walked into the kitchen and spotted the towel bundle setting on the counter I couldn’t wait to take a peek. It had been between nine and ten hours since my culinary experiment began. When I unwrapped the bowl this is what I found.
It looked promising. I stirred it, and though it is not as thick as what I buy, (Leila declared that in her tutorial so it was no surprise) it had thickened nicely. Well-chilled yogurt is always preferable, but I couldn’t wait for a taste. Even at room temperature it tastes better than what I have been buying!
Milk has gotten so high-priced, I’m not sure I saved much money by making my own, (because I already buy more the economical, large, store brand containers), but if chilling makes this batch taste any better (and I’m almost certain it will) I imagine I will continue making it at home even if I don’t save more than a few cents. There is just something very satisfying about doing things yourself. I’ve always enjoyed yogurt, but I’ll eat this with “pride”.
Thanks again, Leila, for sharing your know-how!
Last week I shared a picture of the beginning of a batch of alfalfa sprouts. Saturday they came of age. After the final rinse I spread them out in a paper towel lined, flat-bottomed bowl to air dry. (The paper towel is used to wick moisture.) Initially I sat the bowl near a window so the tender spouts would be exposed to sunlight. It didn’t take long for them to “green up” and look more appetite appealing. After they greened a little I moved them out of the sunshine and allowed them to air-dry for nine or ten hours. The air-drying step extends their life in the refrigerator. Putting them away while still moist causes them to degrade more quickly.
Here is my beautiful bowl of sprouts before being “greened up”.
My DH and I ate sandwiches over the weekend. I piled sprouts high on mine instead of using lettuce so this batch is almost gone. This morning I’ll start soaking another. Sprouts are another example of “fresh is almost always better”, and mmmm mmm, they are so good.
Until next time…
remember…
Success comes in cans. Failure comes in can’ts.
Congratulations, Judy. Your yogurt looks great! I’m so glad the glass bowl worked. Yay! And, thanks again for catching my typo. I’ve fixed it.
Can’t wait to see your next creation!
Thanks, Leila. I’m glad the glass bowl worked out well, too. I put a small amount in a little bowl to cool and just ate it. It was way yum. Plain actually tastes better than the bought vanilla. I can’t wait to play with flavoring some.
Thanks again for the inspiration!
The yogurt looks yummy, but I’m really coveting the sprouts!
Well, I feel inspired to go find out where my sprouter went to and start me a batch!
I understand that yogurt can be made with powered milk also, although I’ve always made mine with “real” milk when the cow is wet. The last batch I made I added honey before the incubation process and it turned out well. I made my yogurt in small portion containers, placed them in a boot box, wrapped with a large towel.
Yours looks very yummy, I’ll be over in a minute…
O Heather. I wish you really could be over in a minute. That would be so nice.
I read where adding powdered milk actually makes the yogurt thicker. I’ll give adding some a try. I also plan on adding some real vanilla bean…precious as the stuff may be…to see how it does. I found the homemade batch to be as palatable without sweetener as the vanilla I buy at the store…I thought that odd…but hey, I’m not opposed to leaving out the sweetener. I saw some where they used maple syrup…sounds interesting. If I sweeten I’ll likely use Stevia.
Always good to see you!