Homemade Yogurt

We've been eating a lot of yogurt lately. With all the strawberries and raspberries that we get from the garden every day and a little bit of that fabulous granola we made, it's the perfect low-fat, heart-healthy breakfast. If you want to give it a try, here is how I did it.

Homemade Yogurt
All you need is milk (whole, reduced fat, low-fat... whatever), powdered milk and a bit of plain yogurt to use as a starter. Make sure you get the kind with active, live cultures. You only need store-bought yogurt as a starter the first time, after that you use a bit of your leftover yogurt as a starter. You can make as much or as little as you want, with these proportions:

4 cups milk
1/3 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup yogurt starter

Basically you need to scald the milk (heat it so that bubbles start to form along the sides of the pan but not until it boils, about 160-170 degrees) so that it kills any bad bacteria. Cool the milk back to 110 degrees (you should be able to stick your finger into it but not leave it there long). Then you stir in 1/4 cup of your plain yogurt, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and keep it warm for 6 hours. Easy peasy right?

A more detailed step-by-step process can be found here. The site also discusses several different methods of keeping the yogurt warm for the required amount of time. I turned the oven on for a few minutes so that it was warm, boiled a pot of water, put the lid on and placed the whole thing inside the oven with the covered bowl of yogurt. I did this before bedtime and by morning it was perfect.

**I also read two interesting articles that you might like - one about yogurt for weight loss and another for runners.