All you need to make yogurt is milk and a bacterial 'starter'. It's so easy a 2 year old can do it. Check out my little man Kenny stirring the milk. In this case our initial starter is store-bought Stonyfield Farm's Yobaby yogurt because that's what happened to be in the fridge. However you can use any yogurt that contains live, 'active cultures' which is a more socially acceptable way to say live bacteria. Now that I have done this successfully a few times, I use my own yogurt as a starter. As for the type of milk, you can use whole milk, low fat or no fat milk. You can use regular or organic, depending on if you want regular or organic yogurt . You can even use goat or sheep's milk. It makes no difference. I used 1% lowfat organic milk because once again, that's what happened to be in our fridge. Using higher fat milk makes richer, creamier, more delicious yogurt, however it's not in our family's current diet.

EQUIPMENT

If you have a yogurt making machine, that's great. However I hate to make it seem like you have to buy a special piece of equipment for this. You don't. It does help to have the following equipment on hand:

• 2 large pots, one of which fits inside the other
• a food or candy thermometer that clearly shows temperatures between 100 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit
• cheesecloth (for Greek yogurt)
• colander or strainer (for Greek yogurt)
• 2 clean dish or hand towels
• a heating pad (optional)

RECIPE

This process will outline how to make both regular Danon-esque type yogurt and the thick and super creamy Greek style yogurt similar to Oikos or Fage brands found in stores. You have to make the regular yogurt first in order to make the Greek yogurt.

• 1 gallon of milk
• 3 Tbsp of yogurt containing live cultures

Yup, that's it. This recipe and process can be used to make almost any quantity ofyogurt. I made a gallon's worth because my family will eat that in less than a week. However if you have less consumption in your house, use the following volume guidelines:

1 gallon of milk = 1 gallon of thin yogurt or 6 cups(48 oz) Greek yogurt
1/2 gallon of milk = 1/2 gallon of thin yogurt or 3 cups (24 oz) Greek yogurt
1 quart of milk = 1 quart of thin yogurt or 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) Greek yogurt

Use whichever quantity of milk makes sense for your level ofconsumption and inoculate with 3 Tbsp of yogurt regardless of milkvolume. The yogurt will keep for 10-14 days if kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator and not contaminated. In other words, do not eat directly from the container or stick your finger in it and you should be good for up to 2 weeks.

PROCESS

Anyone who has heated up milk to boiling knows that distraction can lead to scorching and milk overflowing the pot and making a huge mess. Since I have two very distracting toddlers, I avoid these two hazards by placing the pot of milk in a larger water bath. Take your larger pot and fill with about 1-2 inches of water. Place your smaller pot inside the larger pot and fill with the milk. You do not want water all the way up to the top of the larger container, you want it to be about the same level as the milk in the inner pan. Adjust water level accordingly. Heat the double pan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the milk reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit.





At this point you can remove the inner pot from the outer pot and set it on a hot pad or towel and let it rest until it reaches 110 degrees, which will take 30-40 minutes. If you are in a hurry, place the milk pot into a cold water bath to drop the temperature quickly. I fill my sink with cold water, place the milk pot in it and then stir the milk occasionally and it reaches 110 in about 5-10 minutes.




Once the milk is between 105 and 110 degrees, place your 3 Tbsp of starter yogurt in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the hot milk to it and whisk it together until smooth. Then pour the yogurt/milk mixture into the hot milk and whisk thoroughly. Remove the milk from the cold water bath, cover it, and place in a nice warm spot for 7-8 hours.

The first time I did this I placed the pot on top of a heating pad set to Medium-High heat and then covered it with dishtowels to keep warm. That worked great except that my darn heating pad has an auto shut off feature so I was turning it back on every hour or so. So the next time I simply wrapped the warm milk pot up with towels and placed it in my small oven and left it alone for 8 hours. Both ways worked fine. You don't have to keep it at any specific temperature, just in that golden area for bacteria to thrive - 40-140 degrees. It will turn to yogurt faster at the warmer end of that spectrum, but don't go too hot or you risk killing off the bacteria instead.

After 7-8 hours in a warm spot, you should have solid, plain, white yogurt. There should be a little bit of clear yellowish or blueish liquid on top. That's just the whey and it's perfectly normal. The yogurt is now ready to eat or cook with. To make your own flavored yogurt simply mix with jam, jelly, honey, lemon, or fresh fruits.

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GREEK YOGURT PROCESS

If you prefer that super rich & creamy Greek yogurt, place a large colander over a bowl. Line the colander with cheesecloth. Spoon the yogurt into the lined colander and cover. Let this sit in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight to let the whey drain from the milk solids and into the bowl. What is left is heavenly, decadent Greek-style yogurt. Enjoy!

A Note on Cheesecloth:

You can use the cheesecloth they sell in grocery stores for this, but it is cheap and doesn't hold up well. The cheesecloth sold in fabric and hardware stores is much finer, much higher quality and can be washed and reused indefinitely. Look for 100% unbleached cotton.

A Note on Whey:

A lot of people discard the whey after making yogurt. I save it. It is incredibly rich in protein, vitamins & minerals. I use it instead of water or broth to cook my rice and pasta in whenever I have it on hand. It can also be used to pack a protein punch in a smoothie.