I started making yogurt when we lived in Seattle using a yogurt maker I picked up from Goodwill for $3. It worked well, but not as consistently as the Euro Cuisine yogurt maker Helen passed down to me when she transitioned to larger yogurt batches using her Effingham goats milk. The Euro Cuisine holds seven 1/2 cup jars, perfect for breakfast or an after school snack. I usually use 1% milk as the dried milk adds creaminess to the final product. Any milk will work. For the yogurt starter, I buy a container of plain yogurt, freeze individual 1-2 tablespoon servings in ice cube trays, and store them in the freezer for future batches. I use 2 “yogurt cubes” per batch. It’s the best to remove them from the freezer when you start heating up the milk so they have time to meld. You can also defrost them at a low power in the microwave to room temperature. Make sure they don’t get too hot or that good yogurt bacteria may not be as robust.
Lindsay
- 4 cups milk
- 1/3 cup dried milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar, maple syrup, or sweetener of your choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoon plain yogurt/starter
Heat the milk on the stove top or microwave until it reaches 185°F (this takes 8:30 in my microwave). Whisk in the dried milk, sugar and vanilla.
Let the mixture cool to between 95-105°F.
Whisk in the plain yogurt starter. Pour the mixture into the yogurt maker jars and incubate for 8+ hours. Refrigerate.
Spencer Family Cookbook 