Updated:
02/03/05

Yogurt is a great food for those trying to adopt a healthful way of eating. It is nutritious, filling, sweet, and can be very low in calories, depending on the milk used and ingredients mixed in; and it is oh, so versatile! Plain yogurt has very little taste, and can be used as a substitute for sour cream, and I have read be made into lowfat cheese.

If you’re lactose intolerant, I understand you can use soy milk for this too. I have not tried this yet, but I’m going to...

Basic Yogurt Recipe:

To make a quart:
Stir together a quart of milk with 1/3 cup milk powder, if desired. If using frozen yogurt starter, set yogurt cubes out to thaw.

Heat milk to 180 degrees, stirring constantly. Use a candy thermometer to measure temperature. Remove milk from heat; let cool to 115 degrees. This takes about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature of the rest of the house.

Stir in 2 tbsp of yogurt starter. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the milk/yogurt mixture into sterilized jars. (Whenever I do it, it's a bit more than a quart, so have an extra jar ready.) Incubate for 4-12 hours, or until it is set (i.e. looks like yogurt, not milk). The longer you incubate, the more sour the yogurt will be. Refrigerate until cool.

How to incubate: There are lots of methods--see the book. You can fill an ice chest with the hottest water the tap will give, place the jars of yogurt in there, and close the ice chest. This is inexpensive, has worked in all of the rentals I've lived in, and doesn't require much storage space. If the water cools during incubation, as it might if it's cool in your home, refill with hot water.

I incubated my yogurt in a little less than 4 hours in my propane stove; the pilot keeping it quite warm. It came out great! For my first batch, I used 2% milk, and sterilized some canning jars by pouring boiling water

Important Stuff:

On to the important stuff - what to do with it once you have it made.  :)

Sweetening:

• 1 packet equal or splenda with a dab of honey (for taste)

My Favorite Add-Ins:

• Pie Fillings are easy, some are low in sugar or use splenda, too
• Pudding Mix - gives it flavor, sweet, thickness. Just a bit needed. Try the sugar-free pudding mix!
• Fruit Cocktail and other canned fruits.
• Schwan’s has a frozen tropical blend fruit mix that is great in yogurt!
• Try some cinnamon, vanilla & other extracts, spices...
• Cocoa powder - I don’t care much for the taste, so you might want to try it in a little bit before you put it in a whole batch.  There are sugar-free chocolate syrups at the store that might work better.
• Cheesecake Mix - just a little gives it flavor, then toss some sugar free cherry pie filling and use the grahm cracker powder to top. :)

If you make your own yogurt and have more ideas, I’d love to hear from you. I’d especially like to find out how to get flavors like key lime pie & bostom cream pie.  :)

Other Uses for Yogurt:

• Add a little yogurt, milk, half a frozen banana, other fruit & sweetener with 3 ice cubes to the blender for a wonderfully filling breakfast shake.
• Plain yogurt can be used as a substitute for sour cream.

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