Homemade YOGURT anyone?

Way, way back when my children were little, I found a yogurt maker at a garage sale. Always enthused to be a do-it-yourself, back to the basics kinda gal, I thought it was worth the couple of bucks it cost, to give it a shot. Skeptical, but hopeful, I tried the first batch. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles (yes, I did steal that from Fiddler On the Roof, there's more of that where that came from!) it was actually successful! The texture was smooth and creamy, the taste mild with none of that store-bought yogurty sourness, the kids loved it, and it was simple and inexpensive! I commenced making yogurt with a vengeance. This continued until the machine burned out...literally, and I got to busy with other life matters to bother finding a new one. After a while, we all just kind of forgot about the good ole' days of mom's homemade yogurt. Enter new mom...

Well, it's 2010, and I'm all about back to homemade goodness again. About a year ago, I did extensive research online to find the best bang for ones buck in regards to Yogurt Makers. I read many reviews from consumers and narrowed my search down to the:

Euro-Cuisine Automatic Yogurt Maker Model #YM100.


This is not a sales pitch for the company, but why waste your time searching when I've already done it? This machine is everything the company and consumer review touts. It is so simple to operate, I'm pretty sure my 5 year old could do it. It is affordable, compact, easy to clean, and has glass jars as opposed to plastic like many others. You can purchase additional jars (it comes with 7) from the company if you want to make additional batches while the other jars are stored in the fridge full of their yogurty yumminess. So, go online to www.eurocuisine.net, find the stores that offer it online (you can't order directly from Euro-Cuisine, but you can order it online from places like Target online, Bed, Bath and Beyond, etc), pull out your plastic and order! Yes, that's an order. You won't be able to make the yogurt without it, and trust me, you want to make this yogurt. After one taste of homemade yogurt, you will never go back to store-bought again.

Alright, let's get to the actual recipe. This part is a little more complicated. Are you ready?

HOMEMADE YOGURT
(ingredients and supplies)

7 cups milk
1 cup starter (plain yogurt w/live cultures)

Phew. Yes, that's it. The milk can be whole, 2 percent, 1 percent or skim. Entirely your preference. I use 1 percent to avoid the fat, and the results are fantastic. After your first batch, you can reserve one jar of the finished product to use as the starter for the subsequent batch. The instructions recommend only doing this one time before using a fresh batch from the store. I am not sure why, as it would seem there would be the same active cultures in the homemade batch. You can always purchase freeze-dried yogurt starter if you wish. Now for the process:

Your machine will come with the instructions obviously, but I will give the few easy highlights w/pics to illustrate just how incredibly simple this is.

Bring the milk to boil in a high-sided sauce pan. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes.


Remove from heat and cool until it reaches 110 degrees. I like to place my pan in a larger bowl filled with ice and water to speed up this process. No guessing for this part, as you will kill the live cultures if it is still too hot! Use a cooking thermometer to make sure you are at the proper temperature.



In a separate bowl, stir in the plain yogurt (starter) with some of the cooled milk until dissolved. Mix well with the cooled milked still in pan.


Pour the mixture into the cups of the yogurt maker.
Place the jars - without the lids - in the yogurt maker.
Cover the yogurt maker with the lid, set the timer (usually around 10 hours) and push start.


Voila! That's it!!! When the yogurt is done, the machine will turn itself off, and you have 7 -6 0z. jars of the most delicious, nutritious, velvety smooth, mild and creamy yogurt. Set jars in fridge to cool and store. We use our yogurt for eating fresh with berries, peaches, granola, or simply flavored with vanilla and sweetener. Try Stevia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia or Agave Syrup http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar instead of plain white sugar. Stevia is a natural sweetener used for generations in South America and Japan, finally approved by the FDA for our consumption here. It has ZERO calories and is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar, so you can use much less. Agave syrup is also a natural sweetener made from the (wait for it...) AGAVE PLANT found commonly in Mexico. It has about the same amount of calories as regular sugar, but, like the Stevia, much sweeter than sugar, so you use much less. We also use our yogurt in our morning fruit shakes and anything else in cooking that calls for yogurt or sour cream.


Now get online and order that yogurt maker today! You will be glad you did! Just look at that contented face! He loves his homemade yogurt!