Mix this extra-thick yogurt with honey or agave and add some fresh fruit or jam. Or use as a sour cream substitute. Don’t be intimidated by the long-ish instructions; it’s really simple once you get the hang of it. Way better than store-bought and so much cheaper!



INGREDIENTS

• 1 gallon whole milk (you don’t have to use a whole gallon, and you don’t have to use whole milk; it all depends on how much you want and how creamy you want it; a gallon of milk makes about ½ gallon of yogurt)

• About 1/3 cup plain yogurt (must contain live and active culture—it should specify whether or not it does on the label)

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

• A large pot and a slightly larger pot to use as a double-boiler

• Instant-read thermometer

• Small ice chest

• 2-3 quilts or thick blankets

• Large colander

• Paper towel

INSTRUCTIONS (in a nutshell)

• Heat the milk to 185°F (85°C)

• Cool it down to 110°F (43°C)

• Add yogurt culture

• Maintain milk/yogurt mixture between 90-110°F (32-43°C) for 8-12 hours

• Chill/strain for 4-8 hours

INSTRUCTIONS (in detail)

Pour the milk into a large pot and heat it to 185°F (85°C). The quickest way to do this is to put the pot with milk inside a larger pot with hot water and heat the water over high heat, like a double boiler. Make sure to fill the larger pot with enough water to submerge the base of the smaller pot, but make sure the water level is several inches from the top, or it will boil over. If your smaller pot is too small to fit on the rim of the larger pot, you can prop up the handles with chopsticks or something similar (see photo).



As the milk gets hotter, you’ll need to stir it frequently to keep it from scorching. When the milk reaches 130-140°F (55-60°C), fill up a sink about half full of cold water. When the milk reaches full temperature, pull the pot of milk out of the hot water (watch out for drips!) and transfer it to the sink of cold water to cool.

While it’s cooling, you’ll want to fill a small ice chest with warm water—105-110°F (40-43°C). The milk will cool down fairly quickly, so you’ll need to work fast. If you find it’s cooling too fast, you can pull it out of the cold water bath to give yourself enough time to prepare the warm water.



To prepare my warm water, I like to use the boiling water left over in my large pot (no sense in pouring all that energy down the drain). I add cold water to it (so it won’t melt the inside of my ice chest) until the pot is full, or until it’s in the temperature range I need. Pour it in the ice chest and add more cold or hot water as needed until it’s in the correct temperature range—105-110°F (40-43°C)—and there’s enough water to mostly submerge your milk container.

When your milk has cooled to 110°F (43°C), add your yogurt culture and stir well until dissolved. At this point, if your pot of milk is too large to fit in your ice chest, you can transfer the milk/yogurt mixture to one or more smaller containers.



Fold up a quilt or thick blanket and lay it on the ground. Put the ice chest on top of it, and put your milk/yogurt container(s) into the ice chest. If the water is going to overflow, you can use a glass or pitcher to scoop some out. Close the lid and pile on one or two more thick blankets, tucking them under the lower blanket to keep it well-insulated.



Leave it undisturbed for 8-12 hours (depending on how sharp you like your yogurt). Resist the temptation to unwrap it too early and peek. If you’ve done a good job wrapping up your ice chest, it should stay above 90°F (32°F) the whole time. When it’s finished, remove the yogurt containers from the ice chest and pour out the water.



Now we’re going to strain out most of the whey from the yogurt, which makes it extra thick and creamy and distinguishes it as “Greek-style.” Line a colander with a paper towel (you can moisten it a little to help it stay in place) and set it over a clean container, such as a large pot. Scoop all of your yogurt into the colander, and cover the top with plastic wrap. Put the pot and colander into the fridge and let the whey strain out for 4-8 hours, depending on how thick you like it. Don’t worry if it’s too thick; you can always stir some of the whey back into the yogurt.

When it’s done, carefully scoop the yogurt out of the colander into an airtight container and stir it until it has a smooth and even consistency. Now it’s finished! Scoop some into a bowl and add some jam, or some fresh fruit and your favorite sweetener and enjoy! You can also use plain yogurt as a substitute for sour cream. It will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

Be sure to set aside about 1/3 cup to use as a starter for next time!

(Submitted by Mike)