You know what kinds of foods are made with dairy? The BEST kinds. Next to cheese, which I may or may not treat more like a condiment, yogourt is my favourite kind. Lately, the yogourt aisle has been giving me that same overwhelmed feeling of when I’m in the automotive department trying to figure out what type of engine oil I need.. In the later case I usually just pick one that’s on sale. With yogourt, I have specific criteria. I want 3 ingredients (Milk, skim milk powder and bacterial culture). That’s it. No flavours, no sweeteners, no modified ingredients, and none of this no or low-fat business. Just give me the good stuff. For some reason, the good stuff is almost non-existent and almost never on sale. At $4 / tub, and 2 yogourt lovers in the house, this puts a serious dent in my grocery budget.
As a kid, my mom always made yogourt, which is why I prefer plain, but it seemed like more work than what it was worth. I also didn’t have a yogourt maker. I finally decided that if I was going to learn to become more self-reliant, this is a skill I needed to learn. So naturally I asked google. Turns out, you can make it in a crock pot! With help from a super blog post, I was on my way to making my very own good stuff. It was really easy. No stove top cooking or constant stirring required. So here it is. My very first attempt.
What you need:
1- Crockpot
8 cups – whole milk
1/2 cup – store-bought plain yogourt (the good stuff) (in the future you can save 1/2 cup from your batch) You can also use a yogourt starter, but this is easier)
2-3 TBSP – skim milk powder (This was my mom’s suggestion to give a thicker yogourt)
1- towel or blanket
Jam, cinnamon, granola, maple syrup, brown sugar, or whatever else you like to put in your yogourt.
Set your crockpot to low, and then pour in the milk. Put on the lid and let it sit for 2 1/2 hours on low.
After 2 1/2 hours, turn off and unplug the crockpot, and leave it for another 3 hours. (Pretty minimal effort so far…)
This next part takes some more effort (5 minutes worth)…. After 3 hours are up, take out 1/4 of the milk and stir in the yogourt and skim milk powder. Once it’s mixed (nobody likes lumpy yogurt) pour it back into the crockpot with the remaining milk, and give it a couple more stirs to make sure it’s combined. Then, wrap the still unplugged crockpot in a towel. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just make sure the top and all the sides are covered and insulated. Now leave it for 8-10 hours. A good idea is to start making this 5.5ish hours before bed.
In the morning, I woke up to this! It WORKED! It thickened and everything. It is not as thick as Balkan or Greek yogourt, but I’m sure if you ask google nicely it will tell you how to do that. Either more skim milk powder or straining it with cheese cloth I would imagine.
All I had to do now is pour it into jars, and stick it in the fridge and wait for it to cool. It’s edible warm, but probably gross.
The good stuff
Yeah… It was yum. Not too sour, thin but not runny consistency… The real deal. The good stuff. The boy also approved (not an easy feat), but threw in a bit of maple syrup in his, just because he’s wild like that.
So there you have it. Less than 10 minutes of actual work, 15 if you count making the granola. 2 big jars for the price of 1/2 gallon of milk, and I’ll never need to read a yogourt label again.
Science, Cupcakes, and Multivitamins: 