Homemade Yogurt (Yoghurt)

According to Wikipedia, Yogurt (or Yoghurt) is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk.  The milk is heated to kill the undesirable bacteria and to denature (I need a biochemist here!!) the milk proteins so they won't curd but set together instead...whew!

 Yogurt, is a rich source of protein, calcium, riboflavin. Flavored yogurt can easily be spotted in the supermarkets and specialty stores. Put some garlic and herb and you'll have fat-free dip. It is so versatile!


Nowadays, the frozen yogurt (I'm so into it by the way) is so popular and making a huge rave, because it's refreshing, healthy and...EXPENSIVE. 

Since I love yogurt and I can't really afford to buy that everyday because I will more or less spend 700 pesos a month for a daily fix of yogurt, I started to research on how to make my own. When I found the perfect recipe, I immediately tried it. And wow..that was easy!

The prep and heating time is short. The ingredients can be easily found in the supermarkets. After you prepared the yogurt mixture, you just need to wait for 6 hours for it to set...and you're done!

I got this from the ever reliable Yummy Magazine (jan-feb 2011 issue). I cut the original recipe into half, coz I won't be needing 2 liters of yogurt since I don't want to waste money in case the "experiment" will not be successful.

And the finish product? I can safely say that it was a success! I tasted it and it was like the commercially bought yogurt, a bit runny though. But that's the difference between a store-bought and homemade yogurt. To make it creamier, I strained the yogurt using a cheesecloth that I put over a strainer...I turned it to greek style yogurt!

For those who want to make their own yogurt, here's the recipe. Original recipe is not yet posted on Yummy's site.

Ingredients


1L Fresh milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt (read the label, make sure it has "with Live Microorganisms")


Heating the Milk
 1. Heat the milk in a saucepan until small bubbles appear on the side. While continuously stirring, cool the milk a bit until you can comfortably dip you fingers for 5 seconds.

2. Pour 1/4 cup of plain yogurt in a small bowl. Yogurt must be at room temperature.

yogurt that i used. use 1/4 cup per liter of milk

Make sure it has live micro-organisms

The plain yogurt will serve as a starter. I don't know if my biology is correct but the live microorganisms will "procreate" in the warm milk and will help the milk to ferment.
 3. Laddle a cup of warm milk into the yogurt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with milk.
 4. Cover the the saucepan with lid and wrap it with a thick towel and secure with clips.
 Fermenting the Milk
 1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F. Turn of the oven. Put the milk and yogurt mixture inside the oven and let it rest for six hours.

Wrapped in a thick towel and place inside the preheated oven.

Chill the yogurt. Wth this recipe, you can now make your own flavored yogurt.

ENJOY!