Ingredients:
- ½ Gallon of Milk (not Ultra Pasteurized, whole milk will be creamier and yield more than low-fat milk)
- 1 Packet Yogurt Culture (Y5 Sweet makes a naturally sweet yogurt) or 2 Tablespoons of your favorite cultured yogurt
Instructions:
- Pour milk into a heavy stainless pot. Heat the milk to 185°F, and then hold it there for 10-20 minutes. While heating, gently stir the milk to prevent scorching.
- Once heated, quickly cool the milk down to 110-115°F. This can be done by submerging the pot in a sink filled with cold water.
- Add yogurt culture and mix in thoroughly.
- Incubate the cultured milk in an insulated container (Yogotherm, thermos, or bowl in well sealed cooler are easy options) for 10-12 hours.
- Refrigerate the incubated yogurt. If you desire plain yogurt, stop here!
- Line a colander with butter muslin or several layers of cheesecloth and place the colander inside a larger bowl
- Transfer the incubated yogurt to the colander and refrigerate, allowing the yogurt to drain up to another 12 hours (longer produces firmer yogurt)
- Enjoy or refrigerate finished greek yogurt
Honey-Vanilla Yogurt
1/3 cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla
Stir honey and vanilla into finished yogurt base, adding more honey to your preference.
Strawberry or Peach Yogurt
½ cup strawberry or peach jam
Stir fruit jam into finished yogurt base, adding more to your preference.
Make your own combination! Any liquid additions will thin the consistency.