Whole Milk Yogurt
By: Michael Wayne G...
Published: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 - 1:19am

Ingredients




2 quarts whole milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons yogurt, with live cultures and at room temperature

Preparation

1 Sanitize a large pot, spoon, and thermometer (e.g. by boiling water in it) 2 Add milk to empty pot, and bring it to 185 F (85 C), stirring the whole time (try to not let the milk scald on the bottom of the pot) 3 Keep milk at 185 F (85 C) for 30 minutes, while stirring 4 Reduce milk to 110 F (43 C) 5 Add yogurt and stir until incorporated 6 Cover pot and put in a warm place (e.g. in the oven with the light turned on, covered with an electric blanket, etc. Try to keep the temperature around 110 F; don't make it too hot!) 7 Wait 8-20 hours (the longer you wait, the more sour the yogurt will be) 8 Stir yogurt and pour into containers, then place containers in the back of the refrigerator. At this point you may also add flavor, such as vanilla and sugar, if you don't like plain yogurt. 9 Wait 12 hours for yogurt to chill.

About


This recipe is adapted from http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/, with additions from other places on the web and personal experience.
You can use reduced-fat milk, but the consistency will change. You can add evaporated milk to make it thicker.
If you don't keep the milk at 185 F for 30 minutes, the consistency will be runny.
If you add the yogurt while the milk is hot, it will kill the bacteria, and potentially ruin the yogurt (if you do this on accident, you can wait until it is the proper temperature, then add more yogurt).
You want the pot to heat evenly, so you can use a double-boiler technique, or a heavy pot (e.g. a cast-iron one, preferably enameled).
If you don't have a thermometer, the milk is the right temperature when it begins to froth (but don't let it boil).
I used a cast-iron pot in an oven with the light on. You can also heat the oven briefly with a pizza stone to collect some heat, then let it sit a little bit (so it's not too hot) before putting in the pot.
You can create Greek yogurt or cheese by extracting the whey with a cheese-cloth. Simply line a strainer with cheese cloth, fill it with the yogurt, then let it sit for 2-10 hours (the longer the thicker).