Yogurt Recipe

How to make it

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• Put an inch of water in a stock pot. Add 4 qt and 1 pt canning jars, steel ladle, 2 cup graduated measure, metal spoon, fine mesh screen filter and canning funnel. Bring to a boil; cover and process for 10 minutes. Turn heat off and leave covered until ready to use.
• Put canning lids and screw caps in a small sauce pan covered with water. Bring to a simmer; turn off and cover. Keep covered until ready to use.
• Make a water bath processing pot using a stock pot and a smaller steel pot that will fit inside the stock pot. The steel pot should hold at least one gallon.
• Mix milk, sugar, instant milk and vanilla in the steel pot. Place steel pot in larger stock pot and fill the stock pot with water until the steel pot almost floats. Over a medium heat with the steel pot lidded, monitor milk solution with a candy thermometer until it reaches 85-90 C.
• Elsewise use a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot being vigilant to keep the milk mixture from scorching.
• Cool steel pot to 50 C in an ice bath prepared in a sink.
• Remove 1c milk mixture and stir into 1c yogurt. Do not open the yogurt container until it is time to use it. Return yogurt mix to pot slowly stirring.
• Ladle milk mixture into sterilized jars through a mesh sieve. Snug lids. Place jars in a crock pot.
• Fill crock pot with 50 C water and hold there for 3 hours minimum. The lid will not fit on the crock because of the length of the jars but a heavy towel draped over top will suffice to keep the heat in.
• I have to turn my crock on HI for 10min/hr to maintain the 50 C.
• The longer the dwell time, at temperature, the more tart the yogurt will become. Dial it in to your own personal preference.
• Refrigerate jars overnight.
• Yogurt will keep for about 2 months chilled
• Use 1 cup from the pint jar to inoculate another batch when the time comes and you won't have to buy any more yogurt from the store.
• This recipe can be made without the sugar or vanilla. Plain, it has too much snap for me. The sugar and vanilla tame it.