For those of you who eat yogurt virtually every morning like I do, the costs are likely adding up at the grocery store. And if you buy the small containers to take with you to work, the waste is also adding up. These are the two main reasons behind making your own yogurt at home. Easily.
Thankfully Marisa McClellan, author of the wonderful blog, Food in Jars, has a solution to the expense and waste of buying store-bought yogurt: make batches at home in Mason jars!
While the Mason jars look sweet, they also serve a purpose in making the yogurt as well. Marisa's method calls for placing the jars of yogurt in a small empty cooler to keep help keep their warmer temperature stable and draft-free. It's much easier to fit Mason jars in your small cooler than larger bowls of yogurt, so we're sold on this method.
For more information on Marisa's recipe: Homemade Yogurt in Mason Jars
For our version of making yogurt at home: How to Make Yogurt at Home
To jazz it all up: Make Your Own Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Cups
Related: Three Ways to Make Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker
(Image: Marisa McClellan)
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I use a crock pot to make yogurt...and you can use the oven (turned off) to keep it insulated, too, if you don't have a cooler :)
Can't wait to try it!
However one makes it as I discovered recently it is nuts not to. After years of being afraid to make yogurt I plunged in one weekend and found it is the easiest thing in the world, so much more delicious than store-bought and not to mention cheap, cheap, cheap.
I buy plain whole milk yogurt frequently. A gallon of whole milk from Stewart's is $2.99. A quart of yogurt is about $3. But it seems that I'll get four times as much yogurt from a gallon of milk for the same price as a quart of yogurt.
The only thing is - I don't eat yogurt THAT frequently. But I am going to experiment with frozen yogurt, so that seems like an excellent way to use up big batches of homemade yogurt. My only question is - how long does it last in the fridge?
could you give some of us greek yogurt fans a hand with making thick yogurt, without straining (since we make ours in jars), that isn't grainy or comes up with a buttery crust. am I asking too much? maybe.
On occasion, I've used this method to make goat's milk yogurt, and it works great! Goat yogurt is so expensive at the store, but a half-gallon of local goat's milk is like 4 bucks at the farmstand, and it makes the most wonderful yogurt to serve with blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.
@Antxoa, I make my yogurt the same way, in small quart jars...and I don't think there is a way around straining; store-bought, Greek-style yogurt simply has the whey strained out to thicken it. I have seen methods of adding gelatin or powdered milk (I do the latter) to thicken the mixture, but other than that, I think you're stuck. I usually put half the mixture in small Mason jars and half in a bowl; I strain the part in the bowl and leave the rest alone, topping with jam to put in a lunchbox, etc.
p.s. For everyone, I spent a bit of time several years ago looking for reusable plastic caps. In case it saves some of you yogurt makers some time, find the caps on Amazon. (Both wide-mouth and regular styles.) I have bought these ones: http://tinyurl.com/7a6aynt
@antxoa - I add a bit of agar agar (powdered seaweed, the vegetarian substitute for gelatin, available online and through most health food shops) and it thickens to Greek yogurt consistency.