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Better Living Through Homemade Yogurt

Posted by: Xeni Jardin on May 13, 2009 at 9:00 am

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Magazine : Issue 009

Project 009:
Organic Curry
The enduring challenge of
eating ethically and
Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin explains how fast people can still enjoy slow healthily is finding the
food. requisite time and money.
Nancy Paris and Ryan
When the economy took a nosedive, I did the same thing a lot of other Americans did: I looked at my Kanigan ...
household expenses and my lifestyle with newly frugal eyes, and began thinking about costs and personal Read & Discuss
priorities in new ways. That included food.

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Rethinking what I cook and eat post-econopocalypse meant simpler, slower food; a more local and
traditional diet which, in fact, makes good sense in any economic weather. But I live an urban life. I spend a Organic USA
lot of time online or working in short attention bursts. I don’t have a lot of time to cook or prepare food, and Someone we know referred
my city apartment doesn’t afford room to raise goats or grow tomatoes. Despite this, I’ve gradually eased into to this Slate article on
a number of new rituals and good habits that reduced my grocery bill and make me feel happier and Whole Foods as
healthier. One of them is making yogurt each week. "hateration." The article is
written ...
It takes maybe 20 minutes of actual work and attention, zero equipment beyond stuff I already had in my Read & Discuss
kitchen, and yields a yummier, healthier, and yes, “probiotic” product that costs five to 10 times less than the
store-bought stuff.
Blog : Good Blog

Here are the basics of rolling your own yogurt the lazy Xeni way. First, choose your starter culture. You can Organic USA
order this online, get it from a fellow slow foodie obsessive, or just do it slacker-style, like me: Buy a small Organic USA Someone we
single-serving container of plain yogurt at the corner bodega. Any brand with live Lactobacillus bulgaricus know referred to this Slate
and Streptococcus thermophilus cultures will work ($.99 worth of the ubiquitous Dannon does just fine). The article on Whole Foods as
instructions that follow are for homemade yogurt with other yogurt as a starter. "hateration." ...
Read & Discuss
Next, pick your milk. I use organic 2 percent, but whole milk is even richer. I don’t like the more acidic taste
or runny texture of yogurt made with lower-fat milks (though you can add dry milk powder to these to
compensate). Full-fat soy milk will work if you’re vegan, but it forms a more gelatinous “set” than cow or goat Magazine : Issue 009
milk.
Project 009: Lentil
Next, heat your fresh milk to 180–190 degrees Fahrenheit, which is right about when it starts to steam and Soup
form little bubbles. Heating to this point changes the structure of whey proteins within the milk, and helps A foodie going by cia_b
ensure a nice consistency. I improvised a double boiler for heating milk like this: Half-fill a large, wide metal sent us the following for
pot with water, and set a metal bowl filled with milk in the middle of that pot. Boil the water, and stir the milk Project 009. It's best made
in the bowl that floats in that water. with a Dutch ...
Read & Discuss
When you’ve scalded the milk, let it cool off to about 110–120 degrees. If you have a thermometer in your
kitchen, use it. If you don’t (and I still don’t), do the “baby bottle” test: dribble a few drops on the inside of
Magazine : Issue 007
your wrist. If it feels really warm but doesn’t burn your skin there, it’s just right.
Project 007: Italian
When you’ve cooled the milk to this temperature, whisk in (or stir with a spoon—whatever!) two tablespoons Cheesemaking
of yogurt. This can be the store-bought yogurt, or the last two spoons from your last batch of homemade For project 007
stuff. I like to thin it down with a bit of the warm milk before I stir it in, to make sure it’s evenly distributed. Pancakepopple sends in this
account of traditional
Now you need to incubate. After you’ve mixed your cheesemaking in Italy. "I'm
“innoculation” yogurt into the warm milk, pour the a student at Emerson and I
“innoculated” milk into a sterilized glass jar or other ...
container, cover it, and keep it still and warm for Read & Discuss
about four to five hours until it sets. I just cover that
same metal bowl I used to scald the milk, so I don’t
have to bother sterilizing another dish to pour it into.
Sometimes, I’ll instead use a bunch of small ceramic
cups, sterilized by running them through my
dishwasher. All your equipment should be sterile,
because you don’t want to introduce any other
bacterial contaminants that could prevent the yogurt
from setting.

To keep it warm during that four to five hour setting period, I wrap my metal bowl in some kitchen towels,
and leave the swaddled bowl in the oven with the pilot light on. And really now: leave it alone in there! It’s
like rising bread dough. If you jiggle it or poke at it, you’ll mess up the setting process. Go play Warcraft
while you wait, do some email, whatever, but don’t fuss with it.

As soon as your yogurt sets, stick it in the fridge to allow it to further firm, and halt acid production. If you
leave it in “incubation” mode too long, it will become harsh tasting, and eventually, the whey will separate.
You don’t want this.

Here are a few websites I bookmarked when I was making yogurt for the first time. Some of these offer
suggestions on other cool stuff you can do with yogurt, like straining it through cheesecloth to make the thick
“Greek style” kind, or using it to produce other products like yogurt cheese. It never lasts long enough in my
home for any of this fancy stuff, though. A spoonful of local raw honey, maybe a handful of nuts or fresh
seasonal fruit, a pinch of salt—nom nom nom. See all

Some of the websites listed below offer equally easy alternatives to my “oven pilot light” method for
incubating the yogurt. You can set your milk on a heating pad overnight, or pour it into jars resting inside an
insulated beach cooler filled with warm water. But isn’t this great? You don’t have to buy a yogurt-making
machine, and there are a number of ways to reliably produce delicious creamy yogurt with stuff you have
lying around the house already. Cheap, easy, lazy, yummy. Enjoy!

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Xeni Jardin is a Boing Boing tv host and executive producer, and Boing Boing blog co-editor living in Los
Angeles, CA. 10. Should We Tax Soda?

Photos by flickr user (cc) Biology Big Brother

Filed under: Blog : Boing Boing on GOOD Categories: Health , Living

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DISCUSSION: 38 Comments

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 2:27 pm

If you’re so into healthy, why not use raw milk? Or why would you even suggest soy? Soy is good
for candles. It wasn’t meant to be consumed unless properly fermented as the Chinese do.

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Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 2:37 pm

- ”why would you even suggest soy?”Probably because there are many of us lactose intolerant
folks out there.”I’m lactose intolerant. I have no patience for lactose and I won’t stand for
it….”–”Seinfeld” (NBC)

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 2:40 pm

I’m glad to see you carried through with it and it works so well for you! Thanks for sharing it with
others.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Even easier is to use a culture from Caspian Sea Yogurt (Matsoni). This culture works best at 70F
to 80F which means it works at room temperature; no incubating. The result is a little less tangy,
and a lot more creamy than a typical yogurt. It also has a brilliant white color as opposed to the
more typical ivory color. Cultures can easily be ordered online and you only have to do it once.
From then on just save a little of the old batch to inoculate the new batch.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 3:09 pm

Hmmm. That looks like British milk to me. They don’t have sainsburys in the U.S.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Some of us have electric ovens. I got a very inexpensive Donvier yogurt maker to handle
the fermentation. I also add about 1 part powdered milk to 4 parts 2% milk to give it more of
a custard like texture, and some no-calorie natural sweetener. I am lactose intolerant, so a nice
long fermentation that gives the critters time to eat all the lactose suits me fine.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 3:43 pm

You can also do this really easily with a crockpot–even less hands-on
work!http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html?
wpisrc=newsletter

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 3:51 pm

I’ve strained yogurt through cheesecloth and it’s a PITA (and the cheesecloth is relatively
expensive for a one-use item, plus my regular grocery doesn’t stock it). I find straining through a
coffee filter works as well or better and coffee filters are a dime a dozen. Don’t forget to save the
whey — it makes a tasty drink or can be used in baking.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 4:34 pm

Straining with a cheesecloth is a pain in the a$$? Not in my experience. PS you can use
cheesecloth over and over–just put it through the wash.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 4:46 pm

#3:12PM - Really? Could this be why my cats, who love yogurt, but are lactose-intolerant because
they’re cats, can eat it all day long and not get the runs?

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 5:59 pm

yep - the fermentation process destroys most of the lactose in the milk, so it’s usually a usable
product for those who are intolerant.Some people are vegetarian, so prefer to make yogurt with
soy milk.Homemade yogurt rocks - glad to have you in the fold!

Posted by: Anonymous on May 13, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Nice article…unfortunately, very similar to

this….http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/dining/15curi.html Including a word for word, character
for character quote from the original Harlod McGee NY Times article.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 14, 2009 at 3:43 am

Great article. I really think we should kick out all of the mexicans.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 14, 2009 at 12:16 pm

Simple way to make yogurt- as we have been doing it in India for centuries-
Boil 2% milk and allow to cool on the stove till just warm to touch-add 1/4 teaspoon of any yogurt -
stir well,cover with a lid -leave it overnight on the stove.Next morning it is set-put it in the
refrigerator or will become sour soon at room temp!

Posted by: Anonymous on May 14, 2009 at 12:37 pm

I like the style and the approach and feel like having a go. What you wrote reads well and is clear (
before trying).

Posted by: Anonymous on May 14, 2009 at 2:00 pm

I sure hope this works but as noted above, this is word-for-word the same advice as in the NYT
article and I had no luck with it. I must have done something wrong (even though I used a
thermometer and was pretty careful) so maybe I’ll try it again. I would like to know if Xeni wrote
this or stole it…

Posted by: Anonymous on May 14, 2009 at 8:00 pm

I started making my own yogurt a few weeks ago, after finding Harold McGee’s article. It’s
great!Also, plagiarism is a serious charge. No part of this article is stolen from McGee’s. I’m not
generally a fan of Xeni’s writing, but accusations of plagiarism are unjust and unwarranted.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 3:20 pm

You can do this even faster by microwaving the milk on High for about 7 minutes (your results may
vary, depending on the power output of your microwave) until it reaches the desired temperature
range of 170-190F. Then refrigerate the milk for about 45-50 mins (again, your results may vary)
until it reaches the range of 110-120F.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 3:21 pm

We combine yogurt making with bread making. The post-bread temperature of the oven is perfect
for yogurt, especially with the warm baking stone inside.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 3:25 pm

For even less hassle you can buy a yogurt maker. Yogourmet has one and they also sell starter.
Have used it for two years and it makes great yogurt every time. Also, if you let it ferment for 24
hours (instead of 4 hours) it gets rid of the lactose. This also increases the amount of probiotics in
the yogurt. BTW, this stuff works wonders for those suffering from Crohns.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Fastest way to cool the milk down? Put it in a sink full of cold water. Takes only ten minutes for it
to get to the desired temperature.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 4:31 pm

Yo, I thought this article scanned familiar and thanks to the comments above I see that I did read it
wordier version a couple of weeks ago in the NY Times. Xeni, you’re better than this I thought.

Posted by: Xeni Jardin on May 15, 2009 at 4:44 pm

To the anonymous commenters suggesting that this blog post was plagiarized:

This blog post was based on several sources, including the NYT post, all of which are listed and
linked. The idea to do this experiment came from my co-editor Mark Frauenfelder, who is doing a
lot of “down home” experiments himself. He told me about the techniques involved, and honestly
guys, thereʼs only so many ways to make yogurt.
Yes, I really did make yogurt. A few weekends in a row.

I used the NYT piece as my instructions, along with a few other foodie website sources. I printed
them out, and had them on the kitchen counter while I was prepping. I mentioned each by name
and linked to them in this blog post. I provided the name of the NYT author, and cite it as a
reference source. I wasnʼt trying to do anything sneaky here. Iʼm explaining that I referenced the
NYT article in writing this blog post… and Iʼm suggesting people go read the guyʼs work.

Iʼve never been accused of plagiarism before, and itʼs upsetting. If Iʼm going to throw away my
reputation as a journalist, Iʼm not going to do it for a blog post about fermented milk, for cryinʼ out
loud.

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 5:15 pm

Ehm. Heating milk to boiling, then putting it in the fridge waisting tremendous amounts of energy
just for a yogurt which in it’s pure form *is* actually already dirt cheap is supposed to be 10x
cheaper? Is the milk in your country for free as well? I don’t get it. (except for the fun of making the
yogurt yourself)

Posted by: Anonymous on May 15, 2009 at 5:42 pm

When you say keep the soon-to-be-yoghurt warm, roughly what temperature are we talking about?
In the winter, of course one would need to keep the yoghurt in the oven with a hot-water-bottle
(alas, no gas oven here). What about summer, when the temperature of the kitchen easily ranges
from 85-115 degrees depending on the time of day or night? Would the yoghurt be fine on the
counter, or would I have to find some way of cooling it to below room temperature? I have the
same problem with summer baking; I didn’t have any success at baking until the kitchen
temperatures dropped in the fall to around 75-90 degrees.

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