Kitchen Stewardship

It's Sunshine Awareness Week at Kitchen Stewardship! I'm burned on half my body as a result of testing natural sunscreens...be sure to check all this week's posts for the scoop on what works, what doesn't, and when (if?) we need sunblock at all, along with over $400 in sun protection giveaways. Check out the natural sunblock review for the scoop.

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I told you last week about the Cultures for Health room temperature incubating yogurts and how easy they are to make.  This week I’ll show you the process, just in case you didn’t believe me.  Then you can head over and sign up to win a starter for yourself.

Here are my supplies to rehydrate the starter and culture a half cup of yogurt, which can then be used to make the next batch.

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• starter packet (you use 1/2 tsp and reserve the other 1/2 tsp in case you kill your yogurt at some point)
• jelly jar
• coffee filter
• jar ring lid

1. Put 1/2 tsp yogurt starter in the jar.
   
2. Pour 1/2 cup milk in.
   
3. Stir.
   
4. Put coffee filter on top (so the cultures can breathe) and secure with the ring lid (or a rubber band).
   
5. Set in a warm place (70-77 degrees) for 24-48 hours.  Test it to see when it doesn’t run up the side of the jar anymore.
6. Ta da!  Yogurt.
7. Use the yogurt to make more at a ratio of 1 Tbs per cup of milk.  You can incubate on top of your refrigerator:
   
   Or in the cupboard over your stove:
   
   You just want to make sure the temp doesn’t drop below 70 degrees, which happens in our house, even in September.
8. One precaution I took was to freeze 1/4 cup of yogurt from that very first starter batch. Now I have a second back-up if when I kill my starter, or choose to let it go because we went camping.  When I’m ready to make more yogurt, I’ll just thaw it on the counter and mix into a quart of milk, then save another baby food jar’s worth of yogurt insurance from that batch in the freezer.

These cultures work well with raw milk, but you do need to read the directions about making a pasteurized “seed” for your starter.

The only catch to this method of making yogurt is that you should make a new batch once a week.  If you make a quart at a time, that shouldn’t be a problem!  Just don’t forget to pull out your starter for the next batch right away.  I like to set it aside in a baby food jar immediately so I don’t forget and eat up the whole quart of yogurt.

Ready to try homemade yogurt?  There’s almost no excuse with this method!  Easier than a PB and J sandwich, for real.

Click here to try your hand at winning a starter, or just make an order from Cultures for Health and get excited when the mail comes!

Wondering about kefir?  Wonder no longer: Is Water Kefir as good as Soda Pop?

Hungry for more? Related posts:

1. Review: Cultures for Health Room Temp Yogurt
2. Monday Mission: Homemade Yogurt, the Easy Way
3. Food for Thought: Yogurt’s Amazing Health and Nutrition Benefits
4. Homemade Yogurt Recipes (So You Can Eat it All the Time)
5. What is Whey? Where Can I Get It? (How to Make Yogurt Cheese)