Make It With Milk: Homemade Yogurt

Stay with me here: I'm trying to convince you to make yogurt. And cheese. And butter. Trust me, I'm no Martha. I don't need to make more work for myself. But this little series on cool things you can make -- easily -- from milk is a fun way to try some kitchen science with your kids, and make a few discoveries yourself.

First up is yogurt. It's versatile, it's delicious, and it's ridiculously easy. You need only two or three common ingredients, and the only special equipment required is a thermometer. Hands-on time is minimal, and kids can help. Basically, you heat up milk, add a bit of yogurt as a starter and perhaps some powdered milk, then incubate it -- keeping it warm for several hours.

The trickiest part is rigging an incubator to keep the yogurt warm. Some people keep it at room temperature, but that hasn't worked for me. I use recycled jam or sauce jars, swaddled in towels and set atop a heated mat (it doubles as a seedling warmer). To keep curious kids from shaking the jars and keep in the heat, I invert a stock pot over them. Other options:

• Keep the yogurt warm in a crock pot;
• Swaddle your jars with towels;
• Set the jars in the oven with the pilot light on;
• Put the jars in a cooler filled with hot water;
• Buy a yogurt maker, if you really like buying unnecessary gadgets.

The only other challenge is figuring out how long to incubate your yogurt. It might be ready in three hours or 10. Trial and error is the best way to find what you like. Keep in mind that your yogurt will grow increasingly tart the longer it incubates, and that it will firm up further once it's chilled for a few hours. For your first batch, you might want to use several small jars, removing them from your incubation setup at different times to compare taste and consistency.

Have a favorite way to enjoy yogurt? I love it added to oatmeal, used in pancakes or muffins, and with fruit. If you need fresh ideas, check out this inspired in-progress compilation of 101 ways to dress up plain, unsweetened yogurt.

Homemade Yogurt

Whole milk and whole-milk yogurt yield a thicker, creamier finished yogurt. If you use skim or low-fat milk, you can thicken it by adding powdered milk or straining the finished yogurt for a few hours. I've done both, and am happy with the results.

4 cups milk (whole, low-fat, or skim -- see note)
2 to 4 tablespoons plain yogurt with live cultures (I've used Trader Joe's and Nancy's organic nonfat yogurt)
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (optional)

Heat milk in small, thick-bottomed saucepan, keeping a thermometer clipped to the side. If you're using powdered milk, stir it in. (I prefer not to stir the milk as it warms, which means a little more work later scrubbing the pan but less time standing over the stove.) Heat the milk to 185 degrees, then turn off the burner. Leave the pot on the stove until it cools to 110-120 degrees, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, put your jars and lids into a large stock pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat, and let sit until ready to use.

Spoon a cup or so of warm milk into a small bowl and gently whisk in the yogurt. Add this mix to the milk in the pot and stir. Pour mixture into jars, secure lids, and set up your jars for incubation. Then leave them alone! Shaking and stirring will disrupt the process.

Begin checking your yogurt at three hours, but you might want to let it sit for as long as 10. Stir your finished yogurt and chill in the refrigerator for two hours to overnight. It's good for at least a week in the refrigerator. Save a few tablespoons to start a new batch (you can save it in the freezer).