Making Low-Fat Yogurt

Plain yogurt has so many uses. It's the base for a bowl of cereal in the morning. Just drizzle some honey on top and eat it with a scoop of home made Whole Lotta Nuts Granola. Yogurt is also a great substitute for sour cream. I use it whenever a recipe calls for sour cream, especially in my favorite  New York cheesecake recipe. Making yogurt is easier than it sounds, and you don't need a machine to make it!

Pour two liters of milk into a large pot. I used 1 liter of whole milk and 1 liter of zero percent milk to get this low-fat milk mixture. I discovered that zero percent milk yogurt does not set. It needs the fat in whole milk to make yogurt. You can use 2 liters of low fat milk but I found that when I did that,  I ended up with the watery consistency of a yogurt drink like lassi.

I use a candy thermometer to make sure the milk gets to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes about 10 minutes on medium heat to get up to temperature. I stir the milk often to prevent the bottom from scorching.

When the milk got to 150 degrees, it started to steam. I let it cool to 120 degrees. My friend Lovan says that adding yogurt to the milk at a higher temperature will ensure two things: it will set quicker and it will thicken.

This was all the yogurt I had left over from last week's batch. Some cooks add powdered milk to thicken the yogurt, but I don't like the taste. Kishore, Lovan's husband, says that yogurt made with whole milk will do what we say in Jamaican patois "spring water."  In other words, you'll notice a by- product called whey, a yellowish liquid. Remember the nursery rhyme about Miss Muffet eating her curds and whey? I wonder if she was eating yogurt!

When the milk cooled to 120 degrees (warm to the touch) I added the yogurt and stirred well to combine.

I poured the milk and yogurt into two large porcelain bowls. Each bowl holds about 4 cups of the milk mixture. I prefer to use porcelain because I put the bowls in the oven to set the yogurt. Also, I think porcelain is easier to clean than plastic. If you're concerned about the chemicals in plastic leaching into food as I am, use porcelain bowls.

Here are the two bowls, covered with upside down plates, side by side in the oven. Do NOT turn on the oven. It's okay to leave on the pilot light. Any draft-free place will do to set the yogurt, as long as the bowls are covered with a dishtowel as well. In Thailand it is so easy to make yogurt, but in cool climates, the yogurt will need to be covered with a thick towel in order to set!

About 3 hours later, the yogurt had set.  When I took the bowls out of the oven, they were warm from the pilot light. You can see that the top is shiny, even reflecting the light from my kitchen window! Cover with plastic film and refrigerate to finish setting the yogurt. To make Greek-style yogurt or yogurt cheese, see my recipe's notes.

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