Eliminating Plastic: Making Yogurt

Posted byJesse KeelerPosted inCreating ChangeTags:

During our regular meetings plastic has become a regular topic of conversation. Not just how its impacting the environment, but our personal usage too. Last week, Quynh remarked that plastic yogurt in individual servings is convenient but single-use plastic cups are very wasteful.

Sue’s first homemade yogurt

Sue, with her usual enthusiasm, responded “Yeah they are a waste, maybe we should start making our own yogurt.” A few days later I wasn’t surprised to get a text from Sue sharing that she made her own yogurt for the first time. Sue got some yummy yogurt and a little less single-use plastic went into the trash.

There are a lot of yogurt recipes. Feel free to share yours. Following is the one Sue used from Mother Earth News.

Ingredients

  • ½ gallon milk
  • ¼ cup plain yogurt with live yogurt cultures, or ¼ teaspoon powdered yogurt culture
  1. Pour milk into a stainless steel pot and place on stove. Stir gently, scraping the bottom, and heat to boiling. Remove from heat.
  2. Set pot in cool water bath in sink, and stir until milk reaches 120 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Put fresh yogurt in a small bowl, and add enough milk to stir into a thin smooth liquid.
  4. Add thinned yogurt to warm milk, and stir well. Or, if using powdered culture, sprinkle on top of milk, wait a few minutes, and then stir in.
  5. Pour the mixture into 2 one-quart jars.
  6. Line an insulated cooler with a towel, and set yogurt inside.
  7. Fill another quart jar with 150-degree water (or any water that’s almost too hot to touch), cover, and add to cooler.
  8. Tuck towel over tops of jars and close cooler lid. Set in a fairly warm spot. If you do’t have a warm spot, or if the weather is cold, simply refill the hot water jar after about 2 hours.
  9. Wait 8 hours, and then check for thickness. (When the yogurt is warm, it will be a bit thinner than once it’s chilled.) You’re looking for a custard-like texture.
  10. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
  11. The next day, taste. If the yogurt isn’t tart enough, incubate it longer next time, or allow it to cool on the counter overnight and then refrigerate. Use within 2 weeks.