Simply Made Delicious Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is easy to make and you don't need a yogurt maker to do it.  I originally had a yogurt maker and it worked well, but after looking at a Cooking Light cook book I learned you could make it without one.  It's delicious and my mom loves to use it for breakfast with granola. The best part is you never have to buy yogurt in the store again. We just make the new batch using some of the old batch for the culture. If you have old baby food jars, they are great for making individual servings.

My mom's average breakfast:
Homemade yogurt and granola, and Woodyat Cherries

Homemade Yogurt:

42 oz milk ( 1% low-fat milk, 2% reduced fat milk or whole milk)

6 oz plain yogurt (Make sure it specifies "contains live and active cultures)*

1. Place milk in large saucepan; heat the milk over medium-high heat until bubbles appear or to about 180 degrees for about 1-2 minutes. The milk will start to climb the side of the saucepan.
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the milk cool until it registers 110˚ to 112˚ on a thermometer or until it comes to room temperature. 
3. Heat your oven to 100 degrees and then turn it off.
4. Transfer the milk to a large glass container. Stir yogurt into about one cup of the milk until smooth then mix it well into the remaining milk. Place plastic wrap on the glass container and place in the heated oven (now off)  for 8 hours or overnight.  Note that the 1% and 2% milk will take longer to set.  I usually use whole milk and do this right before bedtime so that I will have a fresh batch of yogurt when I wake up in the morning. To check if the yogurt is set, remove the plastic wrap, and gently shake the container to see if the yogurt is very thick. If not, let it sit for a few hours longer.  If it is thick, place the container in the refrigerator to chill.  Yield: 7 cups.

* For the first batch, you can use store bought yogurt but after that, just use 6 oz of yogurt from the previous batch. You will never have to buy yogurt at the store again unless, like me, you forget and eat your last 6oz before making the next batch!

Nutrition Facts: 

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Calories: 53 (1% milk)     Fat: 1.4g    Protein: 4.2g    Carbohydrates: 6.1g    Fiber: 0g Cholesterol: 5mg   Iron: 0.1mg    Sodium: 64mg     Calcium: 157mg