YOGURT MAKING ILLUSTRATED David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. Professor of Biology and Chemistry U.C. Clermont College Batavia OH 45103
You can use commercial yogurt as your starter.	~1980, rev. 17 December 1993, 5 Dec 98, 11 Dec 98, 18 Apr 99, 20 Apr 99, 3 Jan 00, 7 Sept 00 This page has been accessed  times since 13 December 2004. times since 1 Sept 2000.	Use a "cooler" for an incubator

In addition, these bacteria will help settle GI upset including that which follows oral antibiotic therapy by replenishing non-pathogenic flora of the gastrointestinal tract.

Several factors are crucial for successful yogurt making:

• a. good sterile technique (i.e., proper cleansing and heat treatment of glassware, and keeping out unwanted bacteria)

• b. proper incubation temperature. Lactobacillus is killed if exposed to temperatures over 55^oC (130^o F), and does not grow well below 37^oC (98^oF). We will incubate at 50^oC, a temperature on the high side of its preferred growth temperature (122^oF), a temperature which inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria.

• c. protection of the starter from contamination. Do not open the starter (either Dannon Plain yogurt, or 8 oz starter from the previous yogurt batch) until you are ready to make the next batch.

Baked goods will rise well when yogurt is used, again due to its acidity. Use yogurt as part or all of the liquid in cakes, waffles, pancakes and muffins, and cut down on the amount of baking powder. The thickness of yogurt helps to hold up the baking batter.

Yogurt is an excellent dish by itself, but is valuable in its many other uses .

The following recipe makes four quarts of yogurt. If you would like to make 2 quarts, here is the recipe . The following instructions may seem overly detailed, but I believe that the detail increases your chance of successful yogurt.
Click on a thumbnail image to see the full-sized image

	SUPPLIES	EQUIPMENT
Dannon Label:	1 gallon fresh milk (whole milk makes richer yogurt, skim makes it non-fat) 1 cup Dannon Plain yogurt (starter, should be fresh) (I prefer Dannon Plain, made purely with milk and culture: it WORKS. ( See label at right) Others have had success with other brands)	double boiler (or heavy pot) with lid, capacity 1+ gallon four quart jars with lids, sterilized in boiling water one 8 oz jar with lid, very clean and sterile candy thermometer, reading range = -10 to 110oC (0 to 225 oF) 1 medium sized cooler (such as a "Playmate" or styrofoam with close fitting lid) (A gas oven with pilot can work if monitored).

PROCEDURE:

	1) Set up a double boiler which will hold a little more than one gallon. Here I improvise a double boiler by adding 3/4 inch water to a pot which will accept the one gallon primary pot. (Or use a stainless steel pot with a heavy aluminum or copper pad on the bottom to disperse the heat. The point is to heat the milk without burning the milk on the bottom.)
	2) Insert the one gallon primary pot into the secondary (water-containing) pot.
	3) Add 1 gallon of cold, fresh milk to the primary pot, insert a thermometer and cover. (I am showing commercial milk in this picture because that is what most folks have available, but 95% of the time I use our fresh goat's milk.)
	4) Turn on heat to bring water in secondary pot to boil. The temperature of the cold milk at the beginning of the heating is around 4 o C (40oF) (refrigerator temperature).
	5) Continue heating over medium fire until the temperature reaches 85-90oC (185-195oF). If you are using a double boiler, you will not need to stir the milk, but be certain that you do not run out of water in the secondary pot. If you are using a heavy pot, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Keep covered when not stirring.
	6) Once the milk has reached 85oC, turn off the fire, remove the covered pot of hot milk with hot pads and carefully lower it into a pan of clean cool water. Stir occasionally (always replace lid) until the temperature is just below 55oC (130o F).
	7) While the milk is cooling, measure out 1 cup active (live) yogurt into a two cup measure. For starter, you may use either unopened yogurt from your previous batch, or a freshly purchased cup of Dannon Plain Yogurt.
	8) Stir up yogurt starter with a clean fork, add an equal volume of 55oC milk, stir thoroughly.
	9) Be certain that the temperature of the cooled milk is down to 55oC (130oF).
	10) Stir the suspended starter into the gallon of 55 o C milk to inoculate the milk with the bacteria. The temperature of the mixture should drop to around 50oC (122 oF).
	11) Whisk the mixture to blend thoroughly.
	12) Immediately distribute the (still 50oC) inoculated mixture into the four sterilized quart bottles (or at least thoroughly cleaned and dried), plus the smaller 8 oz jar. Cover immediately with the sterile lids. The 8 oz jar will serve as your starter for your next batch of yogurt.
	13) Place filled bottles in cooler "incubator," add enough 50 oC (122oF) water so that bottles are surrounded, but the water is well below the lid rims. (2-3 quarts for most coolers). The starter jar will have to be placed on a support to keep its lid above the water.
	14) Place "incubator" in warm location. Do NOT disturb, or the yogurt will not gel properly.
	15) The yogurt will be finished in 3 hours, provided its temperature does not drop below 40oC (104oF). (Note in the picture that the temperature has dropped from 50oC to 42 o C.) Label each jar with the date, and refrigerate at 4 o C until needed. To keep the starter free of contamination, do not open the 8 oz starter jar until you are ready to make the next batch.
	16) The resulting yogurt will be mild and delicate. It will easily keep a month under these conditions. If you want yogurt that is more tart, incubate longer and maintain the temperature near 50 o C by adding hot water to the "incubator."

For more firm yogurt, add 4 Tbl powdered milk to the gallon of milk prior to heating (step 3). Either whole or skimmed milk may be used, but whole milk makes richer yogurt.

Recently, I have switched to a two gallon stainless pot with a heavy pad of aluminum on the bottom. It considerably simplifies heating the milk. So long as you heat it to 85-90^oC (185-195^o F) without burning, that is what is required. Once the milk has been scalded and cooled, you can even add the starter directly to the pot, and make the yogurt in the pot. It is better aseptic technique. Stay tuned, will try to get a new page up.

YOGURT HAS MANY USES:

My favorites include:

1) In place of sour cream. Add dollops:
        to baked potatoes
        on rice dishes
        on bowls of soup (especially lamb stew, chili or borscht)
        with hot chili (works as an oral fire extinguisher too!)

2) In cucumber-yogurt soup, (khyar b'laban) a fabulous Middle Eastern summer dish, made with yogurt, garlic, sliced cucumbers, salt to taste and topped with crushed mint.  It is served chilled.

3) As a liquid (or portion of the liquid) in baking soda-raised breads, waffles and pancakes

4) As labneh (sometimes also known as laban, although strictly speaking, laban is yogurt), a Middle Eastern soft cheese, (an easy yogurt cheese). It can be made by hanging lightly salted yogurt in a clean cloth, permitting the whey to drip into a bowl.  It is delicious served with pulverized spearmint and olive oil as a dip with lightly toasted pita bread. For illustrated instructions: how to make labneh .

5)  As ayran (pronounced I-Ron), a wonderfully refreshing cold summer drink commonly consumed in Turkey where I drank it with gusto.  In the words of Tekin Topuzdag, a cheese making friend in Turkey who sent me this recipe by email:  

"How to make is extremely simple: Mix yoghurt with (about quarter amount of yoghurt) water and pinch of salt. Mix them well in blender (good sign of mixing is: bubbles, lots of them). Serve with ice in hot summer days."

 
6) As a starter for cheese

7) As a starter for yogurt (see above for how to do this)

Check any Middle Eastern cookbook for a variety of uses.