Homemade Yogurt

I blame Natalie. She got me into brewing kombucha and now making yogurt.

I never thought about making yogurt at home. It's one of those things that seems a bit beyond the home cook's reach. I read about making yogurt once, but the article talked about sitting it on a radiator to get the ideal temperature. I didn't have a radiator. Besides, dealing with temperatures seemed too finicky for me.

BUT, I assure you, it is easier than it sounds. The "recipe" for yogurt is really basic and quantities are flexible. The recipe below is for how much I make, but it can really be whatever quantity you want, with a relative amount of yogurt/active cultures added. The only thing that is essential is the temperature, but you just need a candy thermometer clipped on the side of the pot. Then all you need is time!

Try it once or twice and you will have it down. If you don't want to worry about your yogurt at all, get an incubator. It keeps the yogurt at just the right temperature, so you don't have to think about it. I thought about getting one, but then I figured it out without one, so I didn't bother. I can make bigger batches my way, too.

I like making yogurt because it is cheap and I can make it Greek-style, like I prefer. I also like that there are no additives. Yogurt is so good for you! Natalie and I promise.

Homemade Yogurt

~Print Recipe~

•  8 cups of milk (I use nonfat, but use whatever you like)
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt with live/active cultures (I don't measure, just scoop what looks like enough)

1. Slowly heat the milk to 185 degrees, stirring often.

   

   Heated milk cooling in an ice-water bath.

2. Remove from heat and cool milk to 115 degrees. (I speed this up by using an ice water bath, but you don't need to.)
3. Stir about a cup of 115 degree milk into a small bowl with the already-made yogurt. Gently stir milk/yogurt mixture into the pot of 115 degree milk. 
4. Maintain the pot at about 105-115 degree temperature for 5-12 hours. 
5. Stir the yogurt. It should have a soft jell-o like consistency. 

6. Strain the yogurt, to remove some of the whey. I have used a colander lined with two layers of cheese cloth or a very fine-mess strainer. When the yogurt has reached your desired consistency, whisk until smooth. Refrigerate. 

Yield: Approx. 4 cups, depending on how much you strain it.

NOTES:
To keep the yogurt incubating at 105-115 degrees, I wrap the pot in a towel and set in my oven, which I've heated to this approximate temperature. I usually reheat the oven about halfway through to maintain the correct temp. Other people have success leaving it on top of their refrigerator, wrapping it with a heating pad, etc. Get creative!

If the temperature is too hot, it will kill the bacteria you need to make the yogurt. If it is not warm enough, the process will go too slowly. If you remove the yogurt at 5 hours, it will not be too tart. The longer it sits, the more tart it will become.

If your yogurt is too thick, you can just whisk in some milk to thin.

I tried adding vanilla extract to one batch. It was OK, just different than store-bought. I mostly stick to plain.

The New Tuna Salad Sandwich

There's your typical tuna sandwich, and then there's this tuna sandwich. We're really going to blow your mind with this one. Well, I mean it's only a tuna sandwich, but just think: whole grain mustard! Curry paste! Hummus! Greek yogurt? Feta? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. This here is a bit of a tuna sandwich revolution. Best get ready.

So, my mom never made tuna sandwiches for me when I was little. She didn't like canned foods. Or mayonnaise. I specifically remember having one or two tuna sandwiches as a kid, eaten tentatively like a foreign food while at a friend's house. I kinda liked them. Still, something about tuna is a just little funky. Tuna sandwiches sure taste good, but they'll never be cool. Tuna just smells a little too fishy to be hip.

That being said, there is still something very satisfying and delicious about a tuna sandwich. I'm not sure exactly what it is. Something brilliant happens when you get the alchemy of all the different flavors just exactly right. It is a complicated balancing act. If there's not enough of just one ingredient---not quite enough salt, or a little short on the mustard---the whole sandwich is thrown off. Usually it's close, but you can taste it---it doesn't quite taste like your Platonic ideal of a tuna sandwich (you know, like the ones you remember from your childhood.)

Like many recipes, tuna salad preparation requires constant tasting and adjusting. Wait for it.... You'll know when you've gotten it just right. Trust me.

I don't know how Mark came upon the pure, solid genius of adding feta to a tuna sandwich, but he did. Now I am reaping all the rewards. Bwah, ha ha hah. Ah ha hah ha! (Oh, and by rewards, I just mean really, really ridiculously good tasting sandwiches.) The curry is all mine, though, because I like a hint of curry in pretty much anything. Greek yogurt is just a fantastic creamy addition to anything that needs to be creamier (and low fat, too!). In fact, you could replace all of the mayo with Greek yogurt if you were so inclined. (I am, Mark's not.)

New Tuna Sandwiches

~Print Recipe~

• 4 slices of bread
• Hummus
• Lettuce 
• 2 oz. feta, crumbled*
• 2 cans of tuna in water
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion*
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery*
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise*
• 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard*
• 1 or 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt*
• 1/2 teaspoon curry paste (such as Patak's Vindaloo)*
• 1/4 teaspoon dill*
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix well tuna and all subsequent ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Lightly toast your bread and spread all four slices with hummus. Divide tuna salad evenly between two slices. Sprinkle each sandwich with feta, top with lettuce and remaining bread slices. Prepare to be blown away.

*More, or less to taste. As you can see, this is not an exact science. Do whatever tastes good to you!

Serves 2