Home Made Yogourt

I have now made home-made yogourt three times.

It has actually turned out quite well. Firm enough and very yummy tasting. The only trouble I have had with it is that the whey separates from the yogourt, so I tend to have to mix it back in once I've scooped a bit out. Here is the recipe I've been following (the original ingredients and the modifications I've tried). Feel free to try it out, let me know how it goes for you and what cool modifications you've tried.

Ingredients:

• 4 litres homogenized milk (I only use 2L and 2% milk). 
• 175 grams starter yogourt 10% Milk fat (I could only find 6% milk fat; after the first batch you can save 1 cup of the yogourt to use as a starter for your next batch).

Directions:

• In a large pot, heat the milk, stirring constantly. Heat to at least 180F (82C) but do not boil. Once desired temperature is reached, take off heat. 

• Allow the milk to cool to 110F (45C) or less. 

• Transfer to a clean bowl, preferably an earthenware dish such as corningware.
• Mix ~1 cup of the warm milk with the starter yogourt until smooth. Poor this mixture back into the rest of the milk, mix in.

• Put lid on dish, insulate well (I usually wrap it in a couple towels, you could use a blanket too) and place in a warm spot to try and maintain the temperature as close to 45C as possible.

• Let sit for 20-24 hours.
• Remove from insulation, put in fridge.
• Once chilled, eat and enjoy!

• We've eaten this yogourt plain, with fresh fruit and as a special treat with a couple spoonfuls of sugar and fresh strawberries (but the sugar really isn't necessary).

*I've been thinking of trying this recipe with a couple teaspoonfuls of vanilla but haven't tried it yet.