Making Yogurt

I got a Yogotherm for Christmas and have been making 2-quart batches of yogurt at home about once a week ever since. It's easy, it's cheap, and the yogurt has been fantastic--thick, creamy, smooth, and with great flavor. I'm still happy to rave about our local yogurt producer, Sidehill Farm, which is amazing - but at the rate we go through yogurt, it has been getting expensive.

Here's how I do it:

1. Heat 2 quarts of milk to 180-185 degrees F (needless to say, I use local milk; usually from Mapleline Farm). I do this in the microwave (it takes about 13 1/2 minutes in mine; the first few times I did it in small increments to figure it out).

2. Place bowl of hot milk in a second large bowl of cold water and cool to 120 degrees F. (This takes about 13-14 minutes as well.)

3. Place culture in the inner pail that comes with the Yogotherm - I use 4 Tbsp of the previous batch of yogurt, reserved ahead of time, or of yogurt bought at the store. Pour milk into the pail. Optional: add 1/4 - 1/3 cup grade B maple syrup. Mix well. Place lid on pail and put it in the Yogotherm. Let sit on the counter for 9-10 hours to incubate (I prepare it before bed and leave it overnight).

4. Remove pail from Yogotherm and refrigerate. Makes 2 quarts.

There are, of course, plenty of ways to make yogurt without the Yogotherm incubator, but I like it because it's simple and easy and uses no electricity. It's available from New England Cheesemaking Supply in Ashfield (the same place I took the cheesemaking class). It comes with some culture, and you can buy more online, but really there's no reason to since you can just use your prior batch and occasionally some store-bought yogurt to refresh the culture.