by Shannon Nichols

Created on: January 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 05, 2011

Yogurt, yoghurt, laban... These are all names for one of the oldest fermented milk products discovered by man. Most yogurt in stores are what you call cup set yogurt. They are often slurries of yogurt with sweet processed fruits, thickeners and preservatives. Some are cooked to death to make it last through the rigors of a supermarket existence before you bring it home to eat.

I prefer living food. Food as nature intended. This recipe is a cream-top yogurt. It is simply milk and cultures. For flavors, I've also added recipes for Maple flavored and Maple Vanilla flavored yogurt. You can also add fresh fruit. Blueberry needs to be consumed right away, however. It does something strange with the berries and is not very nice after a while.

You will need:
1 gal. Fresh whole cows milk, pasteurized or raw (not UHT pasteurized milk)
1 5gram envelope of yogurt culture from on-line cheese supply store
Large Stainless Steel stock pot (not aluminum)
Thermometer that can read temperatures up to 220F
Ladle or other stir rod
Towels or warm blankets
Picnic cooler

Place blankets or towels in bottom of picnic cooler. Wash and sanitize thermometer, stir rod and pot. Rinse and pour milk into stainless pot.

Heat milk in stock pot to 178-182F. Be careful not to scald milk on bottom or flavor will be burnt. Take pot off of stove and place into sink filled with cold tap water. Stir both milk and sink water (with separate spoons) until temperature down to 120F.

Culture milk with envelop contents. Wait until the powder on the surface of the milk hydrates. It turns a yellowish color or disappears. Stir thoroughly. Immediately transfer to containers or incubate in the stock pot itself. Place towel or blanket over containers.

Yogurt generally takes 4-6 hours to set. Cream naturally rises to surface. You may have some whey. That is natural. Cool immediately in refrigerator. You can use this yogurt as starter for your next batch. Just save off 4T. of freshly made yogurt and use immediately. Don't use yogurt you've already opened as you may contaminate the next batch.

Maple. I prefer maple syrup to maple flavor. Use 1/4 c. maple syrup per quart container. Add the syrup directly to the container. Then pour the hot cultured milk into the container. If using the same container you made the yogurt in, add Maple directly to the pot when you start to cool the milk. As the maple is generally cold, it will cool the milk. Then culture the milk as above. Do not use more than 5T. of maple per quart, or the yogurt gets ropey/slimy.

Vanilla. I use 1/4 c. maple syrup and 2t. pure vanilla extract. Not vanilla flavor, extract. Follow the same instructions as above.

Labneh: Also known by some as Greek Yogurt. All you do here is take that cultured yogurt once it is set and strain it. On the home scale, clean and sterilize a colander and cheesecloth. Not the coarse cheesecloth in the local grocery, use a clean white pillowcase or muslin. Boil the muslin. Place into colander. Once it cools down some, pour yogurt into the cheese cloth. You can either place the edges over the yogurt, or tie the 4-corners off and hang the cloth. Be careful not to let the edges of cloth become contaminated by making sure sink or counter are clean and sterilized. Drain to consistency. I prefer a think consistency, you may prefer a sour cream consistency. Tip out of cheesecloth into a clean bowl. Eat immediately. Ad a hint of salt to extend shelf life if you want. Serve.

Maple Whip Labneh. Take strained yogurt and tip into a mixing bowl. Whip on medium. As whipping, add hint of salt and 1/4c. maple syrup as whipping. Tastes like cotton candy. Children LOVE it.

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