Fresh Homemade Yogurt

Good news- I'm still alive. I know, I missed you too.
I feel like I owe the blogosphere an explanation, and a recipe. Behold, how to make yogurt!
note: I've altered the recipe as of 3/26/13 to initially heat the milk to 180 F/82 C, let cool to 115 F/45 C as I have found that this higher initial heat results in a thicker yogurt. 

 If ever there was a recipe to make a comeback with, it's gotta be yogurt. Am I right? Maybe I'm the only enthusiast.

A little backstory of the past few weeks:

I'm used to working on my feet all day and standing for long periods of time, however this combined with awkward twisting, reaching, and lifting in the kitchen at the retreat, I acquired a mild pain in my lower back. Thinking nothing of it, I continued working, practicing power yoga and not listening to my body pushing my limits. Worst. Idea. Ever. Especially if you have aches and pains.

After one power yoga class in particular, I realized I had gone too far. There was an acute pain in my lower back. I spent the remainder of the class in Child's Pose, mentally kicking myself for not listening to my body sooner. After class, I slipped on my trainers and couldn't even bend down to tie them without my back seizing. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking on eggshells, in fear that any sudden movement would surely send me spiraling into agony.

Luckily for me, I happen to be in the best possible place for healing. We have an amazing Reiki practitioner, Wendi, who took very good care of me, answering my endless questions and entertaining my wild theories. As well, Jamie and Karissa were back for a visit. Jamie is a prominent Pilates instructor, and a wealth of knowledge in the way of the body's inner-workings. He gave me a few simple exercises that I could do each day to release the hip flexors, which helped me to find some relief. I was also fortunate enough to take almost a full week of rest. Bedridden and actually enjoying it, can you imagine? Two weeks later, I have significantly improved. I've crossed that line where laying in bed all day no longer feels good, this is how I know I'm better. A hard lesson to learn, but a necessary one. I was forced for the first time to listen, really listen, to my body. I became sensitized to the cues my body gives me in the way of physical exercise, what I eat, and how I move through my day. Everything became much more mindful and deliberate.

I also learned a lot from Wendi, as she works holistically, we talked about everything from stress to my diet. At one point she advised me to stop drinking lemon water for the time being because it was too taxing on my kidneys. We talked about how my diet has changed over the past few months since coming to Fuerteventura. Before, I was relying on eggs, soy milk, and yogurt as a primary protein source, but in the past few months the above foods have become almost non-existent in my diet, in lieu of grain+legume combinations to create whole proteins. After telling Wendi this, she reminded me how great of a pro-biotic fresh yogurt is (you knew this had to wraparound somehow). She said, "Keep eating how you're eating, just try adding in yogurt again". Don't have to tell me twice.

At the retreat, we make our own yogurt. It far surpasses commercial brand yogurts. And I'm not just saying that. If you look at the ingredient list on some of the most popular dairy brands- and don't even get me started on "flavored" yogurt, I'm talking plain, as close as you can get to fresh clean yogurt- you'll find stabilizers, thickeners, preservatives to prolong shelf life. Gross.

You know what's not gross? Creamy, fresh homemade yogurt with a drizzle of raw local honey.

And it's so damn easy! If only I'd known this years ago. All you need is two liters of fresh whole milk, and roughly 250g of plain natural yogurt. Get the best quality milk you can, preferably the freshest. If you know a local farmer, give them a call. It's worth it. The fresher the milk, the creamier your end result will be, you will taste the difference. Another thing to note, the specific amount of already-cultured yogurt you use is not terribly important. Anywhere from 150g-300g will absolutely work, what is important is that you start with an unsweetened, whole milk, plain yogurt. The ingredients should read something like,

pasturized organic whole milk, living cultures: A Acidophilus, L Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium Lactis

If you're in North America, a couple brands that I'm familiar with and would shoot for are Straus, and Mountain High.

The milk gets slowly heated, then the already-cultured yogurt gets slowly stirred in. Once you make your first batch of yogurt, you can reserve some, and begin using this as your active culture when you make your next batch, just as you would with kombucha, and any other cultured good-ness.

Then simply cover the yogurt, wrap it with a few kitchen towels to insulate it, and let it rest on the counter over night. Shhh, it's culturing.

The next morning, you can transfer it to another container and place into the fridge. Overnight, it will have thickened up and you will be left with the creamiest yogurt that money can't buy. From here, you can strain it through a cheesecloth to make greek yogurt. This process concentrates the cream and solids in the yogurt by straining out any excess liquid, or whey. Straining leaves you with a thicker, creamier, and significantly less tart tasting yogurt. I think the first thing you'll notice about homemade yogurt, however, is that it is already much less 'sour' than store-bought. If you do strain your 'gurt, don't throw away the whey! It's a natural acid that you can use to soak whole grains and beans before cooking to make them more easily digested, you can also use it the next time you make something like Raw Buckwheat Porridge. And hey, some people even drink whey straight. To each their own.

Fresh Homemade Yogurt  

• 2 liters whole milk
• roughly 250g unsweetened plain yogurt

Method 

note: I've raised the initial heat temperature to 180 F/82 C after finding that this higher initial heat results in a thicker yogurt.
Pour the milk into a large metal pot, heat over a low flame until it reaches about 180 degrees F/82 degrees C. The milk should be steaming and frothy, but not yet boiling. Remove from heat and let it cool to 115 F/45 C, which will still feel warm to the touch. This is optimal for the live bacteria in your yogurt to thrive.

Slowly add already-cultured plain yogurt, stirring gently with a metal spoon  or whisk to dissolve completely.

Once dissolved, place a lid on the pot, and place it on the counter out of the way. Wrap a few kitchen towels around the pot to hold the heat it. Let the yogurt sit undisturbed on the counter overnight to culture. In the morning, transfer to another container and place in the fridge. Enjoy throughout the week, and reserve some of this culture for your next batch!


Eat on, friends!