Suburban Homesteading: Yogurt

So last night I made some yogurt, keeping track of the cost of the ingredients going in to compare with store-bought. It took me about 20-30 minutes. basically: heat milk to 180 degrees to kill bacteria, cool to 118 degrees, mix in 4 tablespoons of organic plain yogurt, and let it sit in a thermos or other set-up that will keep the milk warm (I've heard of using the oven, a crock pot that you turn on and off, a heating pad, etc- I personally have a Yogotherm, which is basically a yogurt-making thermos that cost about $35. It's not a necessity keeps the temp consistent and holds a large quantity).

In doing the math for the raw ingredients, I ended up making organic, plain yogurt for less than 7 cents an ounce, even with the high price of organic milk. This cost is about 40 percent cheaper than storebought, even in large quantities. There were a few things I could have done to make it even more cost-effective- making larger batches (a gallon of milk is cheaper than a half-gallon, per ounce), and using my own homemade yogurt as a starter (instead of storebought). You can use your own yogurt as a starter, which cuts the production cost by about 205. I've seen it recommended that you freshen the starter with store-bought yogurt or freeze dried starter (much more expensive) about every month or so, to keep the organisms in balance.

For the kids, I don't like to let the yogurt sit too long because it gets more tart the longer it sits. On the other hand, it also gets firmer, so it's a delicate balance. It firms up fine for us (more so than the local dairy version, which we loved but vetoed because it had HFCS in it!) but I've heard you can add gelatin or powdered milk for a firmer consistency. I may try the powdered milk, as it's not too pricey and you can get it organic.

As the younger starts eating more solids, I see lots of yogurt in our future, and I think this is a great easy way to get healthy, inexpensive yogurt with a minimum of additives. I think I'll continue to make in bulk, but to use up the larger quantities I may dabble in frozen yogurt and dips and sauces. I envision a tzatziki using the yogurt, the dill from the garden, cucumbers from the CSA, and locally-grown garlic.

In addition to the yogurt, I have vinegar culturing away in the basement (away from little hands). My next project is going to be cheese- I'm going to try the 3o minute mozzarella kit from New England Cheesemaking supply.