MYO Yogurt

We have milk cows.  Our last house had two acres with it and we had milk goats.  The house before that had three city lots, plenty of room for pygmy goats behind a privacy fence.  In some towns that is illegal, it was in our town... so I may or may not have had pygmy goats behind a privacy fence... that's not the point.  The point is, we can produce our own dairy and for relatively cheap.


Pygmy goats are small, they can live in a dog house. I will give you a goat in the city tip... you need two.  A lonely goat is a noisy goat, besides you only get milk if that little gal is bred. So two it must be.  A pygmy goat only gives about a quart of milk a day but because it is whole milk you can water it down and make it stretch farther in cooking or on cereal.


Dairy animals can be fed grass, hay, garden produce.  Summer squash and sunflowers are a fast growing food in the summer, feed the sunflower leaves and keep the seed heads for winter.   Winter squash, carrots and beets store over winter providing free food year round.  If it's goats, they love leaves and tree prunings. Super easy to store and super cheap.


Well, I really should get on to the blog post, shouldn't I...


Yogurt is super easy and so very good for you.  Even if you need to use store-bought milk. Making your own ensures that you are giving the best you can to your family.



Step 1: Heat your milk to 180 degrees, I use a meat thermometer.  They run double duty and are cheap.  you can pick one up for less than five bucks here. My yogotherm holds a half gallon so that is the amount of milk I heat.

Step 2:  You are going to need something to incubate your yogurt in... I picked up a yogotherm when our oldest was a baby so 25 years ago...  I like that it doesn't require electricity and after 25 years I can truthfully say they last.  Amazon has them here or you can use a jar wrapped in a towel and placed in a cooler.  Some instapots have a yogurt setting, mine doesn't but I'd check. maybe make use of an old thermos.  Or you can buy a fancy electric one. (sorry, I couldn't recommend a brand)  There are many choices out there.

Once your milk is heated it needs to cool to 112 degrees.  I know, why heat it that high in the first place? ... it's supposed to kill out competing bacteria.  To be honest, I rarely make it to 160* before I tire of babysitting it and dump it in the therm but the recommended temp is 180* so that is what I recommend you should do.....

So now, the moment of many choices.  What to use as a starter.  I recommend Rickie's  Y5 direct set culture.  You can find it here.  They messed up one time and sent me the Y3... it's good too.  If you purchase a yogotherm it will come with a culture sample.  Unless they have improved it in the last quarter century do yourself a favor and toss it.  It will not set.  I had to make lots of smoothies for the kids out of unset yogurt before I realized it wasn't my fault but the cultures.  

*Money saving tip:  once you make a batch of cultured yogurt you can use a teaspoon of it to set another batch and so on for quite a few batches before it becomes sour and needs to be replaced.  The package of Y5 or Y3 both come with five starters in them so they last for a long time this way. Store culture packets in your freezer.

Okay so your milk is at 112* and you are going to sprinkle the starter over the top and let it sit for about five minutes... again this is a preference, some days I need to get outside and I make it a minute or two and just stir the puppy in.  But for the rest of you patient people who can wait five minutes then gently stir the culture to ensure it is mixed throughout.  (Somehow I missed a picture of this, probably too impatient.)

Place the lid on and let sit undisturbed for 12 hours and then refrigerate.  I usually make it in the morning then toss it in the fridge just before I go to bed...close enough.

and for breakfast, you will have rich creamy yogurt that you can feel good about serving.

It can be flavored in many ways. Jam or honey are two of our family's favorites.  Maple syrup is good.  I am hoping to do an extra credit post for using it in desserts... we'll have to see how this weekend goes.

But that is it gals, feeding our family less. Less additives, less sugar, less human contact.  Less.

Now make more of your day and spend it loving on that family!