Back to basics

There is something about cruising that makes me want to go back in time and make things the way my mom and grandma used to do, from scratch.  My mom used to make yogurt from scratch when I was a kid.  I thought about making my own yogurt many a time when we lived in our house.  But the simple truth is, I didn't need to make it from scratch.  It was so much easier to get in the car and drive a mile down the road and buy it at the store.  Now, the store is (at least) a mile walk down the road and dairy products are either few and far between or expensive.  So, I grabbed my Boat Galley cookbook and made my first batch.  It is a simple process and I have made many more batches since.

I use a combination of nonfat and whole milk powder

Mixing the milk powder with some water

Pre-heating the thermos with hot water.  I use our wonderful french press, coffee making thermos that has many uses such as making yogurt.

I add hot and cold water alternately to the milk powder mixture until it is between 110F and 120F.  This is the optimum temperature for the culture to grown.  Then I add a yogurt starter (which is usually yogurt from my last batch), stir, put on the lid and let it sit for 8 hours or sometimes overnight.  I pour off the whey and transfer it to a plastic container and store in the refrigerator.