Last week I was browsing in the
local thrift shop, and saw a Salton yogurt maker. It had been quite a while
since I’d seen one—in fact, since I donated my old one to another thrift
shop—and it brought back many memories. Back in the day, yogurt-making was very
popular, along with tie-dyed clothing, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. I found directions
for making yogurt in The New York Times
and used the recipe for years, then included a modified version in my own book Cooking without Sugar.
In recent years I have continued to
eat yogurt, but because of general sloth have bought ready-made yogurt at
Safeway. Their yogurt is dependably good, and is less expensive than it used to
be. When I saw the yogurt maker, though, I couldn’t resist making it myself
again. I invested $3 and took the machine home.
It worked perfectly, and the next
day I had five cups of yogurt. The quality was similar to Safeway’s. I could
have bought a Safeway quart carton for only about 50 cents more, so why should
I bother making it myself? The main reason is that I no longer will accumulate
those nonrecyclable yogurt cartons! Also, as a onetime bacteriologist I like
the idea of working with living organisms (the bacteria that digest lactose and
turn liquid milk into semisolid yogurt). Finally, I
will have a reliable supply of sugar-free, preservative-free yogurt that can
be mixed with fresh fruit. Too often the yogurt in stores is made only with
fruit syrups that I find almost nauseating, and that add many calories.
Because my RV is rather small, and
we often have no electricity available, I may not take the yogurt maker when we
travel. It will depend on what kind of trip we are planning and how long we
will be gone. From now on, though, I will be making my own yogurt again
whenever possible.
Here’s my recipe, if you’d like to
try it:
Pour
1 qt whole or 2% milk into a metal (not enamel) saucepan. Add:
1/2
C instant nonfat dry milk
Bring
to a boil and then remove from the stove. Cool until the milk is lukewarm
(about 1 h). Whisk about 1/4 C into:
1/4
C plain Dannon yogurt (whatever brand you use, it must be a live culture)
Add
the yogurt to the milk and stir.
Perhaps
you have a yogurt maker; if so, pour the
mixture into the cups, add the covers, and let it ferment overnight. Otherwise,
leave the pan, uncovered, in a gas oven (having a pilot light) overnight. Or,
put some water in an electric frying pan, set it at 110˚, and place the pan in
the warm water for 3–4 h. (Back in the sixties I knew a flower child who
carried out the fermentation by leaving the pan on her radio (with its warm
tubes) overnight.)
When
the yogurt has solidified, you can add fresh fruit and Splenda to create a
dessert. It can also be used plain as an ingredient in other recipes. Be sure
to save some for starting the next batch.
