For weeks now, I’ve been pestering Raj to take me to the Citadel. Unfortunately, due to protests going on downtown, we were unable to go (safety first), again, resulting in house arrest. What else is there to do when you’re out of Netflix DVD’s, it’s too hot to lay out, and there’s nothing to eat? Make yogurt.
Now you might be wondering why I’d bother to make yogurt when it’s so plentiful in grocery stores, right? Around here, yogurt is NOT real yogurt, at least not by my standards (Raj might disagree with me and he’ll point out that I’m petrified of FULL-FAT anything, so the real challenge, I suppose, is finding HEALTHY, nonfat yogurt). Dairy products here (yogurt, eggs, whipping cream, heavy cream, milk, etc.) are bought on shelves, not refrigerated,
and mostly U.H.T., or ultra pasteurized. The shelf life of these products is YEARS (I find this frightening and disconcerting to see milk and eggs in the aisles of the stores!!!). Ultra pasteurization essentially kills everything, leaving the these products less than nutritional. It’s just not right, so I sought out an alternative to the tasteless yogurt that I’ve been eating.
I scoured the Internet for recipes to make my own yogurt, which wasn’t difficult given the ‘slow’ food movement of the hour. I found a lot of recipes calling for the use of a crock pot, which I didn’t have, but quickly ordered on Amazon. When the crock arrived, I thought I was set to venture into the world of homemade yogurt until I realized that in order to make yogurt, I’d have to find milk that was pasteurized, not ultra pasteurized. Raj and I spent a couple of days in the dairy sections of the grocery stores looking for REAL milk and finally hit pay dirt.
Here’s the recipe that I followed. It’s a synthesis of of the recipes that I found online. They all varied a little, but I had great success with this one.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups (1/2 gallon) non-fat (skimmed, as it’s called here) milk
- 1/2 cup yogurt (with active, live cultures) [After this first batch, you save 1/2 cup of your own yogurt to put into each subsequent batch]
- optional: vanilla extract for flavoring
- Place the milk into the crock pot, cover with lid and set on “Low” for 2.5 hours.
3. Take 2 cups of milk and stir in 1/2 cup of yogurt with ‘active/live cultures.’ Stir back into milk mixture. Replace lid on crock.
4. Wrap the crock (still off and unplugged) in a large towel to insulate it from drafts and leave overnight (at least 8 hours, untouched).
5. Place cheese cloth over a colander and drain for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, to the thickness of your preference (I was going for Greek-style thickness).
Jen Maan in Amman 
Hi, Jen! Looks yum… Since Whole Foods is just a few miles from my home, and I’m going there today, what’s your favorite Greek yogurt? No; I’m not planning to ship it to you. Doesn’t look like that’s what you need given your successful yogurt venture. It’s that I’m not too thrilled with the ones I’ve tried, so I thought I’d try your recommendation. I suppose I’d try the crockpot version under your circumstances.
Hey, Miriam, How are you? I forget the name of it, but they were the single servings, in a yellowish package, vanilla flavor, $1.99 each. They taste soooo good and best of all, it’s fat free, has 16 grams of protein per serving. I’m sure mine’s no where near the protein count of the real stuff. I love looking at your food pictures on FB, the cakes and cupcakes. Take care…
I just might have to break out the trusty crock pot. You know that I’ve been a fan of the crock pot for years but that you were too snobby to get one. You can always borrow my “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker” cookbook. I am afraid that your leaving the yogurt out so long is a veritable playground for the unfriendly bacteria. Let’s wait and see how your tummy feels tomorrow and then I’ll proceed, but I’ll have to fit that in between making marshamallows, cordials, and pickles.
Day two and the tummy is still feeling good. Not a bacterial playground. Let me know how the marshmallows, cordials, pickles, turn out.
I think I will run down and get some low fat yogurt for my tummy because things are that good. Of course I will have to shop around for the right bargain. (not really.. Sounds too good not to serve with a waffle cone..
The finished product looks so good! How many cups did that “batch” make?
Hi, Kim, It doesn’t make that much, about 4 cups after you separate the whey. I guess ricotta cheese is my next step; you drain out even more whey and get cheese.
You’re so talented! And patient! I think you need to start a business over there and sell your pizza, cookies, and yogurt!
I need you to bring your SALSA here so we can both go into business. Mindy needs a gig too.
You might want to consider opening up at the flea market where they sell scrap metal. I would suspect that the rent is very cheap!
Sorry, HIT not HEAT, although it is very hot down there similar to the DEALS.
No, yogurt won’t sell, but sugar cane juice seems to be a BIG heat down at the scrap flea market.
Hi! Where can I buy a crockpot from in Amman?
I bought it on Amazon.
I’m sure Cosmoz’s would have it. I bought mine on Amazon.
Good luck!