Homemade Yogurt
EQUIPMENT
- An oven with an interior light (to hold a temperature at 110⁰ F)
- An instant-read thermometer
- A wide-mouth quart jar with lid
INGREDIENTS
- Yogurt – A2 plain yogurt or a sachet of purchased yogurt starter (see image)
- Whole (3.25%MF), A2 milk (ideally grass-fed and organic)
METHOD
- Gently heat the milk on the stove until it reaches 180⁰ F
- Place the pot in a cold water bath and, using a candy thermometer, cool the milk until it reaches 110⁰ F
- Fill a clean quart jar with the yogurt until it is one third full
- Add the cooled milk to the yogurt, and stir contents
- Cap the jar, stand it on a cookie sheet and slide it into the oven close to the oven light
- Leave the oven light on for 24 hours which should keep the yogurt temperature constant at 110⁰ F
- When finished, put the jar into the refrigerator for chilling and storage.
Homemade Yogurt
from Milk
Homemade Yogurt – a ‘Psychobiotic’
Most yogurts on supermarket shelves in North America probably don’t have enough beneficial “live” or “active” cultures. In fact, the products sold here have little in common with traditional yogurt live cultures because of FDA-required heat treating. On top of that, commercial yogurts can often be loaded with processed sugars as well as stabilizers and fillers to create custard-like texture in low-fat options.
The good news is, we can get what we need – gut-friendly bacteria for our digestive systems – by making our own yogurt and creating a healthy breeding ground for essential probiotics.
These probiotics are key to balancing bacteria in the gut. Our modern lifestyles with diets of too many processed foods and too few fermented foods, have made our systems woefully out of kilter. An overproliferation of what we nickname “bad bacteria” can cause inflammation, yeast proliferation and add to poor digestion. This long fermented is nicknamed “Psychobiotic” as its influence on the microbiome shifts the state to a more productive environment for making feel good neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
This yogurt is great for balancing a digestive constitution that leans towards loose stools. It is long fermented, removing most of the lactose and casein, leaving a highly digestible dairy and maintaining the nutritional profile of dairy. lt can be made in a variety of ways, to include different bacteria strains.
Homemade yogurt is natural and delicious. It’s creamy texture makes it ideal for a sweet treat or a savory accompaniment to a meal.
