Homemade Yogurt

I never was a big yogurt eater before I moved to China, but living here has made me appreciate the health benefits of eating the good bacteria that is in yogurt.  When I first arrived I was looking for healthy snacks for the kids and bought them these 10 packs of "plain yogurt".  They came with straws, which I thought was quite strange, but when I realized the reason was because they were as thin as drinking milk.  When I tasted one and tasted how sugary sweet they were I discontinued purchasing them.  

I had the great fortune of meeting a new friend, Asma who was from Pakistan who taught me how to make homemade yogurt that was thick and sugar free.  Back in those days it was very difficult to find a starter for your yogurt, but she would buy a starter from one of the local Indian restaurants and then use 2 tablespoons from her last batch for her next batch of yogurt.  

I use 1 liter of the French brand of President brand UHT milk with 2 tablespoons of Carrefour brand Greek yogurt as a starter for the creamiest results.



I whisk the Greek yogurt in the bottom of my seasoned stoneware bread pan.  My friend Asma used a clay dish or a thermos to set her yogurt.  My stoneware pan has always worked great although I have used glass too.  



Bring the milk to a boil and quickly turn the heat off to cool.  I let the milk cool until I can stick my finger in it for 3 seconds with out burning it.  Usually takes about 30 minutes to be cool enough to do this, but it depends on how warm your kitchen/house is.  If you forget about the milk and it completely cools, don't worry about it, it will still set.

Then whisk the milk into the stoneware pan with the yogurt.  I pop it in the oven overnight on a warm setting.  You can also put the yougurt in a thermos or if your house is warmer then mine you can put it on the counter overnight and it will set.  

The next morning you will have creamy yogurt that goes perfectly on a bowl of homemade granola!