We eat a lot of yogurt in our family. Well…not so much me, but certainly my wife and daughter do. But I never knew until recently that there was a difference between over-the-counter yogurt and “organic yogurt”. Perhaps you don’t know the difference either, so let me start by shedding a little light on the subject for you:
In layman’s terms, “organic” means “food grown without the assistance of man-made chemicals.” According to Business Week Online (www.businessweek.com) about four years ago, under pressure from critics fretting that the term “organic” was being misused, the U.S. Agriculture Dept. (www.usad.gov) issued rules. To be certified as organic, companies must eschew most pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, bioengineering, and radiation. But for purists, the philosophy also requires farmers to treat their people and livestock with respect and, ideally, to sell small batches of what they produce locally so as to avoid burning fossil fuels to transport them. The USDA rules don’t fully address these concerns.
The paradox — according to Business Week and other critics — is whether or not you can create organic foods on a large scale. The answer to that question may never be fully answered. When it comes to yogurt however, most experts agree that even what appears to be the healthiest of over-the-counter yogurts isn’t what it seems. Is store-bought yogurt gonna make your nose fall off? Not likely. But home-made organic yogurt apparently the way to go.
Home-made organic yogurt is not hard to make, nor is it expensive. It can even be fun. Just ask my daughter. There are a lot of recipes floating around the internet. Our personal favorite comes from www.motherearthliving.com:
1. Start with milk. (Organic milk is recommended.)
Yogurt from cow’s milk is what most of us in the United States are used to, but in other parts of the world it’s often made with goat or sheep milk. The nice thing about making your own yogurt is that you have complete control over what you use: goat’s milk, skim milk, organic milk or even raw milk. It’s entirely up to you.
2. Control the Heat
The idea is to bring the temperature of the milk to just below boiling (about 200 degrees F) and keep it there for about 10 minutes. This kills any undesirable bacteria in the milk, and helps it thicken. After it’s been cooking for 10 minutes, you need to cool the milk to about 120 degrees F. Try putting your pot of milk in a pan of cold water, using the candy thermometer to watch the temperature.
This is just one way to do it. Many yogurt recipes recommend using a double boiler instead of a regular pot. You can also buy a yogurt maker, which sounds like a simpler way to get the temperature right. Yogurt makers range in cost from about $15 to $50.
3. Add the Bacteria.
Sounds crazy, I know.But you need to add the starter culture, which has the bacteria that turns the milk into yogurt. That sounds hard to find, but it’s not. All you need is a little plain yogurt. Who knew? Yogurt creates more yogurt.
You’ll need to choose a brand with live cultures. (If you’re not sure check the label.) The specific bacteria that make yogurt are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Now you can sit back and let the bacteria work. The tricky part is that the bacteria work best within a narrow range of temperatures – it has to be between 100 and 130 degrees F – so you need to find a way to maintain a temperature of about 115 degrees F for at least four hours. Again, a yogurt maker might be handy because it would allow you to set the temperature, but there are numerous other methods people use to produce the right temperature.
Some recipes suggest putting the yogurt in the oven with the light on, or putting the yogurt in an insulated cooler. Try putting the yogurt in a thermos for the same affect. Let it sit overnight, and then refrigerated it. Success! It tasted just like store-bought yogurt.
5. Refine your Technique.
Although making yogurt is a pretty simple process, there’s a lot of room for experimentation. You can add flavorings, such as sugar or vanilla; or thickeners, such as powdered milk or gelatin. If you let it incubate longer, the flavor gets tangier.
Like I said, there are plenty of sites out there that can point you in the right direction. The ones for the University of Missouri Extension (www.muextension.missouri.edu) and the National Center for Food Preservation (www.uga.edu) in particular contain some other cool make-it-yourself recipes.
The only downside to home-made organic yogurt? There never seems to be any left for me!
