Ingredients
Yogurt can be made from the milk of various animals,
including cow, goat and sheep. Cream, whole,
low-fat, skim, nonfat, or rehydrated dry milk may
be used.
Milk solids may be added to increase the nonfat
solid content. This gives a firmer set to the yogurt.
Nonfat dry milk powder works well.
Starter cultures: Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus bulgaricus are the cultures most often
used to make yogurt. Dry cultures may be purchased
in health food stores or on the Internet. Or,
plain yogurt with live and active cultures may be
purchased from a local store. Check the label to see
that the product contains live cultures.
To maintain a culture, save a small portion of yogurt
(1 cup for a 1-gallon batch, ¼ cup for a 1-quart
batch) to use as a starter culture for the next batch.
Place this in a clean, airtight container and store in
the refrigerator, sealed, until you are ready to use it.
Optional additions may be sweeteners such as
sugar, honey or artificial sweeteners; fruit or other
flavorings; gelatin for thickening