Country Livin' and Homemade Yogurt

Jan here, still enjoying country life.

Sometimes I feel like Eddie Arnold from Green Acres! Without the farm, of course.

There have been some expected adjustments to country living. We anticipated the quiet and the open horizons. We were looking forward to seeing multitudes of stars at night and counting the passing of time by the phases of the moon. And we weren't surprised by the coyotes and other wildlife...

But one thing that we weren't certain about was the distance from amenities like grocery stores and gas stations. As we looked for our home in the Hills, that was an unknown until we actually found our place!

When we take a walk in our neighborhood,
we take the road that curves up the hill
into the trees. A beautiful, peaceful route.

It turns out that we don't live close to groceries. It's seven miles to the nearest convenience store/gas station, and thirty miles to the supermarket.

That means planning and learning to make do. Because if I want to make hamburgers for supper, I had better have the ingredients on hand...or else fix something different!

But we also planned ahead for that. For more than ten years we have maintained an emergency food pantry. You can read about our pantry here: Living Out of Your Pantry

As we get closer to winter, our pantry has become even more important. It takes planning to store the staples we use and rotate the stock so we're always using it up. There's a saying that's true: "Store what you eat and eat what you store."

But what about the fresh foods? The perishables?

That's where I bring out the recipes from back when we rarely bought prepared foods out of necessity - we needed to live within our budget! So I've started making bread again (not nearly often enough for my dear husband) and other foods from scratch.

When I first thought about making my own yogurt, I had flashbacks to the 70's (that's the 1970's for you youngsters!) Do you remember cookbooks like "Laurel's Kitchen?" *shaking my head at how long ago that was*

But with my Instant Pot, making yogurt is a snap. It's also a money-saver, and a way to keep a supply of yogurt on hand.

Yogurt in the Instant Pot
(This may be your excuse to put an Instant Pot on your wish list!)

ingredients:

1/2 gallon 2% milk (or use whole milk if you want full-fat yogurt)
2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (make sure it has live cultures and no added anything)

Note: I've heard that you can't use your homemade yogurt to provide the live cultures, so I buy a small container of store-bought and use a couple Tablespoons at a time. But I've also heard that the longer your yogurt ferments, the more live cultures you get. So this might call for some experimentation!

Anyway, on to the yogurt.

This is easy-peasy.

If you don't have an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting, you can use your oven to make this. Search on-line for cooking directions. :-)

If you do have an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting, you're all set.

First, pour the 1/2 gallon milk into your Instant Pot. You can also use a whole gallon, but the 1/2 gallon makes enough to last a week in our house.

IMPORTANT! Don't add the yogurt yet!

Set your pot to "yogurt," and press the button until it says "boil." The cycle lasts about 1/2 hour.

When the boil cycle is done, remove your Instant Pot liner and set it aside to let the milk cool - about another 1/2 hour.

Use your thermometer to check the temperature - you want the milk to cool to 95-105°. If you don't have a thermometer, it should be lukewarm. If it's too hot, it will kill your yogurt cultures.

There might be a "skin" on top of the milk - just skim it off and throw it away. Add about 2 Tablespoons of yogurt per 1/2 gallon of milk and whisk in.

Put the liner back in the pot again, and press "yogurt" until your timer says 24 hours. Put on the lid and leave it for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Note: the longer you leave it, the more "yogurty" it will taste. I like to go between 8 and 10 hours.

After the time is up, your yogurt is done! There will be some whey, but your yogurt should be fairly solid. You can store it in your refrigerator now, or you can strain it to make Greek yogurt.

If you're making Greek yogurt, set a colander over a large, deep bowl. Line the colander with several layers of clean cheese cloth, and pour in your yogurt. Cover the colander with plastic wrap and put the whole thing in the refrigerator.

You'll want to check it every couple hours - the whey drains off pretty quickly. Let it drain overnight, but less than 12 hours. You can save the whey and use it in smoothies or add it to your dog's food. It's full of protein and carbs!

And that brings me to the advantage of Greek yogurt: because the whey is strained off, the resulting yogurt still retains a lot of protein and the other good stuff you find in milk...but without the carbs.

I use the yogurt for smoothies (see my Quick and Healthy Smoothie recipe here) or a favorite super-quick snack, Raspberry-Yogurt Swirl (recipe here.)

Do you think you might try making homemade yogurt? Or do you already make your own?

Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-seven years.