Make your own yogurt

I love yogurt, don't you? Creamy, tart, satisfying, healthy. All the things you want in a snack, except for one thing, the packaging. I loathe the plastic containers. Though one would argue, they are recyclable and reusable, they are still wasteful and plentiful. I want to make my own yogurt with the lovely Avalon milk we buy in glass bottles. I am sure it will be yummy. I had heard you need a yogurt maker. Sounds expensive.

But lo and behold, you can make your own yogurt, with a reusable household items. Thanks to Make Magazine for this link to a super sciency page on yogurt making from Clermont College in Ohio.

Yogurt Making Illustrated

Yogurt is a fermented milk product which originated in Turkey in which a mixed culture of Lactobacillus bulgaricus (or occasionally L. acidophilus ) and Streptococcus thermophilus produce lactic acid during fermentation of lactose. The lactic acid lowers the pH and makes it tart and causes the milk protein to thicken. The partial digestion of the milk when these bacteria ferment milk makes yogurt easily digestible. In addition, these bacteria will help settle GI upset including that which follows oral antibiotic therapy by replenishing non-pathogenic flora of the gastrointestinal tract.

Geez. How clinical can you get. However helpful, as this page goes on to describe the ingredients, materials and cautions. I think I'm going to try it. I just have to buy some jars ...