The Machine. The Yogurt. The Cooked Fruit.

I spotted a used Euro Cuisine Automatic Yogurt Maker a couple days ago for $20 on the clearance shelf at Bed Bath & Beyond. I snatched it up and excitedly hauled my backside to the checkout counter, all the while eyeballing everyone around me like they wanted to take my prize away. Yes, they all thought I was nuts. Who needs a yogurt maker when you can buy yogurt at the store so cheaply?

For me the best part of making my own yogurt is I get to control everything that goes into it. No more high fructose corn syrup, strange stabilizers, or gelatin for me. I can even make non-fat yogurt, it just takes a bit longer to incubate. If you eat a fair amount of yogurt you need one of these things!

This little machine makes it so easy to throw together a batch of yogurt that I have no idea why this isn’t more common to do. It should be! I’ve topped the yogurt here with cooked fruit, but have also enjoyed it with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of honey so far. I’ll be making my own yogurt from now on for Greek tzatziki sauce and Indian cucumber yogurt sauce too.

You’re also going to need a candy thermometer, a cheapie will work fine. This recipe makes a nice thick yogurt.

Yogurt
4 1/2 cups whole milk (Organic preferably)
1 (5.3 or 7 ounce) container plain Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt (Used as a starter)

In a saucepan heat up the milk over medium heat stirring often until it's reached 180 degrees. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Once cooled to room temperature (hotter will kill off the cultures), mix a little of the milk together with the yogurt until smooth and then pour the mixture back into the pan stirring to combine.

Pour or ladle the mixture into the glass jars. Place the jars in the yogurt machine and cover with the domed lid. Set the timer for 7 hours, or to the manufactures directions. Don’t move the machine during this time or the yogurt may be ruined.

Remove the domed lid carefully so that the condensation doesn’t drop back into the jars. Let the jars cool to room temperature, then cover with the provided lids and chill for at least three hours before using.


Cooked Fruit
This isn’t a recipe; instead it’s a guideline for you to cook freestyle. Use whatever fruit or combination of fruits you like, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, and just enough sugar to sweeten the fruit to taste. Frozen fruit and fresh fruit work equally well.

Here’s what I did this time.

2 cups sliced frozen strawberries
1 cup chopped frozen rhubarb
¼ cup granulated sugar
A squeeze of lemon juice
A small pinch of salt

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan over medium to medium high heat and stir frequently for several minutes until the fruit is soft and begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Recipes by Laura Flowers

Notes: You can purchase acidophilus yogurt starter if you don't want to use a container of yogurt.