Making Homemade Yogurt

One word - delicious!  If you've never tried homemade yogurt, you don't know what you're missing.

I've made a few batches now and it's really a simple process:

1 quart whole milk (you can use pasteurized or raw, but not ultra pasteurized)
1 tablespoon organic yogurt (from the store) or 1 packet of yogurt culture starter
1 teaspoon gelatin
1/2 cup white sugar, sucanat, or honey (your choice)

Heat the milk to 180 degrees on the stove in a stainless steel pan.  Use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature.  Stir frequently.
When it reaches 180, remove from the heat and let it cool back down to 105 degrees.  Tip:  Place your pan in a sink of cold water.  This speeds up the cooling process a LOT. 

Add the gelatin and whisk in vigorously.  Make sure the gelatin is completely dissolved.  Add 2 tablespoons of organic plain yogurt (or 1 packet of yogurt starter) and gently stir.  (You want to be less vigorous with the cultures).  Add the sugar, sucanat or honey and stir well.

I strain this mixture through a sieve into a large measuring cup and then pour into 6 half-pint jars.  Cap the jars and place in your dehydrator.  (Preheat the dehydrator a few minutes at 115 degrees). 

Six hours in the dehydrator seems to be the perfect time for my yogurt.  Remove from dehydrator and refridgerate.  Enjoy!