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Making Yogurt
By
Published: Jan 01, 2007
Category:
Food and Wine
Making Yogurt
I keep waiting for the spell that Nina Planck cast over us in Real Food to wear off. But as the weeks roll by and we consume as many fresh, natural foods as possible, a diet that I used to think would make me a heart attack-prone chubbette actually has me feeling better and — what’s this? — losing weight. And it’s not like I have a plan. Could it be…something I ate?
On this path to better living, I had a flash of myself decades and decades ago. I was just out of college, broke, and looking for ways to save a buck. My best idea: buy a little yogurt maker.
Back then I used powdered milk and any old yogurt. Now, thanks to Ms. Planck, I know better. I use whole milk I buy at a health food store, the one place I can find milk from cows that eat only grass and hay. And, for “starter,” I use yogurt made from whole milk that’s of equally pristine origins.
Why am I so prissy? Why isn’t what’s at the supermarket good enough for me? I’ll spare you the references to the books I keep quoting and cite something recently revealed on television — cows being fed candy. No lie. When “gummy worms” are damaged at the factory, the manufacturer doesn’t melt them down and start again, he sells them as food to ranches and dairies, where workers literally shoveled this completely unnatural “food” into the cows’ mouths.
And how appetizing is that: The chemicals in this candy — which is to say just about every ingredient — might, in tiny doses, be bonus ingredients in your milk.
Thanks, but I’d prefer to pay more for pure food.
But wait. Pure food costs less. If, that is, you’re willing to do a modest amount of work in your kitchen.
Consider yogurt. I live in New York, where everything’s more expensive. So I pay $4-5 for 32 ounces of organic yogurt. But if I make it myself?
Organic, grass-fed milk goes for $4 a half gallon here. But let’s say I buy a Euro yogurt maker (one-time cost: $29). It comes with 7 six-ounce jars; it makes 42 ounces of yogurt. And yogurt is a product any fool can make. Heat milk, let it cool, add a few spoonfuls of yogurt, stir, set out on a yogurt maker (or another gently heated surface) and let sit for 6-l0 hours. Chill. Serve with fruit, honey and/or granola.
Now for the math.
A quart of organic yogurt costs between $4-5 in Manhattan.
But let’s say I’m making my own. I’ll need about 65% of that half gallon of milk: $2.60. I’ll need 6 ounces of yogurt for “starter” — about 60 cents worth of yogurt. (I’ll use the yogurt I make to start the next batch, so this “starter” is really a one-time expense.) I’ll ignore the price of a good yogurt maker ($20-30), the cost of electricity (modest), and flavorings.
My cost for 42 ounces of high-quality, home-made yogurt: about $3.
Why go to the trouble?
Because of all the foods that are good for you, it’s hard to think of one that does as much good as yogurt.
The highest quality yogurt in your grocery store contains live bacteria that provides a host of health benefits. Yogurt that contains live bacterial cultures may help you to live longer, and may fortify your immune system. Research studies have shown that increased yogurt consumption, particularly in immuno-compromised populations such as the elderly, may enhance the immune response, which would in turn increase resistance to immune-related diseases.
One research study tracked a population of 162 very elderly people for five years. The incidence of death for those subjects who ate yogurt and milk more than three times per week was 38% lower than the incidence of death in those subjects who ate yogurt and other dairy foods less than once a week. (Consuming citrus fruit twice a week and a lowered consumption of meat were also associated with decreased incidence of death).
Eating yogurt may help to prevent vaginal yeast infections. In one study, women who had frequent yeast infections ate 8 ounces of yogurt daily for 6 months. Researchers reported that a threefold decrease in infections was seen in these women.
Okay, but why whole milk? Didn’t Starbucks just go to 2%? Isn’t every expert screaming that we need to cut more and more fat from our diets? Nina Planck makes the case:
Whole milk is what is called a complete food, because each ingredient plays its part. Without the fat, you can’t digest the protein or absorb the calcium. The body needs saturated fat in particular (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat can’t do the job) to take in the calcium that makes bones strong….
The all-important vitamins A and D are found in the fat. Historically, whole milk and butter were the best sources of these vitamins in the American diet, which had up to 10 times more of both vitamins than modern industrial diets.
In skim and low-fat milk, the vitamins are removed along with the fat, so dairies add synthetic A and D. But Vitamins A and D are fat-soluble; that means they cannot be absorbed into the body unless they’re taken in with fat.
I want those A and D vitamins. I want bacteria to scour my innards. And like those goat herders in Afghanistan, I want to live to see 110.
So the only question, from my seat, is: Which yogurt maker to buy? The Euro makes single-portion jars (and you’ll do well to buy extra jars, so you can make more as these are being devoured.) The Salton makes a quart in a single container. Your call.
Economy and virtue are strong incentives. But as Samuel Johnson noted, “No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures.” And the pleasure of high-quality, home-made yogurt is considerable. With the Euro maker, I get a firm ball of yogurt — it could almost pass for mozzarella. The taste is tart but not sour; you’ll be tempted to spoon it right from the jar.
As I write, fresh fruit’s in season; I slice it into the yogurt just before serving? Sweetener? Sometimes I add a spoonful of honey. And sometimes not.
Finally, are you that American who is “good” all day and then tumbles in a vat of ice cream at night? Psst. Consider yogurt.
— by Jesse Kornbluth
To buy the Euro YM80 Yogurt Maker from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy 8 extra jars for the YM80 Yogurt maker from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy the Salton YM9 1-Quart Yogurt Maker from Amazon.com, click here.
