How to make your own gluten-free yogurt

Recently, a friend pointed out an old episode of Good Eats on youtube with Alton Brown that shows step by step how to make your own yogurt, yogurt cheese and finally frozen yogurt.

I had to try it! The idea of controlling all of the ingredients and knowing where it all came from was fabulous. I used my normal low fat plain Stonyfield yogurt for the starter cultures.

After 3 days of fun, I managed to produce the yogurt cheese and the lemon, ginger frozen yogurt. All of it was as delicious as promised and gluten free. However, I found out that the plain yogurt has twice the calories of my normal yogurt. So, I will have to eat it sparingly.

Still it was a fun experiment and I may repeat it with 1% or skim milk and see how it all tastes then. To keep my yogurt at a stable temperature, I got a large cooler, lined it with electric blankets and then had lids for both the yogurt container and the cooler. This way, I could fine tune the temperature of the yogurt.

This was a highly entertaining process with a tasty result. People with kids who eat gluten-free might want to try this as well.

Fresh yogurt:

Ingredients

• 1 quart 2-percent milk
• 1/2 cup powdered milk
• 1 to 2 tablepoons honey
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt, room temperature

Directions

Pour milk into small saucepan and whisk in powdered milk and honey. Place over medium heat and bring to 120 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Once milk has reached 120 degrees F, pour into a cylindrical plastic container, reserving 1/2 cup. Whisk in the reserved 1/2 cup into the yogurt and add back to the milk mixture.

Place container into a narrow wine bucket, lined with a heating pad. Set the heating pad to medium. Let the mixture ferment for 3 to 12 hours making sure the temperature stays as close to 115 degrees F as possible.

After fermentation is complete place into the refrigerator overnight.

Yogurt Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 quarts plain yogurt

Directions

Place 4 layers of cheesecloth in colander set over a bowl. Add the yogurt and let drain overnight in the refrigerator. The desired consistency is that of soft cream cheese.

Lemon-Ginger Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients

• 8 cups plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup sliced crystallized ginger

Directions

Place yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. At end of 12 hours, discard the liquid and cheesecloth.

In a bowl combine the drained yogurt, corn syrup, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, and fresh ginger. Transfer mixture to ice cream maker and process per manufacturer's instructions, about 25 minutes. Transfer frozen yogurt to an airtight container, fold in crystallized ginger and freeze for 2 hours.