There are lots of reasons to make your own yogurt. But the most important?

It’ll make you feel like a homesteading rockstar.

Oh yeah.

Okay… so maybe that isn’t the *most* important reason, but it sure is fun.

And besides the rockstar-thing, homemade yogurt is super nutritious (hello probiotic-goodness without all the flavorings and additives…) and pretty darn frugal, too.

There are a million-and-one ways to make yogurt, and everyone seems to have their favorite method–Crockpot, yogurt maker, etc

I’ve tried a bunch of different methods, but I’ve settled on the one I’m sharing today. It’s the simplest one I’ve found (in my opinion), and I like that I don’t have to wash out my big ol’ stockpot or Crockpot when I’m done.

I like to make a gallon of yogurt (4 quarts) at a time since it stores for a long, long time without going bad. If you don’t want to make quite that much, the recipe can easily be halved or quartered.

How to Make Yogurt in Mason Jars

Supplies:

• Large stockpot
• Four quart-sized glass canning jars with lids
• A thermometer (optional- see note below)
• A small cooler

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon milk* (see note below)
• 8 Tablespoons of plain yogurt containing live, active cultures

Instructions:

Fill all four jars with milk, leaving a little room at the top– (around 2 inches). If you don’t have canning jars, you can use other repurposed glass jars instead. (It has to be glass- no plastic allowed!)

Place all four jars in the stockpot, and fill the pot with water. I usually shut it off when the water is about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the jars. If you are concerned about the jars rattling and breaking, you can place a small dishrag in the bottom of the pot before you set the jars inside.… [Continue Reading]

I wasn’t very far into my real food journey the first time I heard the term “clabber.”

My initial thought was, “What the heck is that?” So I promptly headed to Google to check it out.

It’s amazing how something that was so common a hundred years ago is so unheard of today…

Clabber is basically thickened, sour, raw milk. Part of the reason that we don’t use the term anymore is because store-bought, pasteurized milk doesn’t clabber. It just putrefies and turns nasty. So, clabber is definitely an old-fashioned concept for most folks.

If the word sounds familiar to you, it might be because it’s the name of a popular brand of baking powder. Back in the day, women would keep clabbered milk as a natural leavening agent for baked goods. Clabber is acidic, like buttermilk, so it reacts with baking soda to produce fluffy cakes and quick breads.

However, once baking powder was introduced, clabber wasn’t as necessary. But one manufacturer of baking powder, Hulman & Company, chose to name their product Clabber Baking Powder (Clabber Girl) to help consumers understand how to use it.

So there is your history lesson for the day.

As you know, I’m a big fan of raw milk for many reasons, but I especially love the fact that it doesn’t go “bad” like pasteurized milk does. Once raw milk sours, it can still be used for a whole bunch of different things, unlike the cooked stuff which must be thrown out once it turns sour.

Raw milk goes through varying stages as it sours. It starts off by slowly decreasing in sweetness each day it sits in the fridge, and if you leave it long enough, it will eventually separate into curds and whey.

Soured raw milk will maintain a “pleasantly” sour taste and smell.… [Continue Reading]

As much as I like real food and blogging, I don’t really consider myself a “food blogger.”

Food bloggers make beautiful food and showcase it with stunning photography on their blogs.

Me? I’m lucky if I can get my homemade tortillas to remotely resemble a circular-like shape, and if I can make a entire batch that doesn’t have any holes, I’m thrilled.

However, sometimes I still like to pretend I’m fancy, so it’s kinda fun to say Fromage Blanc with a ultra-sophisticated accent.

But let’s face it- as fancy as the name is, this cheese is just as down-to-earth as I am.

It’s pretty much cheese-in-a-bag. Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about…

There are a million-and-one versions of this cheese floating around the ‘net. Some folks mistakenly call it “cream cheese,” but that’s not entirely accurate, since it doesn’t call for cream. (Get my DIY cream cheese recipe here.)

However, it closely resembles cream cheese in color, taste, and texture- thought it might not be *quite* as creamy.

You can also make a version of this cheese using yogurt, although the yogurt version will be slighly tangier.

Regardless of how you want to make it, it is the ultimate beginner cheese- and it’s raw and cultured, so it’s good for ya, too.

Homemade Cultured Soft Cheese (Fromage Blanc)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon of cow or goat milk *see my note below regarding milk
• 1/8 teaspoon of mesophilic culture (I get all my cheesemaking supplies at Cultures for Health)
• 1 drop double-strength liquid rennet, diluted in 1/4 cup cool water (Rennet also purchased at Cultures for Health)

Instructions:

Bring your milk to around 80 degrees. Or, if you have just come into the house from milking, strain the fresh milk and use it right away without heating.

(You aren’t trying to cook or pasteurize anything, but the mesophilic culture you are using appreciates warmish temps.)

Pour the warm milk into a glass jar.… [Continue Reading]