not a fan of yogurt until...

[Mulak]

Hey

Ever since i was a kid i never like yogurt at all period... one little taste and dont like it at all... until now i'm 18 and Tim Horton's brought a new product called strawberry/vanilla yogurt and berries and its was awesome! everytime i go there i always go get a strawberry yogurt, its so delicious and its kinda pricey comparing to store bought.. Tim's yogurt cost a little over 2 bucks

my mom said i should try to find the recipe for it over the net but its a dead end... i was hoping anybody have some sense of what the yogurt contain of so i can save quite a bit of money and not kill me financially

Thanks

Mulak

[Mezzaluna]

Welcome to Chef Talk, Mulak.

Making yogurt isnt' that hard. You can buy an appliance to make it (I believe Salton makes one) or follow some simple instructions: http://www.doingfreedom.com/gen/0600/ff.yogurt.html

I believe you will need a bit of plain yogurt to start the culture. When it's done you can sweeten it and add fruit or whatever you like.

By the way, please stop in at the Welcome Forum here to introduce yourself and get a proper welcome.

Mezzaluna

[Suzanne]

If you're not ready to make the commitment to making your own yogurt , you can always buy plain yogurt and mix in your favorite jams or preserves or cut-up fresh fruit. Or you can add a little vanilla extract and sugar, or some maple syrup or maple sugar, cinnamon -- whatever flavors you like, you can do it yourself! For the one you mentioned, try strawberry jam and some vanilla extract.

If there is a Greek store near you, that's a great place to get plain yogurt. (I love the Fage brand, but it's kind of pricey, too.)

[JonK]

We've done yougurt in a warmed oven for years (similarly to the process described in the link from Mezalunna above), wrapping the container in a towel or cozy to keep the temperature more constant. One caution: make sure the commercial yougurt you use for your starter says that it has live yougurt cultures (most do today). You can also buy a dried yougurt starter at a health food store or used a crushed "probiotic" dietary supplement tablet, though the carton of yougurt is the simplest and cheapest route. Some commercial products use gelatin or starches to provide body, but added non-fat dry milk is more norishing and to my palate, provides better texture. Of course once you've made your yougurt, you can use it as the starter for future batches. Like a good sourdough starter, it possesses an imortality that humans can only envy.

[castironchef]

Check out the transcript to Alton Brown's Good Eats episode called "Good Milk Gone Bad" at http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Seaso...ogurtTrans.htm

Lot's of good info there, explained in an entertaining manner.

Good luck.