(Or not)

By Kelly Yandell

Homemade yogurt is the epitome of simplicity in the kitchen. All you need is milk, and a culture.

(This is certainly true compared to, say, performing a triple bypass surgery. After hours of research online and several failed attempts with different varieties of culture I settled on a “traditional” type of yogurt starter. Here you will also like to know the difference between thermophilic and mesophilic. You will also want to consider whether to purchase an heirloom culture which can allegedly be used forever, provided you keep making yogurt with regularity, or a non-heirloom which is a one or two use affair. I opted for the non-heirloom after several attempts with heirlooms which seemed to have a personal grudge against me, my family and my kitchen, and refused to become anything but grainy milk. I admit that this was a personal failing and had nothing to do with the product or the culture of culturing. Not every being will thrive in my home. Now that I’m an addict, I will be a customer of the freeze dried culture company forever. Regardless, at this point you will need one All-Clad saucepan, one Le Creuset small Dutch oven filled with ice for cooling the milk, a digital thermometer, a stainless steel All-Clad stirring spoon.)