Recipe: Homemade (Tea Flavored) Yogurt; No maker required!

Another recipe! I've been using/doing this technique for a long time now, but only today did I try using flavoring– caramel apple herbal tea. From what I've seen so far during prep, it's worked well, but I won't be able to taste it until tomorrow morning. If you really want to be safe, just skip the flavoring step. This is my own personal recipe, but feel free to change it– it's very forgiving and there are many variations online.

Ingredients/Materials: Flavoring (herbs, tea, etc.), milk (any type; some prefer whole, but I use 2%), yogurt (to use as a starter), container that can be sealed, large pot, strainer, whisk, towel

1. Clean all materials, using soap and hot/boiling water.

2. Obtain yogurt with live cultures, preferably unflavored. I've been using some organic L. Bulgaricus/Bulgarian yogurt as my starter. Measure out your milk using your container; don't be scared, fill that sucker up to the top.

3. Pour the milk into your pot. Turn the heat to medium or medium-high. Add your flavorings; today I used two teabags.

4. Stir constantly to prevent the milk from burning. Heat until the milk boils and bubbles. Quickly remove the pot from the heat the moment the milk bubbles/froths to the top, and place to the side, all the while stirring.

5. Set up an ice bath and place the pot inside. Continue to stir occasionally, until the milk reaches room temperature.

6. Place a few tablespoons (I use anywhere from 2-5, depending on the size of the container) of starter yogurt into your container. Add the milk, straining off whatever you used to flavor (and possibly burnt milk or curds). If you like thicker yogurt, add powdered milk or gelatin. Personally, I don't do this, so I don't know how much to use.

7. Whisk the milk and starter yogurt together and seal the container.

8. Find a warm, dark place to ferment the yogurt. I use an oven that I turn on to 170 degrees, turn off, and then leave on the light to maintain temperature.

9. Cover the yogurt using a towel so that light doesn't reach it. Let sit for 8-10 hours.

10. At this point, the whey and yogurt should have separated. If you'd like, pour off the whey or strain it off using a coffee filter. Your yogurt is ready! Enjoy!

It's a quick recipe that lets a small jar of yogurt last for a really long time, and is fun to experiment with.