Ideal Bite

Making your own yogurt is easy, fun and delicious. You grow it, chill it and eat it. Magic. I use organic 1% milk, with a Tbs. of powdered goat milk stirred in, plus starter with all the good bacteria, which you get from the dairy section of your natural foods store. (After you make your first batch, a few spoonsful of your own yogurt become the starter for the next batch.) I've had my yogurt-maker since college, but you can find them online for $20-60, and sometimes at yard sales for a lot less. You can also make it in a wide-mouth thermos, or with a heating pad, though I've never tried that. Advantages to making your own: Yogurt is easy to make. It's inexpensive ~ you get 8-10 servings out of one half-gallon of milk. It's versatile: My current fave is to dip into it with Kettle-brand salt and ground-pepper potato chips; yum. I also mix it with a banana & cinnamon, or a variety of preserves, for breakfast; and I stir a good-sized dollop into homemade lentil soup. I bet it's as nutritious, if not more, as what you buy. Ecology is probably a moot point: You have one wax milk carton instead of all those plastic containers to throw out ~ probably a wash. But then there are the bonus points from friends who didn't know you had it in you to make something as seemingly exotic as yogurt. Talk about gratifying ~ it's like cooking and gardening all in one, with health benefits to boot.

No doubt many communities, such as mine in Central New York, are fortunte to have access to _locally produced_ organic yogurt! If you're in the area, check out: http://www.wakerobinfarm.org/ Add some more green to the bite: buy local!! Thanks for your hard work, Kelly

The "live culture" bite avoids a pressing problem. The plastic containers yogurt comes in. I know a woman who doesn't eat yogurt for this reason Why can't we have wax cartons like some butter or ice cream still comes in.

I have loved Nancy's Yogurt since I first tasted it 30 years ago. Its made in Oregon, and available throughout the Northwest. Nancy's is from local milk without any artificial hormones, etc, and is very slightly tangy, which adds a little extra zing to anything its served with, or great by itself. Yummy stuff!!!

Rather than buying yogurt in individual containers, I always buy it in the larger quart containers. Still plastic, yes... but definitely reusable. I love them for freezing sauces and soups. My kids have used them for corraling crayons and small toys like Legos. And when we have used and reused the containers, they go into the recycling bin.

I < heart > Wallaby yogurt so much. The texture is spot on--creamy and not "slimy" at all. Most yogurts are too smooth for my taste, because I'm a texture girl. I love the Dulce de Leche, the banana vanilla (which I had with organic raspberries this morning-as good as dessert!), and the regular old strawberry. Stonyfield Organic will work in a pinch as well.

I'm a big fan of yogurt - my parents always made it at home when I was growing up - and now I do the same. It's a great way to reduce the number of plastic containers you buy and is a good way to save money! I start out with a pan (heavy bottomed if possible), clean containers to grow your yogurt in - I use the 32oz yogurt containers I already have around, some organic milk and a few spoons yogurt. I warm up the milk (NOT boiling, just mildly warm when I stick my finger in)and then pour it into my clean containers, leaving an inch or two at the top. Stir in a couple spoons of yogurt, put the lid on and keep in a warm place for about 24 hours (I stick it in my gas stove and let the warmth from the pilot light keep it warm) and voila - yogurt! Keep it in the fridge now and I think you'd probably want to use it within about 4-5 days(I've never kept it longer, so don't quote me on the shelf life). This is a more tangy version than you typically buy in stores - it also might have a bit more liquid at the top because there are no emulsifiers added. Before putting it in warm place, you can add sugar or flavorings. For the yogurt I eat with cereal or use for smoothies I stir in a spoon or two of sugar and some vanilla extract. I use the unsweetened, unflavored version for dips, yogurt salads, etc. After a few days in the fridge, if you see colored mold in your yogurt, don't use it. This is also a good way to use milk that's right around the expiration date, though you probably should boil the milk (remember to stir) and then let it cool back down to warm before adding in your "starter" spoons of yogurt. It's important not to have the milk too hot cause you'll kill your starter bacteria. When I take my new yogurt from the oven and put it in the fridge, I tape a piece of paper on top with the date I stick it in the fridge so I remember to use it on time. I've made this with skim, .5%, 1%, 2%, and whole milk.

great tip but be aware that not all states recycle yogurt containers.

Thanks for the tip, but I was surprised you didn't include my very favorite organic yoghurt: Seven Stars Farm yoghurt, made in SE Pennsylvania and widely available (also found it in Sacramento). I never liked yoghurt until I tried their maple yoghurt made with organic maple syrup...heaven on earth! You've got to try it!! And I've met the cows personally: they're definitely happy cows. :-)

Because bug juice is in Activa Yogurt would NOT turn me off of the product. Where do you think all kinds of flavoring comes from? You eat meat and talk about it's so JUICY--what do you think that "juice" is? IF you analyse all the food you eat-it will not bother you. Talk about "organic" what's more natural or "organic" than that? IT tastes good, it's good FOR YOU, and it helps people with digestive disorders (mature ladies) and I'll keep eating it. People eat pate and that comes from geese that are stuck in one place (holes in a board and the heads are above the board) and they're stuffed with food to make liver enlarge and that's where your "pate" comes from! OR VEAL--I've SEEN (along an interstate and near where I live) small calves chained on 3 ft chains not allowed to walk much and feed till they reach a certain age and fatness and then slaughtered for "VEAL"! Bug juice doesn't bother me but THAT does!

Which of these Yogurts are Glutin free. I find that even best Yogurts still have Glutin in thier source ingredents. My DD has this issue, so we have to settle for what might not be the best Yogurt, but she can't eat the rest.

This is my second day receiving e-mail tips - WOW! I've never been a big yogart fan to begin with, but when I do, it's always strawberry - NOW, I learn about the coloring - YUCK! Stupid me, I thought the color was actually from the strawberries or chemical food coloring - NEVER BUGS! I'm on the organic yogart wagon now!

While organically fed cows may eat better it is not necessarily true they are treated better. for a rating of how the dairy industry stacks up go to www.cornucopia.org. They rate a lot of dairy farms and you can see how they stack up for animal welfare, etc. Also, in my town we can't recycle yogurt containers. Loved the idea about putting them in wax or asceptic containers like soy milk. we should start a campaign. I haven't tried Wallaby's but Strauss Family Farms non-fat yogurt in maple flavor is amazing!

Woodchuck, You might want to ask at your local natural foods store - many of them have a gluten-free section and/or have knowledgeable staff members. If they don't know, you could look at the company contact information on the container and call them. You could also try making some yourself using a starter you purchase at the store (I have no idea if they are gluten-free cause I've never used one, I've always used leftover yogurt to propagate more) or possibly capsules of Acidophilus or a combo of lactobacillus organisms. It is pretty critical to buy a high quality brand (though not necessarily the most expensive) cause some studies have tested commercially available varieties and found that many do not contain what's listed on the label and some even contain bacteria that could make you sick (definitely NOT what you want growing in your yogurt)! I've added opened capsules in my yogurt making and have had good results. Good luck!

Kelly that's awesome about the Jordan farm. Being from CNY, and living mostly here (and belonging to the Syracuse Real Food Coop), that's a great find. Thanks!

Anything that Straus Family Farms puts out is amazing. We just love their European style yogurt with granola in the morning. They love their cows too: http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/?id=50

Stonyfield actually imports powdered "organic" milk from new zealand! and "natural flavoring" is actually an utter deception. the majority of those so called natural flavorings are derived in labs using some weird mutation of corn, as so much of what is produced in this country. says alot about the state of organic guidelines in the us. and their yogurt has no soul. here in nyc we get hawthorne valley yogurt at the union square greenmarket among many other markets . it is local, delicious and i have seen the happiness of their biodynamic farm and all its inhabitants with my own eyes. yes, my love of their yogurt took me to Ghent NY. the point is, if you're not going to make your own, at least source it locally. and BTW, all that sugar in those flavored yogurts negates any benefit you might receive from the probiotics. my favorite way to eat it is with cucumber and fresh mint. or if i want it sweet, a dash of maple syrup. but learning to love the true taste of a high-quality whole plain yogurt without fancy flavorings is really worthwhile.

I never knew about where the pink coloring of the strawberry yogurt comes from. DISGUSTING! When I first read the tip I thought it must have been wrong, or some sort of sick joke. Upon Googling cochineal beetles I found that the dye is used to color a variety of edible things, even Good & Plenty candies! I'm appalled that these companies don't have to label their products appropriately. It's disturbing to know that even a person who is very conscious about what they're eating can be so misled.

Good God. This is definitely my last day of random, roaming omnivorous eating! I always tried to eat as organic and local as possible, but when you're traveling or out and about, I was always happen to eat almost whenever I ended up, so long as the place and people were clean, and food relatively healthy. What jackass first looked at those bugs and thought "hey, if I boil these, they'd make great strawberry yogurt coloring!" That's just wrong...I think I want to find that guy and make him eat a few beetles. Unfortunately our government would probably consider that to be some form of eco-terrorism.

This is for Woodchuck: Yoghurt is a dairy product, which means that it shouldn't have gluten in it. Commercial yoghurts often have all sorts of additives to make up for the fact that they are of such poor quality that they aren't smooth or thick or tasty or fresh enough, and gluten could very well be one of them. Any good, organic/biodynamic, preferably local yoghurt shouldn't have anything in it except milk, yoghurt culture bacteria and whatever flavoring (vanilla, maple syrup, fruit, whatever). If you live anywhere near PA or NY, try Seven Stars Farms or Hawthorne Valley Farms biodynamic yoghurt (they have stricter regulations on cow happiness, among other things, than normal organic). Otherwise check for local biodynamic farms on the internet, or check if you can get one of those yoghurts near you anyway.

My mom has made yoghurt in the following way for over thirty years: Heat 2 quarts of milk to boiling. We use a pyrex bowl in the microwave. Let milk cool to 106 degrees. Add 1/2 cup yoghurt from last batch. Stir. Put pyrex in the oven, with oven light on. Leave overnight. In the morning, yoghurt! You need to boil the milk to kill off any random other bacteria which may make your milk turn into cheese instead of yoghurt. Or, you can make cheese, if it curdles. We add the flavourings after we make the yoghurt - I don't know what sugar or acid ingredients (eg. fruit) would do to the process. By the way, cochineal is used in many textiles and cosmetics as a colouring as well, so if you're really freaked out about it, check those labels also. Another note, a while ago (like 20 years) it came out that McDonalds shakes were thickened with gelatin made from chicken feathers. Some kids with feather allergies reacted severely after drinking them. Don't know if they've changed the formula, but it may be that other fast food shakes and ice creams use chicken feathers; as a by product of the poultry industry, they're probaby cheap.

Thanks Evelyn for that...but that assumes I have a pyrex/microwavable safe bowl, measuring cups, and milk! I guess it's time to actually buy some pots and pans. Oh man...now I'm understanding the extent of this light green stuff! ;)

Hi JS, Well, you could boil the milk in any container you have that's heat proof, over an open fire, let it cool, stir in the yoghurt, cover it, and leave it in the sun for a few hours (on a reasonably warm day). My point was you don't need a yoghurt maker, all those little jars, powdered starter, special milk etc. You can even use powdered milk after you mix it up. My relatives in India make yoghurt every day, from raw milk delivered by the buffalo boy. When I was there thirty years ago, they didn't even have refridgeration or reliable electricity, an running water only for 1 hour per day. Technology has caught up with them now, but they still use the old method.

Evelyn: Thanks for the thought. It's just more finding time than anything with me, but I just picked up some of the Wake Robin stuff today, and am fired up to add local strawberries tomorrow. With my luck, I'll probably inadvertently mix in a few caterpillars anyway (with the organic berries), so the more I think about it, the more I'm probably eating bugs either way!