Slow-Cooker Vanilla Yogurt

Slow-Cooker Vanilla Yogurt:

●1 gallon 2% milk (“Skim milk works, but the yogurt will not be as thick. Whole milk makes the yogurt even thicker and richer.”)
●1 cup plain, or vanilla, store-bought yogurt (“You’ll need this as a starter because it has live yogurt cultures.”), OR 1 cup yogurt saved from your last batch of Slow-Cooker Yogurt
●Up to 1 full packet powdered milk (packet size to make 1 quart), optional (for thickening)
●Up to 2 Tbsp., or 2 packets, unflavored gelatin, optional (for thickening)
●Up to 5 Tbsp. vanilla, optional (“This is for flavor. My basic formula is 1 Tbsp. vanilla per quart of yogurt, but you can be flexible with this.”)

1. Turn your slow cooker on Low, plug it in, and add a gallon of milk. Whisk in the optional powdered milk.

If you want to maximize production, add more milk until it comes to within ¾” of the top of the cooker, and add a proportionate amount of powdered milk, if you wish.

Cover and allow milk to heat for 2½ hours.

2. When the time is up, pull the plug on the cooker, and do not plug it in again. Keep your cooker covered.

3. Meanwhile, soften the optional gelatin in ½ cup cool water for 5 minutes, and then transfer it to a double boiler.

4. Heat in the double boiler until the gelatin granules are dissolved, stirring continually. Add a cup or two of the milk mixture from your slow cooker to the gelatin.

5. Stir and heat just until warm, being careful not to overheat the gelatin, since overheating gelatin reduces its gelling properties.

6. Whisk this gelatin mixture into milk in the cooker.

7. Cover and then let it sit for 3 hours.

8. When the 3 hours are up, dip 3 or 4 cups of the milk into a mixing bowl.

9. Whisk the cup of live-culture yogurt into the milk in the bowl.

10. Pour and whisk the bowl contents back into the cooker.

11. Cover. Wrap a large towel (or snuggie) around the cooker to keep the warmth in.

12. Let the mixture sit for 8 hours or overnight.

13. Pour one cup of the new yogurt into a jar and refrigerate until your next batch. (This will be your live-culture yogurt for making fresh yogurt next Sunday.) You can add one small store-bought yogurt to each new batch, along with the saved starter to renew your culture.

14. If you wish, whisk the vanilla into the remaining yogurt.

15. Refrigerate your yogurt in canning jars or other containers.

16. You can add fruit or sweetener as you enjoy the yogurt over the next week or so if you like it that way.