Homemade Yogurt O'Keeffe-Style
A thick, tangy plain yogurt, fermented at home, eaten at breakfast with a little fruit or honey. Alive, fresh, elemental.
A thick, tangy plain yogurt, fermented at home, eaten at breakfast with a little fruit or honey. Alive, fresh, elemental.
The milk, you let it become something else. I heat it, let it cool until I can hold my finger in it, add a spoonful of yesterday's yogurt, and wrap the pot warm for the night. By morning, it's set, firm and sour as it should be. Nothing is wasted, and nothing comes from a factory. I like to know where my food comes from — it's the same as knowing where a color comes from.
- •Fresh whole milk — one liter (base)
- •A spoonful of yogurt from the previous batch — a little (starter)
Homemade Yogurt O'Keeffe-Style
A thick, tangy plain yogurt, fermented at home, eaten at breakfast with a little fruit or honey. Alive, fresh, elemental.
Why this dish? O'Keeffe made her own yogurt, which she considered a pillar of her health regimen and to which she attributed, along with her fresh vegetables, her exceptional longevity (98 years).
The milk, you let it become something else. I heat it, let it cool until I can hold my finger in it, add a spoonful of yesterday's yogurt, and wrap the pot warm for the night. By morning, it's set, firm and sour as it should be. Nothing is wasted, and nothing comes from a factory. I like to know where my food comes from — it's the same as knowing where a color comes from.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh whole milk — one liter (base)
- A spoonful of yogurt from the previous batch — a little (starter)
Ingredients
- Whole milk — 1 liter (base)
- Plain yogurt with live cultures — 2 tbsp (starter)
Method
- Heat milk to 85°C (185°F) just before boiling, stirring, to pasteurize.
- Let cool to 43-45°C (110°F, warm to the finger, comfortable for a few seconds).
- Whisk the starter yogurt into a little warm milk, then stir into the rest.
- Pour into jars, cover, and keep warm (turned-off oven with a thick towel, or yogurt maker) for 6 to 8 hours without moving.
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours: the yogurt firms up as it cools. Reserve 2 spoonfuls for the next batch.
How it was made : Making yogurt by re-culturing each batch with a bit of the previous one is an ancient preservation technique, popularized in the United States in the 20th century among natural health circles that O'Keeffe frequented.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a plain white bowl, a single sliced peach placed on top — the minimalist still life she might have painted.
Sources : Margaret Wood, A Painter's Kitchen: Recipes from the Kitchen of Georgia O'Keeffe, Museum of New Mexico Press, 1997 · Robyn Lea, Dinner with Georgia O'Keeffe, 2017
Georgia O'Keeffe · Charactorium