Countertop culture

My birthday is coming up next week, and it was on the day of my birthday four years ago when I bought a little countertop yogurt-maker.

My friend Ivy had started making yogurt using her Instant Pot, and thought I’d enjoy it. I was not yet ready to buy an Instant Pot, but this Dash yogurt-maker — now $25 — was only about $16 at the time.

I enjoyed making my own yogurt. It’s much cheaper than storebought (provided you use the scalding method with normal supermarket milk) and you can control everything. A quart of milk turns into a quart of plain yogurt (or a little less…