Set Mango Yogurt with Walnut-Sesame Crunch

Steps

1. Wash a heavy pot, whisk, spoon, thermometer and four 8-ounce jars in hot soapy water, rinse, then sanitize them with boiling water and let them air-dry.
2. Heat: pour the commercially pasteurized whole milk into the pot and heat over medium-low, stirring often so it doesn't scorch, until it reaches 180°F (82°C). Hold it between 180°F and 185°F (82–85°C) for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
3. Cool: take the pot off the heat and let the milk cool to 108–112°F (42–44°C), about 30–40 minutes; set the pot in a sink of cold water to speed this up, checking with the thermometer.
4. Add starter: once the milk is at 108–112°F (42–44°C), whisk the live-culture plain yogurt in a small bowl with a ladleful of the warm milk until smooth, then stir this mixture back into the pot of milk.
5. Incubate: pour the cultured milk into the clean jars and cover. Keep them undisturbed at 108–112°F (42–44°C) for 6–8 hours, in an oven with only the light on or a cooler with warm water, until set and gently tangy. A classic set yogurt yields about 1000 g, roughly 4 jars of 250 g; nothing is drained, so the nutrition matches the starting ingredients.
6. Refrigerate: move the jars straight to the fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below and chill at least 3 hours to firm up.
7. While the yogurt chills, rinse the pot, then toast the walnuts and sesame seeds in it over medium heat, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Tip them onto a plate to cool.
8. In the same pot, simmer the mango with the maple syrup over medium heat for 5 minutes, mashing lightly, until jammy. Take it off the heat, stir in the chia seeds and vanilla, cool, then chill until thick, about 30 minutes.
9. To serve, spoon a quarter of the mango-chia compote over each jar of chilled yogurt and scatter a quarter of the walnut-sesame crunch on top. Keep leftover yogurt refrigerated and eat within a week.