A little bit ago Sydney shared with me how to make my own yogurt. This is such a wonderful idea because it is much cheaper than buying it at the store and it is really quite simple. I am always looking for ways to use my dry milk powder too, so that's a bonus. I hope you will try this out.
Homemade Yogurt (4 cups)
3 3/4 cup warm water
1 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
4 Tbsp. store bought plain yogurt (make sure it has live active cultures)
*Sydney's note: Make sure it has a far-off expiration date. You can also use starter from your homemade yogurt for the next batch but it loses its potency after a couple of batches.
In a large saucepan, combine the water and milk powder. Heat the milk over medium heat until it reaches 180 F degrees. This is to kill off any competing bacteria so the yogurt will grow better. Remove from the stove and allow it to cool to 115 F degrees. If the milk is any hotter than this it will kill off the yogurt culture, much cooler and it will grow too slowly. Stir in the yogurt culture and allow it to dissolve completely.
Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean, canning jar (or another quart size container) and place in warm spot for 6-8 hours to incubate. What I did (recommended from Sydney) was place really hot water in a small ice chest and then I put a plastic container in the bottom to lift the jar up out of the water, then I closed the ice chest and put it in a warm place of the house. You could also place it in your oven with just the oven light on. The longer you leave the yogurt the sourer it will be. If you want it to be thicker, you can add additional milk powder in the initial stages.
You now have yogurt! You can refrigerate it and use it as you wish. You can now make the yogurt to your own liking by adding all sorts of fruits, nuts, honey, or maple syrup. You can also use it in many recipes and substitute it for sour cream, but it's much healthier.
This is so funny! I was just looking up yogurt recipes last night, and here you are posting one in a very "mainstream" forum! I think I'd like to meet your cousin, Sydney. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this timely post...
I love home made yogurt! I even have a yogurt maker, you can find them on amazon for $25 and then you just add all of the ingredients to it and let it yog for 6 hours!
ReplyDeleteWe eat yogurt all the time. I'm anxious to try this recipe! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteYay! Can't wait to try this. I tried making yogurt in my crockpot last weekend and it was a BAD experience! Hopefully this one will go much better!
ReplyDeleteWe made yoghurt like this when I was a teenager (30+ yrs ago). It was made in an icecream container so was quite a large batch. Instead of the esky for heat we wrapped it in a million towels (could still hold it with two hands). When Mum couldn't find plain yoghurt for culture she would use apricot. It was the only flavoured one which worked but we never knew why. Cherrie
ReplyDeleteYou can also make thicker yogurt by using Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is less sour, thicker, and tastes a bit lit cream cheese.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly how I make mine. I don't put it any where special though, just on my kitchen counter. I make it two quarts at a time. I only add 2 TBS per quart.
ReplyDeleteI stuff my lunch cooler with towels around the yogurt container and let it sit overnight. It is still warm the next day and the yogurt is perfect. I make mine in large plastic peanut butter jars.
ReplyDeleteI used to make a smoothie every morning for our sons (now 21 and 25)and I made my own yogurt. I used the store brand with active cultures as a starter with non-fat dry milk. I had a system of heating the reconstituted milk in the microwave for 17 minutes, and then filling the five glass containers that came with a yogurt maker. (It only cost about $10 and used very little electricity.) Twelve hours later, I had fresh yogurt, which I then refrigerated. It became a routine process and using the dry non-fat milk really saved some money.
ReplyDeleteI've been making my own yogurt for about a year now. I tried ALL the various methods- water baths, crockpot, etc. I don't have a yogurt maker. Turns out for me, the simplest works best. I don't add powdered milk because it is full of oxidized fats, which are supposed to be harmful, but I've never had a problem with consistency. I bring 1/2 gal milk, 1/4c sugar and 1t vanilla to a boil on the stove, cool in the fridge to 120deg. (about 1.5 hrs) Add a full yobaby as a starter (doesn't have to be plain, flavored works just as well). Then wrap it in a blanket and let it set for 4-6h. Don't wiggle it or bother it at all while it is setting. I just keep checking it until it is "done" --meaning the consistency we like. The longer it goes, the more whey you'll get and we don't like the whey or the tartness of too long set yogurt. Then put it in the fridge again for a few hours. This really helps to get it to set. One of the keys is not to transfer containers (so keep it in the pot) until after it has been refridgerated the 2nd time. Turns out just about perfect every time.
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