How to make your own yogurt - An illustrated guide
93Why do you want to make yogurt at home?
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Euro Cuisine Yogurt Starter Packs 2-packs
Price: $2.85
List Price: $2.85 |
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Euro Cuisine Yogurt Starter Packs 10-5-gr. packs
Price: $16.99
List Price: $19.99 |
This what you'll need:
- a medium-large cooler
- 2-3 glass or plastic quart-sized containers (like pitchers, empty soda bottles, etc.)
- a kitchen thermometer
- about a dozen glass or ceramic cups for the yogurt
- 1/2 gallon - 1 gallon milk (lowfat to whole; I personally haven't had much luck with nonfat)
- small container of unsweetened, unflavored yogurt with live cultures (I've had the best luck with Stonyfield Farms) - for a more consistent result, you might want to try a commercially-available starter
- (optional) powdered milk, if you want your yogurt thicker - with a good starter, this usually isn't necessary. I do not use it.
1. Heat the milk
The milk needs to be heated to about 170-180F (76-82C). This is for two reasons:
- It kills any other bacteria that might be in the milk that would compete against the bacteria that convert milk to yogurt.
- It changes the milk protein in a way that allows it to culture and firm up.
Keep stirring the milk and do not let it go past 180F. If it scorches, your yogurt will taste bad.
2. Sterilize the containers
3. Cool the milk and inoculate
Once the milk reaches 170-180F (76-82C), turn off the burner and continue to stir it as it cools. You only need to stir it for another 2-3 minutes, to prevent any of the milk from scorching at the bottom of your pot.
Once it reaches 105-110F (40-43C), mix up your plain yogurt in its container until it's liquid, and add it to the pot of warm milk. Stir it for a couple of minutes for the yogurt to dissolve well into the milk. This will spread the bacteria (Lactobacillus, Bifidus, and other bacteria, depending on your source) throughout the milk and allow it to start to grow.
4. Pour into containers
Pour the inoculated milk into the containers.
5. Load into cooler and put in heat sources
Put all the containers into the cooler, along with the pitchers full of hot water from the tap. The heat from those containers will keep the containers warm. The heat should be maintained and stable throughout the process, so try to avoid opening the container at all until the end of the process. The fermentation takes anywhere from 4-8 hours (about 6 is ideal).
If the cooler/kitchen was a bit cool before you put everything in, you might want to quickly take those containers out at about the 1-2 hour point and refresh with hot water. But keep the cooler closed as much as possible, to avoid letting the temperature of the yogurt containers from dropping.
Also, avoid jostling the cooler, even if you have to open it up to refresh the hot water. It needs stillness to firm up.
6. Check yogurt to see if done
After about 6-8 hours (or a bit longer, if the temperature in your cooler is below 100F/39C), the yogurt should be firm. Test by gently turning it to see if it keeps its shape.
There will be some slightly yellowish, viscous liquid on the top. This is whey. You can either pour it off, or just mix it into the yogurt when you eat it.
7. Cover and refrigerate!
Cap or cover your yogurt and put them into your refrigerator. They'll last about 2 weeks.
If you want to use one of these yogurts as a starter for your next batch, use the yogurt within 5-7 days, or else freeze some of the fresh yogurt, and let it thaw before using it to inoculate the sterilized milk.
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Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker, White
Price: Too low to display
List Price: $90.00 |
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Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
Price: Too low to display
List Price: $145.00 |
If you like thick, Greek yogurt, which is strained, you can use a coffee filter to strain the resulting yogurt to drain away the excess whey and leave you with a much thicker product. The longer you strain it, the more it becomes almost like sour cream in consistency.
If you don't want to use a cooler, there are a few incubators you can buy to maintain the right temperature during the fermentation process. A couple of the best are available from Amazon.
Other How-to guides
Check out my How to Geocache guide and I Ching Guide if you like this one.
Savings
- I bought a gallon of 1% milk from Berkeley Bowl for $3.70.
- The container of yogurt was $1.30.
- All of the other things I needed I already had on hand, so no cost there.
- I made the equivalent of 16 cups of yogurt (so about a cup per day through the 2-week life of what I made)
I spent $5 for 16 yogurts, coming out to:
- 32 cents per yogurt, or
- a savings of almost $16 over what I would have paid for 16 pre-prepared yogurts
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Comments
Hi, i am lactose intolerant. Can i use lactose free yoghurt (i can only purchase flavoured ) to start making my own yoghurt?
Thnks for the nice hub with whole lot of useful info. We in Sri Lanka spend lot of money to buy yogurt from the shop and even at that price you get only a small quantity in a cup like 80g.
My mother-in-law had once tried to make yogurt but she was not so successful because she had mixed gelatine also with milk.
I just want to know from you Livelonger, what will happen if you use Buffolow Curd as the starter to make yogurt. It is difficult for us to find unsweetened, unflavored yogurt from the market.
Sherry: put it in an ice cream maker, or follow other directions on how to make ice cream, treating the yogurt as you would the recipe for ice cream. I would not just put it in the freezer, since it would form large ice crystals and therefore not be "creamy."
What is the next step to making frozen yogurt?
Just strain the yoghurt through muslin or any cloth over a bowl to catch the whey - you can give the gathered up cloth a squeeze and leave it in the fridge.
I can't wait to try this stuff!!!
THANKS
Oh Yea how do you make cheese from the yogurt?
I have just started making yoghurt and have found a towel wrapped bowl of the milk mixture stays warm on top of my tropical fish tank when the lights are on and turns to perfect yog in about six hours.
I've always wondered how you could avoid using those yogurt makers, they were fairley expensive and didn't make enough for the amount of work...great idea...
after heating the milk,adding the youghurt bacteria,
and putting the contents in a tight-sealed jar, i wrap it with a warm blanket for 6 hours, remove the wrap, place it in the refrigerator for an hour, and treat friends to a creamy,healthy snack :)
yogurt is not only tummy friendly but YUMMEEEE!!
yogurt is an indispensible part of indian cusine. it's prepared in every indian kitchen. the traditional way is to make it in an earthen pot, this throws away the excess water. in southern india rice with yogurt with a pinch of salt is taken at the end of every meal. this is good for digestion.
While yogurt certainly has good properties in it that aid in digestion. The cancer project (An independent, separately incorporated affiliate of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) has concerns about the overall intake of dairy products. Take a look at their site and check to see if any of their concerns apply to your situation.
That seems pretty easy to me. I think since Im in the Lactose group I'll go by some sheep milk also. This would be a great family recipe to make together also. Thanks livelonger.
Wow, this looks so much easier than I had imagined it would be! I like to make my own live natural foods, like Kombucha. Think I'll give making yogurt a try now too! My grand kids love yogurt and I'd love to make them some without all of the chemicals and preservatives in the commercial stuff. If I wanted to add fruit or flavorings would you suggest doing it before refrigerating or just before eating?
Thanks!
I had a rich aunt who used to make her own yogurt. She did it because she felt it was healthier not because she was cheap.
My family eats lots of store-bought yogurt. Being a young man in my early 50s, I am finding the desire to start eating right (or at least better than in the past). Thank you for this very informative, easy-to-understand web site. I will check in periodically to share my results, and likely ask lots of questions. The history of comments is really helpful. Several questions I had were answered in previous posts.
what about probiotic capsules?
blkperl123: No, if you use kefir as a starter, it will create...kefir. :) It is delicious and nutritious, though, so by all means try it. It just won't have that custard-like texture of yogurt; it's more like a clumpy milkshake.
Hi-great instructions! Like one of the previous posters, I've been eating Activia. Is it possible to use plain Kefir--which has many, many bacteria including the good digestive ones--as a starter for yogurt???
Love the idea with the cooler box and hot water. I used to make mine in a flask, but this enables you to make much more.
I use LIVE "Lactobacillus Bulgaricus" to make yogurt, but it grows and reproduces quite rapidly. If I use more than two teaspoons/per liter of milk it turns too acidic and it produces too much whey. Would you help me figure out what is the right proportion of live bacteria and milk. Also, could I avoid the whey formation. Thanks
SBMom: Good question. I believe dehydrators work in the 100-110F (about 40-45C) range, so that would be appropriate. As for the oven with the light on, that depends on what temperature is actually maintained in your oven (how drafty it is, etc.). If it does maintain a stable 100F/40C or so, then yes, it'd be great.
Planning to make this, but question first: Do you think you could use a dehydrator as the incubator? OR would the gas stove with just an oven light on work better or the same? Thanks for this great hub.
I made the yoghurt sucessfully.It tasted differently from supermarket's yoghurt but it was fun making it.
So I just made yogurt for the first time. It looks great, set up nicely but if the water bath it was in (in an ice chest) ended up at 95 degrees when I checked on it after 6 hours, does that mean anything? Or if I ended up with thick yogurt and whey then that means the 95 degree water bath sufficed? Next time I will add some hot water half way through to keep the temp at 100-110 but I just wanted to make sure this won't pose a huge problem for the batch I just made. Thank you so much!
Thanks so much! I just discovered your hub after buying a used yogurt maker from a second-hand store. The containers were still wrapped in bubble wrap. Your information about temperatures and proportions was excellent. One question: In china we loved their "suan nai" literally sour milk yogurt. It is meant to be runny and you drink it with a straw out of the pottery mugs it was cultured in. It is refreshingly sweet and tart. This first batch of yogurt was great but can you help me reproduce our favorite breakfast beverage?
I reuse 1 liter turkish yoghurt tubs- PP5 for those interested. When they come out of the dishwasher they are sterile.
I take about a cup of yoghurt as a starter, add a similar volume of UHT milk, and whisk to mix and aerate.
Heat a pot on flames for 30 seconds with the lid on to sterilse the interior, then chuck in the rest of the 1 liter of UHT milk, 2-4 heaped tablespoons of powdered milk, stir and whisk.
I test the temperaure by taking a spoon, stirring to get it the same temperature as the milk, then pour some down into my mouth. It should be warm, slighly more than body temperature. DO NOT PUT SPOON IN MOUTH!!! If you lack co-ordination, this method provides an impromptu milk shower.
When the temp is right I pour in the whisked Yoghurt, and whisk all for 30 seconds or so. This is all with a Braun electric whisk.
Then pour the mix back into the Yoghurt pot. There will be some left over, which I usually pour into a spare dishwashed jar, and which will likely be the next starter. Put the lids on the jar and tub.
I put the jar and tub on top of our hot water heater in its cupboard. I put a CLEAN plastic bag over the cultures just to keep off any dust, and close the doors. This provides a very good ambient temperature. If you want to test your heater for this purpose, put a plastic bottle of water on it and leave for a few hours, then judge the temperature when it comes out- aim for a little over body temperature.
Leave for about 10 hours, maybe more. Then I let them cool in the open for about an hour and thence to the fridge.
The preheating to 80°Celsius, and the rapid cooling are techniques I haven't tried. My yoghurt is MOSTLY firm, sometimes a little runny, but thats just the whey separating. It tastes fine. I am no expert, but some people here clearly are. Well done to you all, try this if you haven't, and
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
right on.
The best yogurt is from Bulgaria, may be more of you don't know this that some bacterias grow only in this place: culture (the beneficial bacteria L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, and B. Bifidum). L.Bulgaricus make the yogurt most healthy, so most important is the culture if you realy want to keep healthy life style, that contains absolutely no added chemicals, ph modifiers, sweeteners, flavor enhancers, stabilizers or thickening agents of any kind.
I am from Bulgaria but last years i am living in different countries, so i make my yogurt in home all time. Bring with me dried "Lactobacillus Bulgaricus" but if i don't have i use yogurt with LIVE "Lactobacillus Bulgaricus" which not contain sugar. The recept is from my grandmother,
1 gallon of milk (1%, 2% or whole milk) 1 lb. plain yogurt (make sure that the label says "with active bacteria", no garrantee for success otherwise) Put milk in large saucepan and heat it over medium heat till boiling. Put the milk aside and let cool for about 35-45 min. You can check the milk with small finger -- it (the milk) should be warm, but not very hot (If you wish you can use termometer: 43-45 C). Beat yogurt with fork or steel wrisk in a bowl. Add 1 cup warm milk, mix well. Little by little add yogurt-milk mixture to the rest of the milk. Mix again. Pour milk into glass jars or ceramic bowls with lids. Put jars on a flat surface. Cover with something that will keep it warm, as a folded blanket or a sleeping bag and living for a night.
Next day is ready and can put in the frige.
The real yogurt is very sour from which i make summer Bulgarian soup "tarator":To prepare tarator you need 1 fresh cucumber or 4-5 pickles, 1/2 kilogram of yoghurt, 1-2 cloves of garlic, several walnuts, some dill, salt, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil of your choice (sunflower oil is typically used), and water.
Preparation: Grate or finely chop the cucumber(s) and place in a large bowl. Mash the garlic with salt and add to the cucumber. Add ground walnuts and finely chopped fresh dill. Pour in the yoghurt. Then gradually add water - the thickness is down to taste. Finally, add the vegetable oil.
you can read more about Bulgarian yogurt here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt
I hope it tastes a good as it sounds because I am going to try making it too. Peaches are in season so I think I will have to peach yogurt. Thanks for the recipe.
I love this, I wonder if you can add fresh fruits to this recipe?
Thanks so much! I just discovered your hub after buying a used yogurt maker from a second-hand store. The containers were still wrapped in bubble wrap. Your information about temperatures and proportions was excellent. One question: In china we loved their "suan nai" literally sour milk yogurt. It is meant to be runny and you drink it with a straw out of the pottery mugs it was cultured in. It is refreshingly sweet and tart. This first batch of yogurt was great but can you help me reproduce our favorite breakfast beverage?
Barrie - that sounds exactly like a kefir grain, which creates kefir, similar to yogurt but not the same. I would check eBay.
Many years ago I was given a Yoghurt tree, and told to look after it as they are as rare as Hens teeth. It looked just like a piece of cauliflower, except it was very delicate. You kept it in a sealed jar of clean fresh water, in the fridge, until needed. Then all you did was take it out of the water, and, put it into the milk, after it had converted the milk to a very good class of Yoghurt, you put it back into the jar of fresh clean water. Each time you used it, it would grow very slightly, so you could divide it up and pass some on to someone else.
Does anybody know where I can get another piece, please.
Can i add lemon juice to make yogurt? How I get culture to make it? I am not clear as well. Pls help to make yummy yogurt.
Well said and shown in a clean and hygienic way in the process of making Yoghurt(fermentation way).
I reuse 1 liter turkish yoghurt tubs- PP5 for those interested. When they come out of the dishwasher they are sterile.
I take about a cup of yoghurt as a starter, add a similar volume of UHT milk, and whisk to mix and aerate.
Heat a pot on flames for 30 seconds with the lid on to sterilse the interior, then chuck in the rest of the 1 liter of UHT milk, 2-4 heaped tablespoons of powdered milk, stir and whisk.
I test the temperaure by taking a spoon, stirring to get it the same temperature as the milk, then pour some down into my mouth. It should be warm, slighly more than body temperature. DO NOT PUT SPOON IN MOUTH!!! If you lack co-ordination, this method provides an impromptu milk shower.
When the temp is right I pour in the whisked Yoghurt, and whisk all for 30 seconds or so. This is all with a Braun electric whisk.
Then pour the mix back into the Yoghurt pot. There will be some left over, which I usually pour into a spare dishwashed jar, and which will likely be the next starter. Put the lids on the jar and tub.
I put the jar and tub on top of our hot water heater in its cupboard. I put a CLEAN plastic bag over the cultures just to keep off any dust, and close the doors. This provides a very good ambient temperature. If you want to test your heater for this purpose, put a plastic bottle of water on it and leave for a few hours, then judge the temperature when it comes out- aim for a little over body temperature.
Leave for about 10 hours, maybe more. Then I let them cool in the open for about an hour and thence to the fridge.
The preheating to 80°Celsius, and the rapid cooling are techniques I haven't tried. My yoghurt is MOSTLY firm, sometimes a little runny, but thats just the whey separating. It tastes fine. I am no expert, but some people here clearly are. Well done to you all, try this if you haven't, and
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
right on.
Malcolm
XXX
The best yogurt is from Bulgaria, may be more of you don't know this that some bacterias grow only in this place: culture (the beneficial bacteria L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, and B. Bifidum). L.Bulgaricus make the yogurt most healthy, so most important is the culture if you realy want to keep healthy life style, that contains absolutely no added chemicals, ph modifiers, sweeteners, flavor enhancers, stabilizers or thickening agents of any kind.
I am from Bulgaria but last years i am living in different countries, so i make my yogurt in home all time. Bring with me dried "Lactobacillus Bulgaricus" but if i don't have i use yogurt with LIVE "Lactobacillus Bulgaricus" which not contain sugar. The recept is from my grandmother,
1 gallon of milk (1%, 2% or whole milk) 1 lb. plain yogurt (make sure that the label says "with active bacteria", no garrantee for success otherwise) Put milk in large saucepan and heat it over medium heat till boiling. Put the milk aside and let cool for about 35-45 min. You can check the milk with small finger -- it (the milk) should be warm, but not very hot (If you wish you can use termometer: 43-45 C). Beat yogurt with fork or steel wrisk in a bowl. Add 1 cup warm milk, mix well. Little by little add yogurt-milk mixture to the rest of the milk. Mix again. Pour milk into glass jars or ceramic bowls with lids. Put jars on a flat surface. Cover with something that will keep it warm, as a folded blanket or a sleeping bag and living for a night.
Next day is ready and can put in the frige.
The real yogurt is very sour from which i make summer Bulgarian soup "tarator":To prepare tarator you need 1 fresh cucumber or 4-5 pickles, 1/2 kilogram of yoghurt, 1-2 cloves of garlic, several walnuts, some dill, salt, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil of your choice (sunflower oil is typically used), and water.
Preparation: Grate or finely chop the cucumber(s) and place in a large bowl. Mash the garlic with salt and add to the cucumber. Add ground walnuts and finely chopped fresh dill. Pour in the yoghurt. Then gradually add water - the thickness is down to taste. Finally, add the vegetable oil.
you can read more about Bulgarian yogurt here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt
I am so happy to have found this site! I just got my Eurocuisine YM100 auto shutoff yogurt maker and made my first batch. I thought I was setting the timer to 10 hours ( it appears to go from 10 to 20 ) but I'm not sure that stands for hours, and the manual doesn't say anything about it. I saw that after about 6 hours it turned off. I checked the yogurt and noticed some clearish liquid on the sides of the jar, but the yogurt appeared to be solidified. I covered the jars and put them in the fridge (hope this was ok???). I had bought raspberries, and decided to open one of the containers and mix in small handful of them, and the yogurt appeared very slightly mildy grainy looking. I did take a quick taste, and it did taste amazing. I would love any tips, hints, suggestions, since I'm not entirely sure everything came out as it was supposed to!
Hi, i love yogurt and i hope to try some soon. Thanks for the tips.
Tina: I'm having a little trouble understanding all of your comment, but plain yogurt is what you would want to use, and the consistency is probably OK if it's somewhat firm (it will firm up more when you put it in the fridge). I would avoid using vanilla yogurt, since it has sugar, and this can favor different microorganisms than the ones you want to foster the growth of.
I have a yogurt maker from Salton (it's 30 years old and never used) and I followed the directions in the book. This was the first time I ever used the machine but I wasn't sure what temperature the machine was supposed to be at. Even though the machine is 30 years old it is brand new so I wasn't sure. I noticed you said to keep the temp around 100 in the cooler. My yogurt when after the 10 your mark (that's what it called for) was a little loose on top but the bottom was thick. What went wrong if anything? I didn't mix the Dannon Plain Yogurt I used for a starter (its unpasturized and has live active cultures what I was supposed to use) could this have made the difference? I'm willing to try again and I'll take your directions here and applythem too but I was curious about the consistancy of my 1st batch of yogurt. It was also a little tart. After I tossed it I tasted the starter yogurt and it tasted just as tart. Can I use Dannon's Vanilla Yogurt with active live cultures and no pasturization or does it have to be plain. thanks tina
Wow! My first yogurt batch ever. Followed your instruction to the letter and it worked perfectly. One gallon of whole milk and now I have 4 liters of perfect yogurt. I thank you for the precise and easy to follow instructions. It really is so easy.
I appreciate this helpful recipe and the pictures. I would like to start making yogurt right away since I love it! I also love saving money and eating better! The only thing is I don't yet have the jars. Where did you get those cute little jars with the blue lids? Also anyone have suggestions for really cheap jars with lids? Thanks!
thanks for the tip about the greek yogurt- it's my favorite and costs $3.00 at the farmers market for a 1/2 pint!
One of the ingredients of Fage Yogurt is Cream. What kind of cream would I use? How much and when do you add it? Can it be used instead of or along with powdered milk? Thanks!
My coworker showed me how to make yogurt while at work. It was very simple and tasted really good. I came home and tried it and ended up w/a container full of slightly thicker milk. Not sure what I did wrong, but I'm going to try this recipe and follow it Very Carefully. Thanks.
I'd like to try this, but I like my yogurt thick. Can I use Total Yogurt (Fage) as my starter instead of Stoneyfield?
looks great.I love yogurt & buy alot of it so I think I will try thins to save some $$.
I have used a comination of your wonderful recipe along with dougs and have wonderful tasting thick and creamy yogurt. My only problem is that each time it has a cottage cheese texture the whole way trhough. I havemade 3 batches now and each has improved the thickness and taste. I just now need to refine the ricotta/cottage cheese texture. Everythign is sterilized, I am using the correct temps etc etc. Anyone have any suggestions how to get rid of the texture to make it really smooth?ps. I have succesfully fermented in a plastic old yogurt container not only glass jars and I have fermented after adding fruit with sugar just before the fermentation stage for those of you wanting to try :-) I am now going to try using Bk Babes suggestion of adding the flavour at 180 degree mark including fruits and sugars. Will let you know how I go.
I love yogurt and have recently considered buying a yogurt maker from eBay, as years ago, I used one of those appliances (5 glass cups with plastic lids). I always had great results before, but by the time you pay postage, the price was over $25. I'm trying to SAVE money, not spend more. I've got some Stoneyfield plain yogurt and am going to try this recipe NOW.
your yogurt is simply just the best that I have ever tasted.
thanks for this info - been contemplating the hows' of this process as I have been wanting to make some for a while now.
I am new to Hubpages - most impressed with the information and what a great recipe for homemade yogurt!!!! Well done. Have you ever tried Green Tea yogurt? Make it at home and it is to die for!
I made my first batch of yogurt 5 days ago and have made 2 more since. I came here to find some insight and share some tips. I researched quite a bit of recipes (including this one) before trying, and I think the combination of them all is what gave me great results.
1. Use a thermometer! It's the only way to tell the exact temps and avoid issues. Later when you become a pro, you can put it away, but for your first couple of batches it's imperative.
2. I used one big sterilized pot on a stove to make a gallon of milk into yogurt. I did no transferring etc in the process. The more transferring, the higher the risk of contamination.
3. As Doug said, when the milk reached 180F, cook it (uncovered) at that temp for at least 10 min (I used 15min) stirring very gently from the bottom making sure the milk doesn't burn at bottom. Do not let milk reach above 200F. At about the 10 min mark, I added a tablespoon of stevia. I've read that you may add sugar, splenda etc at this point and once dissolved completely into milk, you may add any flavoring extract you desire also - once again making sure to stir gently to dissolve completely. YMMV, I can only attest to adding the stevia with no issues.
4. After you have cooked the milk, allow it to cool down (uncovered) to 110F. I just turned off the burner and let it happen naturally - took about an hour to cool down. The optimal temperature for adding starter yogurt is between 110F - 112F. My thermometer is not precise, so I added the starter (one cup of room temp Erivan live yogurt). somewhere between 115F and 110F (if a skin forms on top the milk, you can just skim and discard), and stirred very gently making sure to distribute and dissolve.
Note: My starter yogurt Erivan is naturally very runny, so I didn't need to add any sterilized milk to make it so. If using a thicker yogurt like Fage, before adding starter to batch, stir in some sterilized milk to the starter to make it runny. This helps the cultures distribute easier and makes pouring/dissolving into the batch easy.
5. Cover the pot and put it in gas oven which has a natural temperature of 100F. I left it in for 12 hours, but anywhere from 6-18 hrs is fine, some even say 24 for very tart yogurt. Can also be done with an electric oven by leaving the lightbulb on.
6. Took the covered pot and put it in fridge for approx 2 hrs before eating.
Voila! Thick creamy Fage like yogurt!
My only caveats:
I used 2% milk, but I've heard anything besides fat free should work. If using fat free, most suggest adding powerdered milk also.
When I took it out of the oven, I had a soft, delicate cottage cheese like layer on top, separated by the whey (yellowish liquid) and then thick yogurt on the bottom. I got scared and thought I may have failed - but it was so rich and tasty lol! I have since learned that the layer is actually a good thing and is basically fat/cream that can either be discarded, used for something else if you are watching fat or you can just stir it in (after it cools) making the yogurt creamier.
I had very little whey, but drained it with a spoon anyway, as I like my yogurt thick. After 3 hrs of setting in the fridge, I added about 3 sheets of paper towel to top of yogurt to absorb any condensation from the pot lid.
I am new to Hubpages - most impressed with the information and what a great recipe for homemade yogurt!!!! Well done. Have you ever tried Green Tea yogurt? Make it at home and it is to die for!
Cheers!
Right on cue! while I was just thinking of buying a "yoghurt-maker". Now I shall use what you have suggested! I also like Beezy's method - sounds incredibly simple and satisfying!!Great idea these hubs aren't they?!
I tried making yogurt last night using the top of the refrigerator. I took a rubbermaid 1/2 gallon thermal jug (retails for about 6 - 8 dollars) and prepped it by pouring boiling water from the tea kettle into it and then dumping the water out. I poured my innoculated milk into the jug wrapped the jug in a nice thick towel and placed it on top of the refrigerator late last night before I went to bed. When I woke up this morning I had a really nice batch of yogurt. I like this method...no mess, no fuss and great results.
My yogurt came out great and it was delicious!!! When I made mine, I placed my innoculated milk in a container and put it in the microwave oven, I then took a very large empty mayonaise jar and filled it with the hottest water from the tap and capped that jar. I placed it in the microwave beside the open container of milk and left it there till the yogurt was a good consistency (6 to 8 hrs). I refilled the water jar with fresh hot water about half way through the process. I do this when I am making bread...the microwave works great for proofing in breadmaking and negates the need to make your own proofing box. I was also thinking that there is a lot of heat generated on top of the refrigerater and that might work if you wrapped your container. I sprout my garden seeds there because of the heat that the refrigerator generates and that works really well. I will have to try it to see if it works for yogurt. When my yogurt was finished and had chilled I mixed in some blueberry preserves and it was amazing.
Let me give you a simple recipe on how to use your yoghurt with this little salad, rather than just eating it plain.
Cut cucumber in small cubes, add thinly minced garlic, lemon juice, a good splash of olive or other vegetable oil, dry mint (powdered), and plain yoghurt to make sort of a thick soup.
You can dip your bread in, or just use a teaspoon to eat it. You definitely need pita, or french bread for dipping. It's a very common light dish in the Middle East, Greece, Bulgary, etc. It saved my butt a few times when I want something quick and delicious and I was really hungry.
Try it and give me your comment here or on my blog:
Awesome information. I have been too intimidated to even attempt yoghurt and your directions are clear and easy to follow, or at least they look clear and eeasy to follow as I haven't tried it yet so can't say for sure. Tour hub recipe was well written, easy to read, and the details in the directions are things I as a completely horrific cook need in order to succeed in the kitchen are all there and simplified enough for someone like me. Thank you for the information and inspiration! Cheers! Now, does anyone know how to EASILY make a good lassi with this home made yoghurt?
This site is fantastic, I made my first batch last night, and am pleased with my first effort. I would like it a bit sweeter, and am not sure when to add the sugar, some say b4 leaving it to set and others say to add it after it has set. I left the lid on during the culturing period, should I have left it off, as it's not 100% smooth. Your site is great
Fantastic hub ! Me and my family have been doing home made yoghurt for more than twenty years now. It is so gratifying to see that someone has shared his / her experience and knowledge to teach others how to do it.. You are indeed very well commended.
All the best,
SiaM108
I just completed my first batch of homemade yogurt. It took quite a while because I brought the temperature of the milk up very slowly. I just sampled the first one this morning after sitting in the refrigerator over night. It came out wonderful. The texture and flavor are much better than I could have hoped for. The yogurt was set up nicely in 4 hours but I waited for6 hours before putting in the refrigerator. I will continue to make my own yogurt but next time, I'll put the fruit in the bottom of the cup before pouring in the liquid.
Nice tutorial. A great motivation to experiment in the kitchen
Hi Lynne - Not sure. I have read that you shouldn't continue to reuse starters, or use too many generations from a single starter, because certain more dominant cultures will crowd out some of the "weaker" ones that still contribute to a good taste and texture. I would start with a fresh starter next time.
Hi! I made your yogurt twice and it came out amazing!!!! Now I made it a third time and the consistency is not as good. The first two batches were perfectly smooth. This batch is a little broken up, almost like it curdled just the tiniest amount. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong. I have been using the yogurt I made for next starter. also - should I not use this yogurt for the next starter since the texture is not as good?
thanks for a great website!
i have never used it so far. i will definately try it. thanks.
Sharon - if it's capped, the top might create a lot of condensation, which will likely drip in your yogurt and create a layer of water (not whey) which you will have to pour off.
Does the milk need to be uncapped while it is culturing?
FATHERS: I recommend adding the fruit after the final step. Any yeasts/bacteria in the fruit might ruin the culturing process otherwise. An alternative is to cook the fruit completely to sterilize it, although any sugars that leach out into the inoculated milk might also disturb the culturing process, which focuses on the lactose in the milk and not other sugars.
What agreat idea! I am gonna make some today. How can you add fruits if you want to/
Hi livelonger! Thank you so much; this is the best guide for making yogurt that I found online. I tried making my first batch yesterday. I was hesitant at first because I did not have a thermometer but I just had to try it. :) So I followed the tips I found here (esp. those of nuttygirl) on how to wing it when it came to temperature and my first attempt was a success! I used towels to keep the milk-yogurt warm. It didn't just taste good, it was also cheaper than buying from the store, but it also gave me a great sense of accomplishment to see that thickened yogurt which I made all by myself and waited 6 hours for. I'll be making yogurt for a long, long time. Thanks a lot for making this girl a believer.
Wow, I did not know you could make yogurt from yogurt ... what a great way to save money ... reminds me of the friendship cake my mother used to do.. Great article!
flying pie: I've made it once. You need an ice cream maker, that churns the froyo while it's freezing, to prevent the formation of crunchy ice crystals. It really is as easy as adding yogurt, sugar and any other flavorings you want to.
livelonger do you know any frozen yogurt recipes i dont know how to make frozen yogurt
2 months old? That's pretty old milk. Use fresh milk, and try a different starter. Make sure you use a high-quality unflavored yogurt with live, active cultures.
that was the worst yogurt i had ever tasted in my life it tastes like year old garbage does any one no what i should do? i poured in the milk i rinsted the jars and i did it all like the recipe but it tastes like garbage as i remember my milk i put in was only 2 months old
Lily: I don't think so. If Yakult can't even firm up the milk that it's packaged with (it's a liquid), then it probably won't firm up milk for yogurt. It's best to choose a culture that has already proven that it can firm up yogurt on its own.
Can I use Yakult as a starter?
Debbie - great advice. Do you need to use soy yogurt as a starter, or can you use regular/standard yogurt? I'd imagine the cultures would be different.
Kaytee,
Do you know that you can buy powdered soy milk from the health food store? That is what I use and it works great and makes a nice, thick yogurt.
Kaytee, You should strain the yoghurt with a tea towel in a sieve. This will get rid of some of the whey and the yoghurt will be firmer.
Hello. I have made homemade yogurt for a long time as I am such a fan of it. To incubate mine i wrap it in a couple towels and place it in the oven with the light on over night and it comes out nice. i had to switch from cows milk to soy, due to a dairy allergy and am wondering if anyone has tried it with soy. I have had some trouble with it coming out quite runny on me. I am not able to add powdered milk to it. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how i can thicken it up a bit.
Yay it worked!! I'm so proud of myself since I didn't use a thermometer for any of it and it was my first time. The vanilla yogurt didn't cause a problem at all, and I just wrapped my warm pot in a towel and left it on top of a radiator for 4 hours and made sure the pot didn't get hotter than what was comfortable for my hand. This is so much fun and so easy too with a double boiler. Thanks so much for all your help. You've made a yogurt-maker out of me!
Gemmasmomma - thank you for stopping by. I think using a little bit of vanilla yogurt should be fine. The issue is usually the sugar, which favors the growth of other types of bacteria and yeast. But since you're only using a little, I'd imagine it'd be fine. Try it out and let me know!
Dear lankomaryzimmar, there is a possibility of overloading your gallbladder by eating too much yogurt, but you would have to eat something like a quart a day for an extended period of time to do that.
Dear livelonger, thanks so much for posting this! I want to make some yogurt but was just wondering if I can use Stonyfield Farm vanilla yogurt as a starter. Would the vanilla in it cause the milk not to firm up? Thanks for your help.
It is a detailed and very practical info.
Now I know how to make yogurt.
Thanks
yogurt was found in turkey and now im telling u the original way of making yogurt.
heat milk -after the milk cools about 10-15 minutes add some pure yogurt(for 1L milk 100g yogurt) and mix it gently.after covering the pot,use at least 2 or 3 towels to cover up the pot totally.rest the pot for 2 days at a warm place -near the oven in the kitchen or else-do not open or mix during the resting time.after 2 days u will find a delicious home made yogurt the original way.better is 3,5% milk.
there are many recipes with yogurt. you can make a delicious sauce or dip for the bbq.mix enough pressed garlic and some salt in the yogurt if you like 1ts of olive oil and ready is the cheapest and best sauce for grilled meat or even for fried vegetable.try and u will lick your finger :-P
Very informative hub. I have never made yougurt before, but if I ever decided to this hub would make it less daunting for me.
This is a cool blog since it reminded me on why I have to make own yogurt since it is my daughter's favorite. I do usually buy it on markets and some groceries.
I made kefir for many years and then stopped as I just got too busy with work. Reading your blog on yogurt reminded me of how necessary it is to make your own yogurt if you eat it on a regular basis, as it is more cost effective giving the downhill financial trend we are all facing. I give Stonyfield yogurt to my dog as well and we do go through it rather quickly. I also purchased a yogurt maker which has been unused for over a year LOL but your instructions on making yogurt are easy enough to follow and I will definitely buy out the time to make some.
lankomaryziggar: Well, there are people who will argue that too much of anything isn't good for you, so I suppose there is a limit to how much you should eat. I do know that if you're lactose intolerant, you might have a problem since some lactose does remain in the yogurt (not all of it is digested by the bacteria).
I think I will try this, am a yogurt person myself. But let me ask, Is there any health implication from taking so much yogurt?
scienceproj: from beginning to end, assuming you have your materials (milk, clean cups, etc) it will take about 8 hrs at a minimum to create yogurt ready to be chilled in your refrigerator. And yes, by all means, you can make just a few cups of yogurt - adjust the recipe accordingly.
livelonger says:
2 days ago
Kristine: I don't think so. I wonder what made your yogurt lactose-free...yogurt cultures normally need lactose as their food to culture milk into yogurt. If you are very, very sensitive to lactose, I'd avoid homemade yogurt and stick with the lactose-free version you buy in the market, unfortunately, since homemade yogurt will likely always have some lactose in it.