Homemade yogurt is a very nutritious and frugal alternative to the store bought variety. It’s also a great way to use up milk that’s close to it’s expiration date (or all those gallons you get in really great sales)!
* Scald your milk (bring it to a tiny boil (or 185°) SLOWLY in a stainless pot) I just stick my candy thermometer on the side and let it slowly heat to 185°.
* Remove from heat – leaving the thermometer inside and let it cool to 105-110°. I’ve found that if I sit the pot in the fridge, it takes approx. 30 minutes for 3 quarts to cool to about 120° – then I let it cool on the counter to about 105°.
* Pour about 2 cups of milk into a glass jar or glass measuring cup and mix in your starter. Stir until the starter is dissolved.
* Return that back to the pot and mix it all in well.
* Using a canning funnel and ladle, fill each jar almost full and put the lids on loosely. (Warm your jars with hot water prior to filling).
* Place all jars inside a rectangle baking pan or on cookie sheet for stability, then place in the oven.
* Turn oven light on, then preheat oven to 350° for 1 minute and turn oven off, leaving the light on (ideal incubation temp. is between 105-115°).
* Leave the yogurt to culture overnight (appx. 12 hours). Do NOT open the oven or turn the light off during this process or it will lose temperature and possibly not culture properly.
A few ways we enjoy our yogurt:
* With lazy granola added in.
* With honey and fruit mixed in.
* As the base in most of our smoothies.
This post is linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
I love homemade yogurt!
Carla´s last blog ..treasure hunting!
I’ve never made yogurt before but it always sounds so easy.
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I have never tried making yogurt! This has perked my interest!
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This looks easy and super economical. Thank you for sharing!
Looks like an easy way to make it. Thanks for posting!
I’m visiting from BBandB Tasty Tuesday.
Can you use any milk or does it need to be a certain % or whole or raw milk or anything?
You can use any milk. I would say raw milk or organic whole milk would be best because of the health properties of those. But, I’ve used all types of cow milk with great results. I do feel like it’s a little thinner with the lower fat content milks though. I’ve read that stirring a bit of unflavored gelatin into the cooled milk mixture will help it set up a bit better. I’ve also even read that you can use rice milk, almond milk or coconut milk, but I’ve never personally tried any of those!
Is it ready to eat shortly after you put it in the fridge or do you have to wait several hours?
How do you keep the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan while heating?
Heat very slowly on med-low heat and stir frequently. I have found that if it does stick it’s still OK as long as I don’t scrape the bottom of the pan and scrape up anything that was stuck. From what I’ve found, it will always leave a film on the bottom of the pan, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s burnt, though. Also, you might try a pan with a heavier/thicker bottom. They tend to heat more evenly.
It would probably be ready to eat soon after putting it in the fridge, but I like to make sure it’s completely chilled first. I’m not a fan of warm yogurt so I typically wait a few hours.
Thanks so much for your help! The yogurt turned out great! The milk sticking to the bottom of the pan was frustrating me, but now I know to just let it be.