It is extremely easy to make yogurt at home and avoid all the extra added sugar, preservatives and other not so healthy ingredients in a store-bought yogurt.
Yogurt is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation products are considered healthy and yogurt specifically is very helpful for digestion. The bacteria used to make yogurt are knows as “yogurt cultures”.
Read more about yogurt’s nutrient dense ingredients. You can also find out more about the health benefits of eating yogurtHERE. We also wrote an article about health conditions where consuming yogurt can help. Read more HERE.
Yogurt can be eaten as a meal and is a great snack also. Because it is protein rich it is a great snack after exercise. You can combine yogurt with fruits, nuts, or put it in a smoothie. Here are some healthy recipes from our site with yogurt:
Get your jar(s) in which you will make the yogurt. I use jars I bought from the store with pickles, peppers, etc.
Pour milkinto each jar leaving some space on the top to add the yogurt at the end.
Place a pot on the stove. I usually turn the heat to medium (4-5 on my stove) so the pot doesn't scorch.
Once you have all jars filled up with milk, then pour all the milk into the pot. If you are going to heat the milk on higher temperature to scold it faster, pour more milk into the pot to compensate for burnt milk that will stick on the bottom of the pot
Add the yogurt
Once the milkis scolding (you can see it boiling) turn the stove off and remove the pot from the heat. If your pot is almost full of milk, it is easier for the milk to boil off the pot and make a mess on your stove. I suggest using bigger pots to give more space for the milk to bubble up.
I wait for about 2-3 minutes for the milkto cool off. If I put my pinky in the milk, I shouldn’t be able to count to more than 10 until I feel too hot. It is better to err on having hotter milk than cooler. If the milk cools off too much the yogurt won't thicken.
I use 2 full spoons of yogurt to add to my jar of milk. It is better to err on putting more yogurt to the jar than less. In about 400-500 ml of milk, I use 2-3 full tablespoons of yogurt with live bacteria.
Once you put the yogurt into the jars, close the lids tightly and you are ready for the yogurt fermentation.
Yogurt Fermentation
Your yogurt is now ready to go through the fermentation process. This is the step where many yogurt manufactures are betting on. Instead of a machine, I use a blanket!! It is so wonderful to have a great mom who taught you on so many home made tricks. The blanket you use needs to keep the milk warm because of the fermentation. I use a T-shirt for my first wrapping layer so I don’t get my blanket dirty. Also, the jars sometimes stick to certain blanket materials. On top of the T-shirt I put the blanket as my second layer. My blanket is made of wool, but I have used different blankets in the past. The key is to keep the milk warm, so the fermentation can take place.
Lastly, I wait about 24-48 hours before taking the jars out. I sometimes leave them for longer. When the jars have cooled down and became cold, that means the bacteria has stopped multiplying and your yogurt is ready. I then put the yogurt in the fridge to get a little bit thicker or use it right away depending on the purpose I need it for.
Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Choice of Milk: Depending on how thick you like your yogurt and how much fat and sugar you want to consume, chose your milk either as whole, 2%, 1% or skim. In my example, I am using skim milk as I will be making a “Tarator”. If you chose skim milk, your yogurt will be more watery and if you chose whole milk, your yogurt will be thicker. I use whole milk when I am preparing tzatziki.
Choice of culture: I use whole milk yogurt for my culture. Also, you can buy packages with the bacteria from specialty food stores. I find it easier and testier just to use yogurt as my culture.
Some people leave the light in their ovenon and place the yogurt there to be kept warm (instead of blankets). I find that riskier (from an oven malfunction standpoint) than using blankets.
The yogurt you use for culture needs to have live bacteria. The live bacteria is the one that multiplies by the warmth and makes the yogurt.
We are extremely excited to announce we are now using the saferecipeguide.org guidelines to make our recipe safe-friendly. We will slowly be incorporating the safe recipe guidelines into our recipe instructions!
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Yogurt
Amount Per Serving
Calories 318Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 51mg17%
Sodium 222mg10%
Potassium 784mg22%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Sugar 28g31%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 500IU10%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 630mg63%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
We strive to provide the most accurate information possible, however, it is at your own risk when you decide to use it. For example, the nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by our recipe plug in. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. If we list a recipe as a nut free, for instance, we do our best to check all ingredients for nuts via an application. However, it is your responsibility to double check our work prior using the information as there is always room for manual error on our part, or an error on the application we use.
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