Step by Step Guide to Make Yogurt at Home

Learning how to make yogurt can help you find a great fun activity that your whole family can enjoy. Not only will it keep you all busy for some time, it will also help you save some money in the process. Interestingly, it is not as difficult to make yogurt as you might think because all you need is milk and bacteria or yogurt starter culture. Let's find out more about it.

Make Easy Yogurt at Home

You really do not have to go through a lot of hassle to make yogurt at home. There is even no need to use any specialized equipment. Here is how to make yogurt at home.

Ingredients

  • Half gallon of milk – you can use skim milk but whole milk is better
  • Half cup of yogurt starter culture

Equipment

  • 3 quart Dutch oven
  • Candy thermometer
  • A measuring cup
  • Whisk

Instructions

  • Take the milk, pour it into the oven, and heat it. Go for medium or medium-high heat. Keep heating it until it is right below boiling point.
  • Stir it gently to ensure that the bottom does not scorch.
  • Once it reaches about 200F, remove it from heat and set aside to cool. Wait until it is warm to touch or is around 115F. Do not forget to stir it occasionally.
  • Take a measuring cup and get a cup of warm milk, and finally add the yogurt. Whisk gently to dissolve the yogurt in the milk.
  • Take the thinned yogurt and whisk it into the warm milk.
  • Now, take that pot and put it in a turned-off oven. You can wrap it in towels as well to help keep it warm – it is better to keep a temperature around 110F.
  • It may take up to 4 hours or sometimes more for the yogurt to set – how long it takes depends mainly on the cultures you have used as well as the temperature of the yogurt. If you let it sit for long, it will become thicker.
  • Remove the yogurt form the oven when you believe it has set properly. Be sure to drain off any watery whey you find on the surface before transferring the yogurt to containers. You can whisk it back as well.
  • Put those containers in the refrigerator. You can use the same batch of yogurt to culture your next batch. You only need half a cup for this purpose.

Make Greek Yogurt

To learn how to make yogurt, you need to follow certain steps.

Ingredients

  • 4 cup plastic or glass measuring cup
  • 2 tbsp live culture yogurt
  • 4 cups of whole milk
  • 6-cup pot or saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Piece of cheesecloth or Greek yogurt strainer

Instructions

  • Start by pasteurizing the milk by taking 4 cups of milk and putting it over high heat for 3-7 minutes. Stop when it is about to reach the boiling point. Remove it from heat and put a lid on your pan.
  • Let the milk cool down a bit. You may have to wait for at least 45 minutes. You can use it when the milk is only warm to touch.
  • Add the live culture bacteria to the milk. You can also use yogurt culture packets here. Stir gently.
  • Use a whisk to stir the culture rich milk and then pour it into a plastic cup measure. You can secure the cup with a lid as well.
  • Set your oven to 'warm' and then turn it off after a couple of minutes. Place the cup in the oven and ensure that it stays above 115F. You can leave the oven light turned on, which is likely to produce enough heat to help the yogurt set properly.
  • It may take up to 12 hours depending on the cultures you have used. You may want to use a wireless thermometer during all this period to know if the temperature gets too low or too high.
  • Finally, remove the yogurt from the oven. Test the yogurt – it is usually good if you tilt the cup and the yogurt moves away in one mass.
  • Once you have taken the cup out of the oven, you will have to strain the yogurt. You can use cheesecloth, tea towels, or something similar for the next step. It involves using your designated cloth and stretching it over the bowl. Use rubber bands to keep the cloth in place and pour the yogurt onto the strainer. Put it in the refrigerator and let it drain for 2-4 hours. If you want thicker yogurt, you will have to wait longer.
  • Finally, remove those bands and grab the edges of the yogurt cloth to remove it. Ensure you do not let the yogurt submerge in the whey. Get the yogurt and put it in a container – you can use an airtight container for storage. You can leave it in the refrigerator for several days.

It is easy to learn how to make yogurt at home, but if you are serious about making it on a regular basis, you may want to invest on something that helps maintain the right temperature throughout the fermentation process.

 
 
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