Okay, I need to clear one thing up right away. I don’t make my own yogurt because I’m a granola girl who is into all natural, healthy-foody options. It’s nothing that noble, I promise.
I make my own yogurt because my kids eat too much! I can’t afford to keep yogurt in the house for these ravening hordes. Milk is cheaper, by quite a bit. Yogurt is easy to make. Voila. This has actually all come to a crisis because Michael has been experimenting with yogurt smoothies for breakfast. It’s amazing how quickly we can plow through yogurt when we’re using it that way!
Homemade Yogurt
What you need:
- A saucepan
- A thermometer
- 1 quart of milk
- 2 T. plain commercial yogurt (check to be sure it has live yogurt cultures in it.)
- A heavy crock or bowl
First, heat up the milk, stirring constantly so it doesn’t form a skin on top. Take it up to boiling and then immediately remove it from the burner. Let the milk cool back down. The perfect temperature for culturing yogurt is 112°. Anything over 120° will kill the live beasties. Anything under 90° will never provoke them to grow into yogurt.
While the milk is cooling down, I usually put really hot water in the crock so that it is nice and warm when I pour the milk into it. I also turn the oven on to “warm” for a couple of minutes and then off again. The oven is my warm place where the yogurt doesn’t get disturbed.
Once the milk has cooled to appproximately 112°, whisk 2 T. plain yogurt into about 1/2 c. of that warm milk. Get this whisked nice and smooth and then pour into the crock. Pour the warm milk in on top of that and stir it thoroughly. Cover the crock, wrap in a towel, and set it out of the way in the oven. Now, all you need is time.
After a few hours, the yogurt will start setting up. At that point, it still doesn’t have a real sour taste to it. After a few more hours, you’ll be able to taste that classic sour flavor. Last night I actually forgot about the yogurt overnight and this morning it was just perfect! I put it into the refrigerator immediately.
My kids will now add blueberries, granola, honey, and whatever else they feel inclined to add. OR make fruit smoothies with it. And NOW, it won’t cost any more than a glass of milk!
In theory, I can use the yogurt I’ve made as the starter for the next batch. After awhile, however, my yogurt seems to get a bit wimpy so I buy one 6 ounce container from the dairy section to get things revved back up.
Barb
This recipe looks terrific! I’ve been wanting to make my own yogurt for a while. Unfortunately, my oven only goes down to 150*, which is apparently not conducive to yogurt-making.
Actually, Caryn, that’s how far down my oven goes too. I turned it on to 150° for about ten minutes and then I turned it back off. That warmed up the oven enough that it stayed reasonably warm for hours afterward. I also heat the heavy bowl or the crock that the yogurt goes into by letting it sit with hot water in it for about ten minutes. You defnitely don’t want to turn the oven on when the yogurt is IN the oven, but turning it on beforehand and then turning it off should work nicely. If you have a gas oven with a pilot light, that itself will keep the oven at a perfect temperature.
Barb
Oh, perfect! Thanks a million. I do indeed have a gas oven with a pilot light. I also have some plain, commercial yogurt I will soon be putting to good use. Can’t wait to give this a try.
Aha. Now I see that I wasn’t reading the directions carefully enough–probably because my friend Linda makes yogurt, and she keeps her oven set to 100* or so the whole time, and so when I read the 112* I somehow thought the oven had to stay at that temperature. That should teach me to skim directions–and to make assumptions!
This is great. We get free milk and cream from the Tico dairy farmer that grazes his small (10 cows and family) herd on our property and I’ve started freezing this for ice cream and saving the cream for butter. Keeps a lot of mangos from going to waste.
BTW: Ever notice how your blender book says not to whip cream in the blender because it makes butter…Yep, it does, the best butter you’ve ever had. If you pour off the whey and run the butter in the blender with cold water 2 or 3 times, the chore of washing it is avoided and the water presses out easily with a spoon. Commercial butter here in Costa Rica is an unpleasant yellow grease so I’m really pleased with this easy way of getting the good stuff.
I started making my own yogurt for the same reason: when I started having to pay $2.29 for a quart of nonfat plain, I rebelled. I make my own now for about $.60.
One problem I am having, though, is that I seem to get way too much whey in my finished product. I mean – waaaaaay too much.
Does anyone know why this is and what I can do about it?
Thanks.
Sharon, I have only one suggestion. I don’t know why homemade yogurt ends up with so much whey. I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation. There is one tip that I got from a cooking guru friend that has helped somewhat. After you dish yogurt up out of the container, use the back of a spoon to spread the surface smooth. If the top surface of the yogurt is smooth when you store it in the refrigerator, then the yogurt “oozes” significantly less whey. Again, there’s probably a scientific reason. I have no idea what that reason is!
Barb
Hello,
I make my own yogurt too. I’ve found that if I let the milk simmer for around 15/20 minutes the yogurt will be thicker and have hardly any whey. Delia Smith (UK cook) recommends this. I also use semi skimmed milk and the yogurt is lovely and creamy.
I love making my own yogurt too. I use a slightly different incubation method:
http://hubpages.com/hub/How_to_make_your_own_yogurt_-_An_illustrated_guide
I’m afraid my drafty oven wouldn’t maintain the right temperature for long enough.
Anyway, Sharon, the whey is actually good for you. Yes, it’s a bit gross, but you can always just pour it off. I get a lot of whey even though the surface is smooth (because I poured in the cultured milk as a liquid).
I, too just started making my own! We all love it. I add one step, making it Greek yogurt. I strain the new yogurt in cheese cloth or muslin (which is cheap by the yard) tied together and hung for about 4 hours. This thickens it and there is no runny whey at all.
My question is….. has anyone ever saved a batch that didn’t set for whatever reason? Maybe adding my own yogurt got too weak? I make a gallon at a time. I use 2% and add a feww tablespoons of powdered milk. This makes it thicker while keeping it lower in fat.
Hi, Yvonne, I HAVE tried to redo a batch that didn’t thicken. It wasn’t a pretty experiment. When I reheated the wannabe-yogurt, it curdled and separated. I’ve wondered if I could just use it in its liquid form for things like fruit smoothies or something. I won’t be trying the re-cook method again!
I’m going to have to try the cheesecloth trick. I’ve read about that and wondered how that turned out.
bk
Have you ever BOUGHT greek yogurt? It’s $2.00 for 6 oz.!!! yeah, But for a treat, it was worth every bite. Now it’s not a treat but a necessity in my house! You must try it. I lined a lg. ceramic bowl with cheese cloth or (NOW) a yard of cheap muslin from the fabric store. tie it up with the kitchen string and hang it. I am going to try reusing it by washing it and if that works… I will make a bag by sewing it with a draw string. I will follow up here with how it turns out.
I reuse cheesecloth all the time. I probably get at least ten uses before I finally toss it out. I hang a collander in a big bowl and line the collander with cheesecloth, dump some yogurt in and let it sit for about 30 minutes and end up with thick, greek yogurt. Delicious.
btw, thanks for the tip about using my (thin) yogurt for shakes. I was just going to toss it!
And thank YOU for the tip about Greek yogurt. No, I”ve never had that before and can’t wait to try it.
Whatever you do with thin yogurt, just don’t try to reheat it and start over. THAT was a bad idea on my part!
bk
I have got for xmas a yogurt maker and used with with some success. The problem that I have had is that the yogurt curdles in the incubator and I don’t know why.
Any suggestions?
Hi I have been given a yogurt maker but no instruction booklet so have no idea on amounts – Can anyone help……
My guess, Dawn, is that maker runs a little too hot and is cooking the yogurt. Of course, I can’t know for sure. My only suggestion is that you try making yogurt the way this post suggests and see if that works.
crock pot?
Most crockpots will keep the yogurt WAYYYYYY too hot.
I’ve found that putting the yogurt into a ceramic casserole dish, covering it tightly with plastic wrap, and leaving it in the sun on a hot summer day also works well.
Question: why does my electric yogurt maker make smooth, firm yogurt every time, while using your oven method often leaves the yogurt looking curdly and separated?
Oh Amy, if I knew the answer to that question….
I like the idea of setting it in the sun during the summer. (I think that wouldn’t work if you lived in Phoenix though!)
Actually, I live in Phoenix and today it was 114. We made yogurt because we could put it outside and save ourselves the trouble! We checked the temperature every hour or so to make sure it wasn’t getting too hot. We use glass mason jars and use cheesecloth over the top to keep bugs out.
I seem to have the same problem everyone else does though, with too much whey. I’d read online somewhere that the whey could be used as a substitute for buttermilk but haven’t been able to confirm (and am a bit hesitant to just try it!) Anyone have a use for this? We did a quick strain on our yogurt tonight to get some but not all of it out and have almost 2 cups from a gallon of yogurt.
Yoghurt Whey
My friend says she uses the whey from yoghurt very successfully as a buttermilk substitute in scones.
Thanks for all the good insight…by the whey…hehe:), the whey is excellent for baking!! Also, if you have raw milk and it sours, it is super duper wonderful for baking, the more sour the better! Just use baking soda to get the acid/base reaction and voila, bubbles and rise! Good for pancakes, waffles, fried biscuits, anything really, oh, and bread too (probably don’t need the baking soda in this case). And if you’ve never done any lactofermentation, check it out on http://www.westonprice.org. It’s an “old world” method for preserving foods which gives you lots of good bacteria (like the kind in yogurt!) and helps digestion of meats, etc. I’ve got a lacto-fermented cranberry relish that will knock your socks off! Great for Thanksgiving:).
God bless,
Jenn
Thanks, Jenn, for the tip on lacto-fermentation. I’ll check that out.
A classmate encoraged me to look at this post, great post, interesting read… keep up the good work!
Consult “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon, for using whey. Soaking grains, nuts, seeds, and dried beans for long periods, with some whey added to the soaking water, before cooking them, helps to make them more digestible, and makes many vitamins and minerals more available.
it’s westonaprice.org
I’ve been using a YoLife yogurt maker to make yogurt, and today my batch reallllly separated. Like each little jar was half-whey. The kids won’t touch it if they see it like that, so I thought I’d stir them, then let it set in the machine longer. I’m guessing that was a really bad idea, because now it won’t set at all.
Would you still use it? I don’t completely understand the microbiology behind yogurt and how it sets, what makes it go bad, etc. It has been in my incubator for 7hrs now and is totally runny. Just wondering if it’s safe to drink, etc…I’m assuming yes?
I use a water bath over a heating pad. I put mason jars (with lids on) into a pot of water (up to the necks, but not over top of lids), and cover the pot. Set the pot on a heating pad set on low. (Your heating pad may differ– test the temp of the water in the pot, and again after a couple hours, before using this method.)
I’ve been making my yogurt in mason jars set in a crockpot filled with hot (120 degree) water. If the temp on the water drops, you can turn the thermostat on for awhile.
And for Greek yogurt, I’ve been using coffee filters instead of cheesecloth. Probably more expensive, but I don’t usually have the cheesecloth in the house.
Just for the record, my yogurt also has lots of whey. I just pour it off, but I’ve been curious if adding it to my starter would increase the numbers of yogurt-forming bacteria.
You must heat the milk to 185 otherwise the setting matrix will not be formed…heat the milk to 185 holding that temp for 10 minutes will cause the setting matrix to begin. then cool quickly in cold water to 110..keep the temp between 105 – 115 preferably 110-112 for 6-8 hours. then cool, your yogurt will be very thick and creamy with no whey…starter must be fresh..cooling the milk down rapidly makes the setting matrix work…no i’m not a scientist..I read it somewhere. I heat the milk in the microwave for approx. 22 min.(1/2 gal or 2 liters)then hold that temp for the required 10 minutes..try it, you won’t believe the texture of your yogurt, also, hold the temp steady at 110 if possible..if not, it will still come out fantastic. Enjoy!
185 would be boiling the milk, no? my instructions said to heat it until just before boiling, so I tend to stop around 178ish. is it a problem to actually have it at a boil? it didn’t say why to stop right before boiling…just wondering if I could hold it at 180ish without having it boiling for 10min…
thanks for the tip!
Milk doesn’t boil till it hits 212 (never boil milk). Heating milk to 185 works, but if I remember, I changed to heating it to 200 and holding for 10 minutes (its been a while since I made yogurt) and when I was done I could cut the yogurt out in blocks, thats how thick it was. I used a 4 quart stainless pot that I heated 1 gal of milk in up to 200 degrees, then held that temp for 10 minutes..then cooled it rapidly with ice water to 110..then added 4 heaping tablespoons of Dannon plain yogurt into a bowl then mixed in some of the warm milk till it was smooth, then poured that into the gallon of warm milk. I then placed the pot on top of a heating pad set on med. (depending on time of year) if the low setting got too hot I’d place a folded towel onto the pad first..I left the thermometer in the warm milk the whole 6-10 hrs, I use the type that has the small dial on the top about the size of a quarter (you can buy them in an auto parts store, they’re used for testing a/c temps). You can fill up a pot with water first to see if the pad will maintain 110 degrees for several hours..the one I used did it very well…if i recall, heating the milk to 200 produced a very firm yogurt. Then I’d cool it for a few hours…remove a portion, add splenda, stir rapidly and enjoy the creamiest most perfect yogurt you’ve ever tasted.
p/s milk burns very easily when trying to reach 200 degrees, and it takes a long time and a lot of stirring, and you will still feel the solids trying to stick to the bottom of the pot no matter how careful you are, if you rush it you will burn the milk…so I suggest heating the milk in a pot of water.
add on…I made a batch of yogurt in the microwave and it came out perfect..I heated 1/2 gal. of 2% milk for 30 minutes on high (no stirring or burning)..once it reached 200 I stopped the heating and let the milk sit in the microwave for 10 minutes. (I heated the milk in a 1/2 gal.Tupperware container) then I placed the container into the sink and filled it up to close to the brim of the container ..be careful not to let the temp drop below 100..once it was at 100-115 (not 120) I mixed some of the warm milk with 4 heaping tblespns of fresh Dannon plain yogurt until it was smooth, then poured that into the warm milk and stirred for a few seconds. I had the pilot light on my gas oven on for about an hour to bring the temp up to 100-105…I placed the 1/2 gal of milk into the oven (be sure your thermometer is accurate) and this time I maintained the temp at 100 degrees for 8 straight hours (do not disturb the yogurt during the setting process) at the end of the 8 hrs the yogurt was totally solid with no whey whatsoever..not one drop…then I placed the container into the fridge to continue the setting process and left it for 4 hours…when I removed it I could literally cut it into blocks..I was surprised that it came out so firm because this time I maintained the incubation temp at 100 degrees…so, there you have it..the thickest most creamiest yogurt you’ve ever tasted..its truly a remarkable product..another amazing gift from our truly remarkable God, enjoy!
I have learned that while the yogurt is making it does not like to be moved. Moving it, will keep it from being firm and a consistent creamy. Also, sometimes I don’t have much whey and other times I do. I am beginning to believe that it is in the temp of the milk while heating and when pouring. I think keeping it at a 180-200 temp for a while before cooling down and cooling down to 90-110 before adding cultures to set up.
I know one thing! I love it! I eat it everyday- and I love trying new toppings- lemon curd is awesome!
i’ve been making my homemade yogurt in my crock pot with much sucess. i use raw cows milk and it has turned out beautifully each time.
here are my directions…
http://homegrowingafamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-vow-to-never-buy-store-bought-yogurt.html
i have also made yogurt cheese with it and it is delicious!
Yesterday I made Greek yogurt for the first time. My first time for making yogurt at all. It was so easy, very delicious and really creamy. However, I did have a bit too much whey left. I’ll do more research on what I can do with whey but after finding this page I’m hoping I have no whey.
Thanks to you all and especially Norm for your opinions, insight and suggestions. Can’t wait to make more yogurt.
Yum yum.
I make buttermilk by putting 2/3 cup buttermilk in a clean quart mason jarand filling it up with warm milk, so as to not kill the bacteria.I use the last bit of buttermilk to make the next batch( about 9 times now),recently however, the buttermilk mixture would not clabber.Does the rule of introducing new buttermilk evryso onece in a while apply to buttermilk as well as yogurt?
I have never tried buttermilk making before, but if the idea holds the same… bacterial fermentation, then you are correct. After a while, the original bacterial strain will have become a sub-strain and with it can come a shift in how they digest and metabolize the milk sugar lactose. These by-products such as acetaldehyde, acetate, and diacetyl produce yogurt’s unique flavor and texture as well as impart sweetness from galactose. Ultimately, the enzyme systems that the bacteria possess determine the relative proportions of these by-products. Some strains of yogurt bacteria also create glucose polymers (longer complexes of sugar molecules) that give yogurt its viscous character (firmness / thickness). Often commercial yogurt will contain several different types of bacteria in order to offer enhanced growth of the culture as well as flavor, etc.
Too many times used / sub-cultured can cause a drift in the culture and therefore requires fresh strains to recapture what was desired… in your case this may be true?!
Wasn’t this originally made with raw milk left to sour?
Fantastic site, so many hints and tips. I have never made yogurt before but have inherited a biffinet yogurt maker – without instructions – so I am so grateful to have found this site. THKU
Hi
thank you for this nice post, I just moved to Hawaii and they have crazy prices, and then the yoghurt is way to sweet, so I am about to make my first portion of yoghurt and wonder: does the bowl have to be caramic, or can I use something else? I am doing it the oven way.
Thanks:-)
I THINK the reason that you’ll read that you need to stick with ceramic or glass (like Pyrex) is because yogurt can be very reactive with certain types of metal. That said, I always make my yogurt in my deep Calphalon stockpot which is anodized aluminum. I’ve never had problems with that.
hello
I`have been making my own yogurt for som years now. I boil my milk for 3-5minutes, then just let it cool down to 43 gr.C, then mix in 3tbsp of natural yogurt. While the milk is cooling I prepare my thermos by filling half of it with boiling water from the kettle. This is heating the thermos-bottle so it helps the thermos to keep warm over night. After I have been mixing milk and yogurt I pour this into my thermos and close the bottle and let it stand for 8 hours or more, without moving it, in my kitchen.
With many thanks for a good blog, from Norway
May
I’m in the process of making yogurt. I just took it out of the oven after 7 hours and noticed that the yogurt did set, however it’s still kind of liquidy. I put it in the fridge. Will it get thicker after being in the fridge for awhile???
I’ve tried the thermos method and it works very well. I’ve heated my milk on the stove as well as the microwave. Microwave is so much easier. I think I will try heating it a little longer and see if I get a firmer set and less whey. Great tips everyone! Thanks!
I have a dairy goat and have been trying to make yogurt with a yogurt maker (7 small apron 3/4 cup glasses) for weeks now. I have had some good results and some not so good ones… Assuming the yogurt maker does it’s job well at holding the right temp, it must be my milk handling making the diff in the outcome! Yesterday for the first time I had milk-like yogurt (not set, not sour) that I think didn’t incubate long enough. I put it back in the yogurt maker after 36 hours in the fridge for another 6 hours and it set well! It tastes great now!
Also, I have burned cow milk on the stove before. But my goat milk won’t burn!!! ??? Last year I would pasteurize it a lot to bottlefeed kids and sometimes I would forget milk on the stove. With strong heat, my milk starts foaming like crazy, eventually spilling over half the milk out of the pot, and it gets sort of sticky but doesn’t burn. Any insights???
I would love to try this. My kids go theough yogurt like crazy!
Does it make a difference what kind of milk you use? Also, any suggestions on making flavored yogurts.
Here is how I make yogurt. ( not that I am an expert )
1. Pour 1 qt. milk in yogurt maker container.
2. Heat until boils, 6 min in 1100 watt microwave.
I put my container in a bowl to catch any milk when it boils over.
3. I then stir the heated milk and microwave for 3 more minutes.
4. Put container in large pot and put cold water and some ice in the pot.
5. I check the temperature with a laser thermometer. It is very easy to do.
6. When temperature falls to around 105 I am ready for the next step.
7. Remove the milk solidified film on top and discard.
8. Stir and add 1/4 tsp. of Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter, 1 Ounce Boxes (Pack of 3 boxes). It says to use more but this works fine and it save me money just using a little.
8. I use the Salton YM9 1-Quart Yogurt Maker which I got from Amazon for about $15.00. It save me some time. So I just plug it in and go to work.
9. Sometimes my yogurt separates which may have to do with me not rapidly cooling the milk to 110 after boiling.