Home made Yogurt - From Hot Milk to Yogurt

There's no question in my mind::
Homemade Yogurt is THE best!

It tastes so good!
It's full of fresh cultures to help your gut, your immune system, and just about any other body part you have!

Yes, you can buy yogurt in the store, but you have to be careful and READ the labels.  So many of them do not have the active cultures that our bodies need to thrive.

Many types of yogurt do have active cultures in them, but they might not be as fresh as what you can make at home.

There are recipes for home made yogurt all over the internet.  Just google.  I'll tell you what I do and what you need.  It's easy and quick.

In order to make yogurt you will need::
milk, I use low fat or no fat.  It works.

A large bowl or container made from glass.  You don't want to use metal when you are culturing your milk.

Utensils made from plastic or metal to stir.

A microwave or stove with a pan you can use to heat the milk.

Active live yogurt cultures.  I buy a yogurt starter at Whole Foods.  It works great!  I only need to use that once, then I can use my own yogurt as a culture.

A digital (works best) cooking thermometer.


Now, here's what I do.

I heat the milk up to 180.  I don't know why, but that's what the recipes say.

I let the milk cool down to 110-115.

I add the cultures and stir.

Now comes the tricky part.  You need to keep the cultured milk warm, but not hot, and let it culture 5 hours or overnight.

To do this, I put the cultured milk into a large bowl.  I heat my oven to 150 degrees F.  When it has reached 105 I turn the oven off and add the cultured milk on top of a towel.  I cover the cultured milk with foil or a top, then I cover it with another towel to keep it warm.  Remember, Turn Off Your Oven.  I let the cultured milk sit there until morning, when I get up and strain the yogurt to make greek yogurt.

To make greek yogurt, cover a strainer with cheese cloth.  Gently add the yogurt to the strainer, very gently.  Let the yogurt drain about 45mins to an hour.  You will see that the whey has drained and your yogurt is thick.

Put aside a little bit of your yogurt to use as a starter.   I use about 2-3 Tablespoons.  Refrigerate.  Eat your yogurt plain or add fresh fruit.  Delicious!!!