Homemade Yogurt: Simple, Healthy, Tasty

We've heard about it and seen the pinterest posts. "Yogurt is so easy," they say, and instantly skeptical thoughts raise one mental eyebrow. My mind says, "Mhmm. Sure." However, curiosity finally got the best of me and I found a straightforward set of instructions ("Back to Basics" Ed. 4, 2014).

Basically, there's three numbers to remember when making yogurt: 180, 105, 112. (Or in Celsius: 82, 40, 44). And in that order. All you need is:

•  a quart of lowfat milk (raw or storebought doesn't matter, it's going to be sterilized anyway)
• 1/4 cup of storebought yogurt or a yogurt starter
• a thermometer

The steps:

 1. Sterilize (180 F): Put lowfat milk in a saucepan on medium low heat and bring up to 180 F (82 C). My thermometer has a metal bracket for attaching it to the saucepan. This was really handy, but if you don't have that, no sweat. Just occasionally check the temperature. (Newbie tip: don't let the thermometer touch the side or bottom of the pan. You want the temperature of the liquid, not the pan.)

 

 

 

 

2. Cool (105 F): As soon as the milk reaches 180, remove from heat and allow to cool to 105 (40 C). This is a good temperature for the yeast in your starter (or storebought yogurt, which is what I used). It's warm enough for the yeast to incubate and ferment the milk, but cool enough that it won't kill the yeast.

 

3. Add your starter (still 105 F): Add your starter or storebought yogurt, blending well (I used a whisk).

4. Incubate (maintain between 105 F & 112 F): The yogurt mix needs to incubate for 2-3 hours at 105-112 F (40-44 C). Of the many incubation options, I chose slow-cooking. I put the yogurt in half-pint jars in the slow cooker and added hot tap water up to the jar rims. I set the cooker on the warm setting and left it alone for about 8 hours.






5. Check it: after 8 hours of slow-cooker incubation, start checking the yogurt for thickness. Press a spoon into the top of the yogurt. As soon as the yogurt is able to retain the impression of the spoon, stop incubating and refrigerate your yogurt. Mine was kinda watery, so I lined a colander with cheesecloth and used that to strain the liquid off the yogurt. All done! I like fruit and honey with mine...mmmm.

Do you have any tips for yogurt making or any suggestions for improving my process? I'd love to hear about your homemade yogurt experiences in the comments!