How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Making yogurt at home is not complicated at all.  If you can make toast, pudding, a pitcher of Kool-Aid and brownies, then you have the talent, skills and know-how to make homemade yogurt.

Table of Contents:

• Ingredients
• What You'll Need
• Fast Instructions
• Detailed Instructions
• Notes

Ingredients:

• Whole Milk – ½ gallon
• Plain yogurt – Make sure it is NOT fat free.  Must have live active cultures
• **This recipe will yield ½ gallon of yogurt.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 large pot
• 1 medium pot (with lid) that will fit into the larger pot to act as a double boiler (or just use a double-boiler if you have one)
• Spatula
• Large spoon (like the size of a big soup spoon)
• Cooking thermometer
• Heating pad
• Towel
• Ice (or frozen water bottles)
• Kitchen sink

Fast Instructions (I'll spare you all the little details):

These instructions get you down to the very basics - it's the bare minimum to get you to homemade yogurt bliss.

1. Fill large pot about half-way with water

2. Place medium pot in large pot (simulating a double-boiler method)

3. Pour ½ gallon of milk into the medium pot

4. Heat to 180 degrees for 20 minutes

5. Cool to 110 degrees in an ice bath

6. Add two spoonfuls of yogurt and mix thoroughly

7. Cover pot - Place on heating pad – Cover with towel

8. Let sit for 6 hours

9. Remove from heating pad - stir thoroughly

10. Pour mixture into air-tight containers – Put in fridge

11. Let sit over night

12. Stir thoroughly and enjoy!

Detailed Instructions (The mother-load of yogurt instructions!):

1. Fill large pot about half-way with water

2. Place medium pot in large pot

• Be careful to not spill the water out of the large pot.  If the water level is too high, empty some of it.  Once you pour in the milk and once the water begins to boil you could risk boiling over if the water level is too high.

3. Pour ½ gallon of milk into the medium pot

• Your water level should be about the same height as the milk level for proper heating with the double-boiler method, but it doesn't have to be. So long as the water level is about half-way up the milk level, you’ll be fine.

4. Heat to 180 degrees for 20 minutes

• It’s okay if it’s a little hotter, but don’t let it go above 190 or below 180.
• Stir the milk frequently to make sure it doesn't burn to the sides and bottom.
• By using the double-boiler method the milk shouldn't burn, but since we’re using two pots instead of an actual double-boiler, you’ll want to stir often.
• I keep a thermometer attached to the side of the pot so I can monitor the temp during the entire process.  If you don’t have a thermometer that attaches to your pot you’ll have to keep dipping in the thermometer to gauge the temp.

Preparation Tip – 

• During this 20 minute period, fill up your sink with cold water. You’re going to place the pot into this to cool it down.

• Also during this 20 minute period you’ll want to turn on your heating pad to give it time to heat up. I set mine at the Medium heat setting (I have no idea what temp that is).

5. Cool to 110 degrees in an ice bath

• I use frozen water bottles instead of ice.  Just take some old plastic water bottles, fill them with tap water and freeze them. Don’t fill them all the way or they’ll burst when they freeze.
• You need to continue stirring the milk until it cools to 110 degrees.
• The active cultures in the yogurt work best at 110 degrees.
• Once at 110 degrees, immediately remove from the ice bath.

6. Add two spoonfuls of yogurt and mix thoroughly

• You want to make sure the yogurt gets fully mixed into the milk.

Preparation Tip - 

• Let the yogurt sit out on the counter during this whole process. It’ll get close to room temperature and be easier to mix into the milk when it’s time to add it. If you take the yogurt out of the fridge just before you need to add it to the milk, it’ll be too cold and won’t mix as well.

7. Cover the pot - Place on heating pad – Cover with towel

• Covering the pot with a lid and a towel keep the yogurt safe and contains the heat.
• The heating pad will ensure that the cultures stay active.

8. Let sit for about 6 hours

• The longer you let it sit the tangier it will be.
• If you don’t like it too tangy, then only let it sit for 4 hours.
• I've let it sit from 4 hours to about 8 hours. You can’t really mess it up if you accidentally let it sit for too long. Just don’t leave it there for a day; I’m sure it’ll go bad by then.

9. Remove from heating pad and stir thoroughly

• You may see a light green liquid on top of your mixture – this is a good thing.  The green liquid has something to do with the cultures and means you did it right.  If you don’t see the green liquid it’s still okay.  
• I've made several batches that turned out great but didn't have that green liquid. However, the batches that did have it were the best.
• The yogurt should have thickened. It will loosen up a bit as you stir it.

10. Pour mixture into air-tight containers – Put in fridge

• I use old large yogurt containers and plastic storage containers for this.
• Place containers on the bottom shelf and at the back of the fridge; it’s the coldest spot.
• Placing them in the coldest part of the fridge stops the active cultures.

11. Let sit over night

• The yogurt will begin to thicken as it cools.

12. Stir thoroughly and enjoy!

• Eat it plain, add some honey (organic, of course), mix it with fruit or just eat it however you usually eat your yogurt.
  
  

NOTES –

•   ½ gallon of milk will yield a ½ gallon of yogurt.  So, when you’re deciding how much yogurt to make, think about how much milk you’re using.
• People have differences of opinion on how much starter yogurt to use.  Some will use just one large spoonful per gallon, while others will add several.  My best batch of yogurt so far (which is what the recipe above follows) was two large spoonfuls of yogurt added to a ½ gallon of milk.
• If you don’t have a heating pad you can place the pot inside the oven or microwave, or place it on top of a radiator (if you live in an old house).  This part of the yogurt making process is important, so I suggest using a heating pad.  They’re not expensive and you’ll be able to use it for more than just making yogurt.
• I find putting the heating pad on Medium heat works best.  I've put it on the low setting, but that just wasn't warm enough.  I've never tried the high setting since that just seems obviously too hot.
• The key here is to keep the mixture warm so the cultures can do what they do.  Wrapping the pot in a towel helps to keep the heat contained, so no matter which method you use (heating pad, microwave, oven or radiator), keeping the pot wrapped up is essential.