Make Your Own Yogurt

Liss

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3 Comments

Although the thought of making yogurt can seem a bit overwhelming, This is the easiest recipe that you can make at home. It's as simple as Boiling Milk!

	First, gather your ingredients you need: * 1 qt of Whole, LowFat or Non-Fat Milk * 1 1/2 Tbs. preservative free, un-flavored yogurt (Live Cultures)
	Preheat oven to 200F.
	Pour milk into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the milk reaches a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer (not boil!) for 2 minutes.
	Remove from heat and allow to cool until the temperature reaches 110-115 degrees. (I recommend an Instant Read thermometer rather than a candy thermometer). Turn OFF the Oven.
	In a medium size bowl blend 1 1/2 Tbs live yogurt with 1/2 c. milk. (This is done separately to prevent curdling and killing of the healthy bacteria.) Add the yogurt/milk mix into the saucepan and stir well.
	Evenly divide the contents of your saucepan into 2 bowls (of equal size), covering with saran wrap (any plastic wrap will do). Place the bowls into the warm oven with a hand towel draped over them both.
	It can take anywhere from 6-15 hours for the yogurt to properly set. Check after 6 hours to see if it has gelled, if the yogurt has not yet gelled, place it back in the oven, covered and check every 2 hours. As soon as the yogurt has set, refrigerate it.
	The longer the yogurt is refrigerated, the more tangy the flavor will become. To make flavored yogurt, add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the Finished/refrigerated product. (Or add any flavor extract for various fruited flavors!).

Liss Notes on Variations:

Our favorite yogurt used to be Dannon Vanilla, but I've managed to make my own by adding 2 tsp Vanilla Extract and 1 T. Sugar to the above finished product. My family couldn't taste the difference!

For a little variety simply add fruit to make a dessert, herbs for a potato topping or to make a chilled soup for those hot summer nights.

3 Comments

otoolesgx - 03-09-2011

Is the 1/2 c milk mixed with the active yogurt from the heated milk, or is it cold milk?

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FreebieQueen - 03-10-2011

from the heated milk- which has (been removed from the heat) & cooled (on it's own by resting away from heat) to between 110-115 degrees.

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mom2boyz - 11-06-2012

Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot Recipe

1/2 gallon milk (Whole milk will make the yogurt thicker, but any milk will work.)
1/2 cup plain unflavored yogurt (Any kind with live active cultures will work. Be sure to save a half cup of this batch of homemade yogurt to use as a starter next time!)
Pour the half gallon of milk into your crock pot and turn it on low. Cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes (set the timer to remember to turn it off!)

After 2 hours and 45 minutes, turn the crock pot off and let it sit down 3 hours.

Spoon a small amount of the milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it. Mix together thoroughly.

Dump this mixture back into the milk in the crock pot and mix it around well.

Put the lid back on your crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off!). Yes, I know, it sounds a little ridiculous to wrap a crock pot with a beach towel, but I did some research online and it seems that the experts recommend this step as it helps keep the heat in the crock pot and allows it to cool more slowly.

Let the beach-towel-wrapped crock pot sit for 8-12 hours (or overnight). After 8-12 hours, it should be thickened.

Spoon yogurt into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate a few hours before eating.

This will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. Be sure to save a half cup to use as a starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt.

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