Homemade Yogurt

I used to bring yogurt to school for lunch almost every day! I remember, my math teacher used to call me the "Yogurt Girl" whenever he saw me at lunch- blueberry, strawberry, banana, they were all my favorite!

Little did I know, those packaged, store-bought, flavored yogurts were packed with sugar and artificial coloring. So, when I discovered I could make my own yogurt just a few years ago, I went hog wild and have been making it at home ever since!




Step 1: Heat your milk. I am using 1 quart of raw, unpasteurized milk, so I do not heat it to over 100F. If you are using pasteurized milk, feel free to heat to 180F since all the enzymes are gone to begin with. This assures that your store-bought milk is sterile. When the milk reaches desired temperature, remove from heat.




Step 2: Measure out your yogurt. This will be the starter culture, so get a good organic brand. If you have homemade yogurt, use it! I am using 1/8c of yogurt per quart of milk.



Step 3: When your raw milk reaches 100F-OR- when your pasteurized milk cools to 100F, mix the yogurt starter with about 1/2 cup warm milk in a quart-sized mason jar.

Step 4: Pour the rest of your warm milk into the mason jar and screw on the lid tightly. Make sure lid is secure, as you will be placing this jar into water!

Step 5: Place your jar into a large thermos or a small cooler. Surround jar with very warm water and screw on lid.

Check on your yogurt after 8 hours. If it is still too runny, replace the water in thermos with warmer water and leave yogurt in thermos for another 4-8 hours. Yogurt will thicken even more once you store it in the fridge.

In my next post, I'll show you the finished product and how I love to enjoy it :)

This post is part of Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist!