Learn how to make yogurt
at home if you have a stead supply of milk.
Making homemade yogurt is not only delicious but it's also healthy. We
also have some easy yogurt
recipes for your yogurt making projects.
Making homemade yogurt
practiced down through the ages. It is interesting that regardless of
where it is made throughout the world, the word "yoghourt" means the
same thing. In Armenia they call it "matzoon". The Yogoslavs call
yogurt "kisselo mleko". The Russians love their yogurt with their black
bread and call it "varenetz". The French eat quantities of yoghurt with
"fraises de bois", and call it "yoghurt". In Sardinia, they call yogurt
"gioddu", in India it's called "dadhi", in Egypt it's called
"lebenbraib"; but it always means the same thing - long life.
What is in Yogurt?
Commercial yogurt has
all sorts of nasties in it from preservatives and colorants to
stablizers and thickeners. In yogurt that is homemade you will find
nothing except fermented milk, unless of course you want to go that
extra mile and add a selection of fresh fruit. I love adding bramble
berries during the summer season, or freshly sliced strawberries.
If you want to have a Greek style yogurt then you will have to add
powdered milk to your yogurt. But basically, what is in yogurt is just
plain milk with a starter culture that either comes from a commercially
bought active yogurt or from one of your own previously made yogurts.
What Milk can you Use to Make Yogurt?
The best milk you can
use would be organic, whole milk, preferably
unhomogenized, but then that is just my preference from a health
perspective. If you cannot get organic milk, any other whole milk is
fine. I never make yogurt from other milk, but if you are weight
watching you can use milk that is not full cream milk, but you cannot
use longlife milk to make yogurt.
If you do use low fat or non-fat milk for making yogurt you will end up
with a thinner consistency that won't thicken.
How to Make Yogurt and the
Importance of the Yogurt Starter Culture
is the yogurt starter that will set the milk. It is a living organism
and should be given the same respect as you would yeast when making
Once the starter culture has been added to the milk, the temperature of
the milk should neither be too hot or too cold.
the milk is too hot the culture will be killed off. If the starter
culture was added to milk that was too cold then the culture's actions
will be retarded.
However, as long as your milk is around blood heat then the yogurt
culture starter will do its thing.
where do you get a yogurt starter culture from? From either
store-bought live yogurt or from a bottle of your own homemade yogurt.
you are using your own starter cultures you will find, over time, that
they stop working as well, and you will need to go back to the store
and buy some more of the commercial yogurt.
How to Make Yogurt Successfully
There are a couple of yogurt making tips that I will pass on.
sure that all your equipment is scrupulously clean. Clean
either a weak household bleach solution or clean with boiling water.
Only use whole milk for best results
Only add the culture starter to the milk at the right
Keep the milk mixture at a constant temperature.
Don't keep it too long as the yogurt will be tart and
Making Yogurt without Thermometers
how to make yogurt that is
great to taste is much like making
good coffee; some people can, and some people can't. And yet thousands
of people around the world in third world countries manage to make
delicious yogurt without fuss and without thermometers.
And you definitely don't need to have a fancy yogurt maker
machine to make yogurt either!
adding a good cupful of powered milk to the warmed fresh milk and
mixing it all together. This has worked well for me in the past, and no
doubt you will enjoy the same success.
We have more easy yogurt
recipes for you. Here is a
yogurt recipe to make fortified yogurt:
How to Make Yogurt with this Simple Yogurt Recipe
Here are some step-by-step
instructions on making yogurt.
plain, store-bought live yogurt (brought to room temperature)
2 liters full cream or whole milk
6 tablespoons instant milk powder
the milk in a pot and stir in the milk powder. Over a medium heat
slowly bring the milk to the point where small bubbles begin
form on the surface of the milk. Stir occasionally to make sure that
the milk is not burning.
When the small bubbles form turn the heat down to low and keep it at a
gentle simmer for 4 minutes.
the pot off the heat and set it to cool in a basin or sink
with cold water. After about 15 minutes test the milk to see if it has
reached blood heat. To do this, drip a little milk onto your wrist. It
should feel pleasantly warm; more than lukewarm, but not hot.
If it is too cold, warm it up again slightly on the cooker to get it
back to being warm.
the milk is at the correct temperature, remove any skin that may have
formed, and gently stir the yogurt starter culture through the milk.
into your container and leave to set in a warm place. The setting time
will be about 6 hours. Check your yogurt after this time. It should
have a consistency of firm custard with very little clear liquid (whey)
sitting on the top.
The longer you leave it the more whey will appear and the more tart it
set you can put your yogurt in the fridge. It will keep for about 10
days. However, the longer you leave it the more sour it will become.
How to Make Fortified Yogurt using a Vacuum Flask
Add 1/2 cup powdered
skim milk to 1
quart fresh whole milk, and beat with an electric mixer. Place in a
saucepan, and heat until it is good and hot, but do not
let the milk reach boiling point.
You should be able to take the milk
and drop some into the palm of your hand. It should feel hot, but
Now add 3 tablespoons of ready made yogurt. Pour this
mixture into a thermoflask and leave over night. In the morning you
will have delicious homemade yogurt.
If you don't have a
vacuum flask, you can pour the milk mixture into a milk bottle, double
pan, or any utensil, and place it in warm water near a radiator or
Cover with a blanket, much
the same way
as you would
for making bread dough rise. Your yogurt should be made within 5 - 6
hours. Do not move it, or disturb it during the incubation period as it
will not set properly.
How to Make Yogurt in a Crockpot
One of the best things
yogurt in a crockpot is, that for once, it doesn't taste the same as
everything else you have cooked in it! Anyway, maybe I am the only
person who feels like this about crockpots, but at least with the
crockpot yogurt making method you have a consitent, controlled heat to
your milk as long as you remember to turn the knob when
I have seen all sorts of complicated
methods of making yogurt this way, and really so unnecessary. Take your
crockpot and turn it on to low.
Heat 1/2 gallon (8 cups) milk up in a
pot over a low heat to blood heat. Test the heat on your wrist as you
would a baby's bottled milk. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of plain,
store-bought yogurt that has live cultures in it. Without the live
cultures your yogurt making will fail.
Place the warm milk mixture into the
crockpot and replace the lid. Turn the crockpot off. Wrap in a blanket
and place in the oven with just the light on to give off some much
Leave for 8 - 10 hours. During this
time you may need to turn the crockpot back on and then off to make
sure that the milk mixture is always kept warm at blood heat.
You just need to watch it carefully
because you want to maintain an even temperature without either killing
off the fermentation process or cooking the milk.
Also, remember, that the longer you
leave the yogurt to ferment, the thicker it will get, but it will also
be more tart.
How to Make Fat-Free Yogurt
Follow the above recipe
yogurt, but instead of using whole milk in your recipe, substitute it
with skim milk. By doing this you have reduced your calorie intake.
How to Make Greek
Follow the above recipe
basic yogurt. Once the yogurt has set, line a kitchen sieve with some
cheesecloth, or a clean tea-towel or even 4 pieces of kitchen paper.
Pour a cup of the made yogurt into the line sieve. Suspend the sieve
over a bowl where it can catch the whey that will drip from the yogurt.
Refrigerate overnight if you want really thick yogurt, or let the whey
separate over 4 - 6 hours at room temperature.
Learn how to make yogurt
fruits of your choice. This one uses raspberries, but you can choose a
variety of fruits. Mix 1 cup thick yogurt, 1/2 cup fresh,
canned or frozen berries. Place in dessert glasses and refrigerate
until you need them. Serve with a drizzle of honey on the top.
A Simple Yogurt Recipe for Breakfast
Take either stewed apples, prunes or apricots, layer in a tall glass in
alternating levels with homemade yogurt, fruit and toasted museli. Top
with more yogurt and a sprinkle of nuts.
YOGURT MAKING TROUBLESHOOTING
What went wrong with my yogurt?
How many times has your yogurt not quite turned out the way you
expected? This happens to all of us from time to time. Here are some
guidelines on what the problem was and how to fix it for next time.
Problem 1:Yogurt does not have a
custard-like body but rather is soft and not smoothly solidified.
of starter culture to the milk before it has cooled down may kill the
culture and prevent coagulation.
Wait until the milk cools down to 110°F before inoculating.
high and low incubation temperatures slow down culture growth and
increase the amount of time necessary for coagulation.
Use a thermometer to control temperature.
Extended storage of the starter culture reduces the number of live
bacteria in the culture.
more starter culture in the recipe or obtain a new culture.
Contamination of the culture with undesirable bacteria.
Get a new culture. Also clean and sanitize yogurt containers each time
yogurt is made.
Omitted or added an insufficient amount of nonfat dry milk to the
milk. Solution: Accurately
measure or weigh the nonfat dry milk.
Over-agitation before incubation may slow down starter activity. Solution:
Combine starter culture and milk by mixing gently.
Problem 2:Yogurt tastes bad.
culture is contaminated.
Causes: Yogurt has
over-set or incubated too long.
Refrigerate yogurt immediately after a firm coagulum has formed.
of the milk causes an off-flavor.
Do not overheat the milk.
Problem 3:Whey collects on the surface of
Yogurt was over-set or incubated too long. Solution:
Refrigerate yogurt immediately after a firm coagulum has formed.
Causes: Yogurt was
bumped, moved or stirred during incubation. Solution:
Place yogurt in a quiet location where it will not be disturbed.