Making homemade yogurt is simple, healthy and delicious. What more to say? Cheap, additive and sugar free.
You may need to buy a couple of items of kitchen equipment in advance but these will pay for themselves, both in financial terms and in taste. The technique is absolutely easy.
Try it for yourself and enjoy! If you have any questions, put them in the Comments at bottom of page. If you catch the fermenting bug, try our simple recipes for sauerkraut, my favourite kiam chye (mustard greens) and pineapple tepache.
Eat Well,
Felicia
Ingredients
Whole milk, 1 litre. Use regular, full fat milk.
'Live' yogurt, 1 large tablespoon. Note, the yogurt must have live cultures, check the label. We like to use Fage Total brand with live active yogurt cultures (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casei).
Equipment
A kitchen pot, to heat the milk
A pot for the fermentation process. We invested in a double lined thermos pot. There are alternate options.
A thermometer
A receptacle to store the finished yogurt
The Process
Step 1. Gently heat milk in a pot to 85c degrees. Don't go above this.
Step 2. Allow milk to cool to 45c degrees. Don't go below this. In our warm kitchen cooling takes about 45 minutes. I set my phone count down timer to 30mins, then about every 5 mins thereafter.
Step 3. Pour milk into your 'fermenting' pot. Add 1 tbsp live yogurt to milk. Stir in well.
We have a lined thermos style pot for this, it can also be used to keep food warm. The point it to keep the milk and culture warm and undisturbed over a period of time to allow fermentation to take place.
Alternatively... some people have great success sealing and wrapping their pot-bowl-jar with a towel and leaving it in a warm place: a pre-warmed (and turned off) oven with the light left on, a warm cupboard. Instant Pots and yogurt makers can also be used if you have the space.
Step 4. We seal pot and leave overnight, up to 16 to 18 hours; until the milk is set firm enough for your preference and at the right level of sourness. You decide. Longer makes it more sour.
Step 5. Refrigerate yogurt, and enjoy!
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Related Resources
Savaiano DA, Hutkins RW. Yogurt, cultured fermented milk, and health: a systematic review. Nutr Rev. 2021 Apr 7;79(5):599-614. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa013. PMID: 32447398; PMCID: PMC8579104.
Cifelli CJ, Agarwal S, Fulgoni VL 3rd. Association of Yogurt Consumption with Nutrient Intakes, Nutrient Adequacy, and Diet Quality in American Children and Adults. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 9;12(11):3435. doi: 10.3390/nu12113435. PMID: 33182430; PMCID: PMC7696083.
Barengolts E, Smith ED, Reutrakul S, Tonucci L, Anothaisintawee T. The Effect of Probiotic Yogurt on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity: A Meta-Analysis of Nine Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2019 Mar 20;11(3):671. doi: 10.3390/nu11030671. PMID: 30897796; PMCID: PMC6471569.