Have you noticed how much a carton of Greek yogurt is at the store lately? Or, actually anytime? It is expensive! But the problem is that I LOVE it, but my pocket book doesn’t! Do you have that problem too? Here is a basic, simple homemade yogurt recipe that anyone–and yes, I mean anyone- can make for a fraction of the cost!
Here goes! This simple, recipe uses 8 cups of milk, and about 1/4-1/2 cup of leftover yogurt….whatever you can scrape out of your last carton, and BOOM! In a few hours, you have a brand new carton of lovely fresh yogurt!
You can make either regular or Greek with this basic recipe! It is amazingly simple to make Greek! It is my favorite! I don’t know where it was all my life, but it’s only been a few years ago that I learned how to make it!
Yogurt always seemed out of my skill set….I learned later that it was only because I had NO clue how simple it was to make–you don’t NEED any special skills!
The Dehydrator I Use
One way to make your homemade yogurt, if your house is decently warm, is to just set it on the counter, covered, overnight. BUT, if you want a faster, i.e., warmer way, get a dual purpose food dehydrator–think dried fruit, veggies, yogurt, fruit leather, meals, etc., here is the one I have. (paid link) I LOVE it!!
We got it years ago, and have made yogurt, dried bushels of fruit, one batch of onions, (NOT a good choice–It took LOTS of time and work to get the onion smell out!!!), vegetables, and fruit leather.
The up-front cost was spendy, especially on our “just married” budget, but when you do the math, with how much dried fruit costs, it is WELL worth the $$. The same company, Excalibur, has several different options, for a variety of budgets–this (paid link) is one option that would also work for yogurt. And no, I’m not being sponsored by Excalibur–I am just a fan of their dehydrators!! 🙂
Well, I hope you try your own homemade yogurt! Let me know in the comments if you do, or if you have any tips for good yogurt!
Thanks for stopping by,
Good Thoughts
Life is too short for bad yogurt.
Basic Homemade Greek Yogurt
Equipment
- 1 large sauce pan Large enough to hold all the milk you’re going to scald.
- 1 + large glass mixing bowl/container, or jars Use a glass vessel to culture your yogurt.
- 1 large colander To make Greek yogurt, the last step is to drain all the whey out.
- 1 large piece of cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 8 cups milk Whole milk makes a more creamy yogurt. but 2% is fine also. I have never tried it with lowfat.
- ¼ to ½ cup yogurt, ***with live active cultures*** In my opinion, Greek yogurt, is the best one to start with, although regular will work also.
- 1-2 cups OPTIONAL- fruit/juice diced or blended. To make it more versatile, you can add your fruit as you eat it, instead of adding it to the whole batch.
- optional Sweetener of your choice. i.e., White sugar, fruit juice, honey, syrup, etc. Amount and type is up to your taste.
Instructions
- For Greek yogurt: 8 cups of milk=4 cups of yogurt. The amount of milk is versatile. Due to draining off the whey, you’ll need twice the amount of milk as you want yogurt. I just fill my container twice, and it’s the perfect amount of finished product. For regular yogurt: 8 cups of milk=8 cups of yogurt. Your finished product is the same as the amount of milk you put in. You don’t drain off the whey.
- In a large sauce pan, scald 8 cups of milk. Bring to ALMOST boiling, stirring constantly, to avoid scorching.
- Take off heat and cover with a tea towel, until cool enough to keep your finger in comfortably for a few seconds. You don’t want it too warm, or it will kill all your live cultures when you add your yogurt! Also, you don’t want it too cool, or it hinders the growth of the live cultures, and takes longer for the yogurt to set.
- Add your yogurt, to the warm milk, and combine well.
- OPTIONAL: At this point, if you prefer, you can add your sweetener of your choice, and/or chopped, cooked fruit. Mix well. This may affect the texture of the yogurt, maybe not so smooth. ***OR you can omit one or both and just have plain yogurt. you can also add your fruit later.
- Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and incubate (i.e.-let your little live cultures multiply) and if your house is warm enough, you can set it on a counter, or in the oven (don’t turn the oven on)….just a warm place that the yogurt can set for overnight, or approximately 12 hours, undisturbed, or until the yogurt is set to your liking.Optionally, if you have a dehydrator, you can put it in, at 115℉ and let it set for 4-6 hours, or until the yogurt is set to your liking.
- To make regular yogurt: once the yogurt is set to your liking, you are finished! Put into storage container, and refrigerate.To make Greek yogurt: you will need to drain it–go to the next step.
- Put a large piece of cheesecloth, or a thin tea towel into a large colander, and put the colander into a large bowl, or pan large enough to catch the whey– about half the amount of the milk you used. You are trying to drain it all off, so your yogurt is thicker.
- Pour your set yogurt into the cheesecloth in the colander. Cover and put into the refrigerator for several hours, till all the whey is drained. Put into storage container and keep in the refrigerator.
- Enjoy!
- When you are just about out of yogurt, always save the last 1/2 cup or so to use in your next batch of homemade yogurt. Or if you forgot, you can always buy a small container of store bought to culture your next batch.
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Photo credits: square bowl of fruit yogurt by Vlad Chețan
Is this sour?
I would say if you make the plain, it may be a bit tangy, not bad at all, though. In my experience, if you add a bit of sweetener it takes any tang out. You can experiment, by only making a bit, and then you can add sweetener until you’re happy!