Yogurt is a health food that’s full of benefits, plus it’s tasty too! What’s great is, if you go to any grocery store, you’re guaranteed to find a nice selection of yogurt to purchase.
But what if you want to save some money? Or maybe you want a culinary challenge and you want to feel the satisfaction of making your own yogurt at home.
The good news is, it’s easy to make yogurt in your kitchen! Read on to see how you can make homemade yogurt.
How to Make Yogurt
While there are variations of yogurt (such as Greek yogurt), you’ll want to start off easy and then work your way into the varieties.
The ingredients you’ll need to make basic yogurt are super simple: just milk and starter culture!
You can experiment with the different fat percentages and processing for milk, such as pasteurized or homogenized. However, we suggest staying away from ultra-pasteurized since it’s tough to work with.
As for starter cultures, there are freeze-dried options, as well as store-bought yogurt. To make your yogurt completely homemade, it’s best to get freeze-dried starters, as there’s a larger selection.
Directions
First, you’ll want to scald your milk; this happens around 180F to 190F. This will kill off harmful microbes and denature lactoglobulin, which is a whey protein.
How long you scald your milk will depend on how thick you want your yogurt. For a more concentrated yogurt, use a higher temperature and longer scalding period.
Let the milk cool down to around 105F, or until you can comfortably put your finger in the milk for 5 seconds.
Now, you can put in the starter culture without it dying off. If you’re using freeze-dried cultures, you can stir it in. Otherwise, put some warm milk into your store-bought yogurt, stir it, and then pour it into the main milk container.
Next, you need to incubate the mixture at around 110F. Some people use a dedicated electric yogurt maker, while others set up a water bath or use a clay Indian yogurt pot.
Once your yogurt’s set, you can strain it if you want a thicker yogurt to spread. Otherwise, you can put the yogurt in the refrigerator. Give it a few days before you eat it to reap the full benefits of homemade yogurt!
Enjoy Homemade Yogurt
Now that you know how to make homemade yogurt, it’ll be fun to experiment with. As we’ve said, this is just a basic recipe, so play around with the different kinds of milk and starter cultures out there.
Once you’ve perfected your homemade yogurt, you can then progress to flavored yogurt! With the various fruits and syrups out there, the possibilities are endless. All your family members will want to eat yogurt once they see your creations!
Want more recipes to make at home? Then check out the rest of our blog page for more inspiration!
