Homemade Yogurt
simple yogurt to make at homeThings have been getting pretty pricey lately and so I wanted to somehow cut some costs on certain foods my family and I regularly consume. One of which is yogurt! Who knew that it would be so easy to make your own batch of yogurt. All it takes is a few tablespoons of your old yogurt and milk. An added benefit is that you can also make it as tangy as you like.
Apparently, heating the milk serves two primary purposes. It kills potentially harmful bacteria and it also helps denature milk proteins which makes a firmer, thicker yogurt.
I referenced NYT creamy homemade yogurt recipe found here.
Ingredients
1/2 gallon (64 fluid ounces, 2 quarts) milk
4 tablespoons yogurt, with live and active cultures
Directions
Add half gallon milk to a pot and heat it over medium heat until bubbles start to form around the edge and it reaches around 200 degrees F.
Remove the milk from the heat and let it cool to around 115 degrees F. This took me around 35-45 minutes. Once cooled sufficiently, scoop out 1/2-1 cup of the warm milk and add 4 tablespoons yogurt to it. Mix the yogurt and the reserved milk together and add everything back to the rest of the milk. Mix it all together.
Cover your pot with the lid and wrap it with a towel. Place in a warm place (I place mine in an oven that it turned OFF). Let the milk sit anywhere form 6 hours to 24 hours depending on how sour you want your yogurt. I prefer letting it sit overnight for a whole day (24 hours).
Once your yogurt is ready you can enjoy it now or strain it over a sieve lined with cheesecloth for 2-24 hours in the refrigerator. This will thicken your yogurt to make Greek yogurt!
Eat your yogurt or store in the refrigerator. It will keep in the refrigerator for around 2 weeks. Enjoy!
