Homemade Yogurt, Finally!

I have tried a few times to make homemade yogurt, but rather than jars of divine creamy yogurt, I ended up with soupy sour milk. It's an expensive experiment if it doesn't work right. Thanks to a conversation with my friend Leah of Soul Fire Farm this summer, I learned a new technique that is turning out perfect yogurt every time, (two quarts for the price of a half gallon of milk, much cheaper than store-bought, and no containers to recycle).  I often use Farmers Cow milk which is a local CT dairy cooperative of small farmers, or organic or milk from grass feed/pasture raised cows so it is hormone free. 

The key to this successful recipe is holding the yogurt mixture overnight in a cooler filled with extra bottles of hot water to keep the temperature warm enough for the good bacterias added to the milk to work their magic and turn into yogurt. Many traditional recipes say to wrap the warm milk mixed with starter in towels and keep in an oven with the light on, but even in summer, this was not warm enough in my house to make the yogurt thicken.  

Good yogurt is filled with probiotics which are naturally occurring good bacterias that help our bodies digest food and fight off germs and infections. My daughter recently had to take antibiotics for Pneumonia, and we have been making sure that she eats or drinks yogurt, sometimes with extra probiotics mixed in, every day, to balance the effects of the medication which kills all bacteria in your body both good and bad. Yogurt and other naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut or kimchi also contain probiotics which are great for your health. 

Hope you enjoy this and try out this simple recipe at home!

Homemade Yogurt
makes 2 quarts yogurt

1/2 gallon milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 quart sized jars (or the equivalent)

Heat up a half gallon of 2% milk (you can use whole milk if you prefer) to 180° - measure this with a cooking thermometer. Remove from heat and let cool to 110°. 

While the milk is cooling, boil a big pot of water and place your jars and lids in it to sterilize by boiling for 10 minutes or so. Prepare a cooler by lining it with dish towels. Fill two of your jars with the boiling water from your sterilizing pot, screw the tops on the hot water jars and place them in the cooler. This is going to keep the cooler warm while your yogurt develops. 

When the milk has cooled to 110° stir the plain yogurt into the milk thoroughly. Pour into two sterilized quart-size mason jars, screw the covers on, and place in ithe towel lined nsulated cooler with the jars of hot water. Wrap the towel over all the jars and close the cooler tightly. Let sit for 8 to 12 hours.  Place set yogurt in the refrigerator to chill. Save a little of this yogurt as starter for your next batch. ENJOY!!!

Sorry the pictures are not laid out well, but they should give you an idea of the process! 

Please share your tips and techniques for homemade yogurt (or other treats) below!