Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is something I have wanted to make for a lonnggg time, but I was just, well, kinda.....nervous. I thought, what if it doesn't turn out right? what if I don't get the temperature just right? What if I just end up making curdled milk? Do I need a yogurt maker? Well, I tell ya...I stepped out of my shell and made yogurt and guess what, I AM SSOOO GLAD I DID!!! It was so EASY and DELICIOUS!!

I seriously couldn't believe how incredibly easy it was!! SERIOUSLY!! You HAVE got to try it!!!

I read several recipes and how-to's on making it and at first I got a bit overwhelmed with all of the specifics given in all of the directions, so I simplified it for you all. I tried to get as many pictures of each step so you can all follow along easier.

Doesn't that look so good and creamy? Let's make yogurt!!....

STEP 1:  Gather your ingredients and supplies. you will need:

-heavy stockpot

-whisk

-thermometer

-measuring cups

-2 quarts milk (i used store bought, whole milk)

-1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Chobani Greek yogurt)

-crockpot

-towels

-2-quart canning jars

-foil to cover tops of jars, or canning lids and rings

-flavoring for yogurt, such as vanilla, sugar, fresh fruit, or flavored gelatin

STEP 2: Heat milk to 180'.

Whisk often to prevent scorching.

STEP 3: Remove from heat. Allow milk to cool to 112'-115'. This takes about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn your crockpot on warm or low if you don't have a warm setting.

STEP 4: Measure out 1/2 cup yogurt.....

...put it in small mixing bowl and whisk about 1 cup of cooled milk into yogurt.

STEP 5: Mix yogurt in with rest of milk.

STEP 6: Pour milk/yogurt into canning jars. I used a canning funnel to help with this, 

and I'm glad I did because when I was pouring the milk and tryng to take a pic, I ended up with this...

What a mess!! Pouring the other jar went much smoother and cleaner!

STEP 7: Turn crockpot off and place towel in bottom. Cover jars with foil or lids, and place in warmed crock. Wrap towel around jars. Place another towel over entire crockpot.

STEP 8: Let sit for at least 4 hours. The longer it sits, the more tart the yogurt becomes.

I let mine sit for 4 hours. I didn't have any problems with it not staying warm.

There ya have!! Told ya it was easy!

I will tell you that when I first took the yogurt out of the crock pot, I thought I had curdled milk for sure! You will notice a bit of liquid floating at the top of the jar, separate from the yogurt, this is just whey. You didnt mess anything up! Whew! You can pour this off for a thicker yogurt, or stir it back in. I just stirred mine back in and still had a thick, creamy yogurt!

STEP 9: Flavoring. For vanilla yogurt, I mixed 3 1/2 tbsp of raw sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp of vanilla in a small bowl to dissolve the sugar a bit. I mixed that into 1 quart of the yogurt. 

If you want a fruit flavored yogurt, you can mix in 4 tbsp of your favorite flavored gelatin. 

Refrigerate for about 3 hours. It gets even thicker once it is cooled.

Enjoy it as a healthy snack...

...or top it with granola, and have it with your morning coffee!

I also doubled this recipe and made a gallon, yes, a gallon of yogurt!! It turned out great! 

Let me know how yours turns out! If you have any questions, leave me a comment below!

-Tiffany