My devotion to dairy began at an early age—a given, perhaps, since I grew up in Vermont. As soon as I could wield a knife, I would carve slabs of cheddar from the Cabot block that was a staple in our fridge. Cream cheese was a favorite dip, spread, or snack (yes, eaten out of the carton with a spoon). Butter was fantastic and paired excellently with cream cheese; who knew?
So I guess it’s not surprising that, when I had my cholesterol checked for the first time at age 10, it was through the roof. Since I was otherwise healthy and rail-thin, the doctor ordered my mother to limit high-cholesterol items in my diet. Out went the chunks of cheese, pints of ice cream, and blocks of cream cheese. In came nonfat milk and probably the most healthful form of dairy, plain yogurt.
Making yogurt has since become a favorite weekly ritual for me. My dependence has switched recently from the rather thin kind that I grew up on to the thicker, creamier Greek-style variety, which is strained for a thicker consistency and richer flavor.
There are good reasons to make your own yogurt. First, it’s easy. Second, quality pints of the stuff don’t run cheap. But perhaps most important, many of the brands on the market take shortcuts. Instead of using an expensive separator to press out the whey, they opt for the cheaper method of mixing in milk proteins, pectin, or gelatin to boost the percentage of milk solids. And some brands include inulin, a flavorless dietary fiber that absorbs liquid. So instead of worrying about additives, thin texture, or sour flavors, just make your own.
Over the years I’ve used all kinds of different brands of store-bought yogurt as starters. Some resulted in thin, tart, or downright sour yogurt, while others were mild, milky-tasting, and creamy, which is what I prefer.
My advice? Use the best-quality milk and yogurt that you can find for this recipe; be sure that the “starter” yogurt contains the live active cultures Str. thermophilus (ST) and Lb. bulgaricus (LB); and don’t forget to save some of this batch of yogurt for starting your next batch.
Step #1 SOURCE IT
Step #2 ▼
Making yogurt from milk requires a starter of plain yogurt, which must contain live active cultures in order to work. (Freeze-dried starters such as yógourmet also work but the flavor is too tangy for me.) I found a lot of existing recipes that use an 8:1 ratio of milk to starter yogurt, which works well. I tried using lesser amounts with some success, but it took longer to ferment and didn’t always set up right. I always start with the best-quality milk and yogurt I can find.
Step #2 HEAT IT
Step #3 ▼
First, heat the milk in a saucepan to between 170 and 180 degrees, stirring occasionally. This alters the milk proteins so that they will create a creamy, viscous texture instead of separating into curds and whey. The milk begins to steam when it’s at the correct temperature; stir in the dry milk powder (which helps thicken the yogurt) when it reaches this stage.
Step #3 COOL IT
Step #4 ▼
After the milk is heated, cool it to around 110 degrees—too hot and it can destroy the friendly bacteria in the starter. To speed up the process, transfer the milk to a bowl set over an ice bath. Stir the milk occasionally so that it cools faster and more evenly.
Step #4 TEST IT
Step #5 ▼
When the milk is cooled to about 110 degrees, it will feel warm but not hot to the touch (similar to warm water when proofing yeast).
Step #5 THIN IT
Step #6 ▼
Instead of adding the starter yogurt directly to the cooled milk, I like to thin it first with a little of the milk, which will make it easier to incorporate. Ladle a little of the cooled milk into the starter yogurt, and whisk until smooth. Then transfer this thinned starter into the bowl with the milk, whisking to combine.
Step #6 COVER IT
Step #7 ▼
After introducing the starter to the milk, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pierce several holes in the top to allow the yogurt to breathe.
Step #7 FERMENT IT
Step #8 ▼
Next, place the bowl in a warm environment to ferment. The bacteria like a 90 to 100-degree temperature. Fortunately, at work in the test kitchen I can set an oven to 90 or 100 degrees exactly, but when I’m at home I use my gas oven and a thermometer to maintain the temperature. Turning the heat on for a minute warms the inside of the oven just enough. Every hour or so I check and turn the oven on briefly to rewarm if needed. (The pilot light in my old oven kept things around 90 degrees and I didn’t have to fuss with the temperature. It also made it easy to leave the yogurt overnight.)
Step #8 WHISK IT
Step #9 ▼
Depending on what type of starter you’ve used, the bacteria can take anywhere from 5 to 8 hours to transform the milk into yogurt. Usually I leave the batch alone for about 7 hours, and then start checking for doneness. (Yogurt doesn’t like to be disturbed, so I try not to jiggle the bowl too much when doing this.) When it’s ready the yogurt will appear thickened, creamy, and set. Sometimes there is a little liquid in the bowl after fermentation, which is normal. It’s simply the separated whey; whisk it together to recombine.
Step #9 SPOON IT
Step #10 ▼
At this point the consistency of the yogurt is super smooth and creamy but a little thin. Since I like not only a thicker texture but also a richer flavor (almost like yogurt cheese), I typically strain my homemade yogurt to mimic Greek-style.
Step #10 STRAIN IT
Step #11 ▼
To strain the yogurt, set a mesh strainer over a large liquid measuring cup (or bowl) and line it with a couple of coffee filters or a double layer of cheesecloth. After pouring the yogurt into the strainer, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The whey begins to drip down almost immediately.
Step #11 DRAIN IT
Step #12 ▼
In the morning about 2 cups of whey have been exuded. If you want a less thick and rich yogurt, simply let it drain for less time.
Step #12 SAVOR IT
Step #13 ▼
After straining, you’ll have about 2 cups of delightfully rich and creamy yogurt.
Step #13 EAT IT
Honey is my go-to sweetener for yogurt, with raw sugar coming in a close second. A handful of fresh berries, and I’m ready to start my day.
About the Author: Jennifer Lalime
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Wonderful! The strained whey can be used in bread making very delicious.
I make yogurt all the time and my recipe is the same as yours. My method varies in that I use a yogourmet maker from Canada. It makes a half gallon at a time and I don’t have to fool around with small bottles or jars. I heat the milk to 180 degrees and then cool it to 73. I mix a little milk with the Greek yogurt either left over or from the store (Oikos with five kinds of bugs) right in the container and then stir in the rest of the milk. I put the container into the water bath which stays at a constant 113 degrees and leave it for 12 hours. This yields a thick, creamy yogurt and the container goes right into the fridge. This is as simple a method as you can get with good results. I bought my maker online used and it works great. New ones, I think, are around $50, still worth it.
I do a gallon of milk at a time, and pour it into quart-sized canning jars before incubating in a warm water bath in a picnic cooler. I generally do this in the evening, and then let it incubate overnight, anywhere from 8-11 hours. Comes out lovely every time.
This sounds great and I will try it but for dietary reasons I prefer a plain non-fat organic yogurt like Nancy’s that I purchase at our local Co-op. The ingredients on the container lists only organic skim milk and organic skim milk powder plus six cultures including the two mentioned and four others and nothing else. So if I use this as a starter plus skim milk and powder will that mean my yogurt will be non-fat? Any idea what effect this has on the overall product? If the effect is negative is there anything else I should do that would make it more like what is described? I also notice there are a number of other products with very high numbers of and many more cultures that are used as a probiotic source. Can those products replace the starter yogurt and perhaps make a healthy yogurt even more healthy?
If I leave the light on in my oven, the interior of that small space inside the oven warms up enough to make yogurt or raise bread. I have an electric oven now, but in years past when I had a gas oven, the pilot light put out enough heat to create this warm environment.
I also make yogurt with (reconstituted) powdered milk, but using a bit more powder than the box recommends for drinking. I’m sure the results would be tastier with 1% or 2% or full-fat milk, but it’s actually not bad using the fat-free powder.
I’m wondering how much of a difference the milk powder makes to thickness. I just tried a batch, and I find I really taste the milk powder, and don’t like the flavour it gives. (However, my husband quite enjoyed it.) But I find it fairly offputting.
I’ll try it again, with a different yoghurt as a starter, and maybe leave out the milk powder.
Incidentally, not sure if it’s just the choices of yoghurt locally, or a Canadian thing, but the only information on the yoghurt packaging was that they contained ‘active cultures’, not WHICH ones.
I made this overnight using the warming drawer of my oven set at low. I used whole milk and drained it for about 4 hours (using the coffee filters). Probably the best yoghurt I’ve ever tasted! Rich, creamy, and not too tangy or sour.
This looks so amazing, thanks for this post.
I made yogurt without the milk powder and it turned out fine. FYI I used the yogurmet starter and it is a bit tart.
I’ve been using High Lawn Farm Low Fat Milk and find that I don’t need to add any milk powder to make a fairly thick yogurt (jersey cow milk from western MA). I also felt that I could taste the milk powder; it had this powdered cheese taste.
I make a gallon of yogurt at a time and use my oven’s warming drawer (I have two large Pyrex dishes that fit inside the warming drawer). When the milk reaches 180 degrees, I hold it at that temp for 20 to 30 minutes. I read somewhere that this helps make the yogurt thicker. Also, I’m lazy so instead of draining the yogurt I scoop out a cup or so worth of yogurt. Whey then pools into this divot which I can drain off to help further thicken the yogurt.
i’ve been making yogurt for several months now and don’t like store brands any more. i use this recipe with just a couple of differences. i don’t use powered milk (it’s expensive and i don’t like the taste). i also wrap my covered bowl of milk (i make a gallon at a time) in a terry cloth towel and then set it on my heating pad set on low overnight. the yogurt comes out perfect everytime.
I make my yogurt in a slow cooker plugged into a rheostat (used in stained glass making) to control the temperature. I put a probe thermometer into the milk to monitor the temperature. This works great to keep the temperature constant throughout the process.
thanks for this post! i tried it and it was so yummy!