Homemade Yogurt

As I mentioned last week, we have issues with breakfast. I'm not a morning person and my children, crazy little buggers, like to eat at the crack of dawn.

So, I've been earnestly seeking quick healthy alternatives to high fructose cornsyrup, either toasted or in a bowl.

So, when I came across homemade yogurt, I had to give it a go.

It was easier than I imagined, and actually tastes really great!

Here's the recipe that worked for us:

Heat your oven to around 100 degrees. (for us, this means turning the dial about a half inch before any actual numbers show up)

3-3/4 cup warm tap water
1-2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk
2 to 4 tablespoon store-bought, plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures (read the label to be sure) You can freeze the rest of the store bought yogurt in ice cube trays to use in later homemade batches.

In a large saucepan combine the tap water and dry milk powder. Stir it very well, and let it sit a few minutes. Then stir it again. All of the dry milk should be dissolved. Heat the milk over medium low heat until it reaches 180°. This kills off any competeing bacteria so that the yogurt will respond better to the acidophilus cultures. Remove from the stove and allow to cool to 115°. If the milk is any hotter than this then it will kill off the yogurt cultures. Add the store-bought plain yogurt to the warm milk. Stir well. Allow it sit for a few minutes and stir a final time. This should dissolve the store-bought yogurt completely.

Turn your oven off.

Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean canning jars and put screw on the tops. Put all the jars in a shallow pan, and place in the oven over night (or 6-8 hours). The next morning, pop them in the fridge until chilled, and then you can doctor them as you wish. We add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of vanilla to each jar.

Ours was a little soupy - the texture of "real" whole yogurt. In other words, not as thick as Yoplait or Dannon or store brands, more along the lines of Stonyfield Farm yogurt.

It was delicious, and blissfully free of corn syrup, so I'd call it a success. Plus, my kids thought I was a super rock star. They had no idea that a regular old mom could actually MAKE yogurt! Frankly, neither did I!

*** edited to add - when we made a second batch, I heated up the oven again in the morning (to around 100) and then turned it off and let the yogurt stay in there for another hour or so. It worked wonders for the consistency! 

My guys like to add a little honey and vanilla to theirs, or use it in fruit smoothies. They can't get enough, so I make two batches at a time.

Comments

[myrnie_twin]

Too funny- I just finished posting about our first foray into yogurt! I think we used the same recipe. Glad yours turned out so well! Funny, ours turned out much thicker than store-bought, corn syrup sweetened yogurt. Wonder if it depends on the batch? Or how we incubated? Hmmm...

[Zelia]

Oh! in the oven... how great is that... i have a small machine to make them...

we put strawberries or other fruit:)

[Jody]

Yum, sounds so yummy and easy! I definately like do-able recipes. Thanks for the link.

[Mama Urchin]

Thickness often depends on what type of milk you use and also the cultures. We make ours in a machine too but there's nothing like homemade yogurt.

[Emily]

I sometimes strain my yogurt through cheese cloth for just a bit - 10-15 min maybe. This will thicken it up a bit. I put the whey that is strained off in a jar in the fridge to use for bread baking.

Our favorite way to eat plain yogurt is with a drizzle of honey and some berries.

Your recipe is just a little different than mine. I'll have to give this one a whirl.

[beki]

That's pretty nifty! I always assumed you needed a yogurt maker. We may give this a go!

[Elissa]

you are just amazing to be trying this! i seriously missed the cooking gene, because making my own yogurt is definitely WAY at the bottom of my "to do" list ;-) wish i had even an ounce of that ambition....SIGH

[melmo]

Thank you! Will try this soon, I'm so stoked.

[Alison]

Hi! We've also been making our own yogurt for a while now and just love it. Initially I started in order to eliminate the plastic container (while recyclable) in my attempt to reduce the amount of food I buy with packaging. So instead I buy organic whole milk in a bottle (just like the old days) and we just can't enough of it!

[Patty Thomas]

Ooh! I have to try this. My daughter is a texture kid and doesn't like some really sweet or chunky yogurts. I don't like the corn syrup and BGH threats. A summer project! Thanks!

[happymama of 3]

oh sounds yum-o we will have to try this one! thanks for the great idea! you've such great ideas!

[Mim]

Funny, I just made my first batch two days ago. I used the hot water cooler method to incubate it. Yum-E!

[Sarah]

oh i have been wanting to try homemade yoghurt for *ages* now. my kids eat massive amounts of that stuff already and good yogurt is just so expensive. you have just given me that push i needed to finally try it!

[Sarah Moyar]

The breakfast delimma... I hear ya! I always get really inspired at http://simplybreakfast.blogspot.com

Plus these homeade lara bars http://bunnyfoot.blogspot.com/2006/02/homemade-lara-type-bars.html
are super fun and easy to make, not to mention tasty. Kids can unwrap them, and you can hit snooze. :)