How to Make Plain Yogurt

Yogurt of any kind is not only good for you, but it's also a tasty snack at any time of the day. You can also add yogurt to a wide variety of recipes for cooking, and let's not forget that kids love yogurt, too. Making your own plain yogurt at home is a simple and cost effective way to get the yogurt you love along with giving you the ability to add anything you choose, from fruits to granola, in the portion sizes you want.

Things You'll Need

• 4 cups of skim milk (1 qt.) 2 tbsp. of plain yogurt prepared at room temperature ½ cup dry instant skim milk Large saucepan Thermometer Thermos

Instructions

1. Mix dry milk and skim milk in saucepan. Bring milk to 180 degrees, then take off stove and let cool to 155 degrees.

2. Preheat the thermos. This can be done by boiling 12 oz. of water and pouring it into the thermos. Keep water sealed until right before you put yogurt in.

3. Mix ½ cup of cooled 115 degree mixed milk with 2 tbsp. of yogurt that was left out at room temperature. Then take this milk and yogurt mix and combine it with the leftover milk in the sauce pan.

4. Pour this mixture into the preheated thermos after you have empty the hot water from the thermos. Replace the cap on the thermos.

5. Set sealed thermos on counter for 4-8 hours depending on how tart you would like your plain yogurt to be.

Tips & Warnings

• The longer yogurt sits outside of the refrigerator the more tart the taste will become. For the first batch it is ideal to taste the yogurt after 4 hours and then again every 30 minutes to get the flavor you desire. For the first batch of yogurt you will need to purchase a small container of yogurt at the grocery store to get your yogurt going. After that, you can then use 2 tbsp. of the previous batch to start a new batch of yogurt. To make yogurt at home, you will need a living and active yogurt culture. You can also purchase yogurt starter cultures from a health food store, but they can be quite costly (see Resources for a direct link).

References

• Making Yogurt at Home

Resources

• Yogurt starter cultures