Ingredients:

milk

dried milk

sugar

honey

plain yogurt with active cultures, or a yogurt starter

(once you have made a batch of your own yogurt, you can then use that for your starter – it should be plain, unsweetened yogurt)

vanilla extract  

Directions:

You can use any type of milk you choose, 1%, 2% or whole; skim milk or no-fat milk does not produce very good results. You can even use soy milk, almond milk, rice milk or any combination you choose. We prefer to use organic 2% milk, but experiment to find what works best for you and what your family prefers.

For each quart of milk, stir in 1/2 cup of powdered or dried milk. This adds an extra creaminess as well as additional nutrients to your yogurt.

For each quart of milk used add 1/3 cup sugar and about 2T of honey, basically sweeten to taste.

Warm milk mixture over medium heat until it reaches 180° F to 185° F. Stir frequently to make sure it does not scorch or stick to the bottom of the pan. Do NOT let it boil.

Remove from heat and let sit until the temperature drops to 110° F.

Whisk in 2T plain yogurt and 1T pure vanilla extract for every quart of milk used. Be sure to whisk until the yogurt is thoroughly combined into the milk mixture and there are no lumps.

Pour into sterilized jars*, cover and place in a warm spot to maintain temperature between 105° F and 110° F.

Keep checking to be sure the temperature remains within this range, but do not move yogurt too much. Simply insert an instant read thermometer and adjust temperature if necessary. After about 8 to 10 hours yogurt should be thick. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to chill; this will also stop the culturing process.

There are a number of different ways you can keep your yogurt at the appropriate temperature; experiment to see what works best for your situation. We like to use a cooler with a microwavable heating pad, but you can also put it in an oven that is set at the lowest temperature; however, you need to watch it carefully to ensure it doesn’t get too warm. If the yogurt gets too warm it will kill the live cultures and will not properly culture. An electric heating pad and box will work and if the room is warm, wrapping the jars in towels may be enough to retain their heat. Be creative to come up with a way to keep the yogurt culture warm.

  

Notes:

Be sure to use a good quality pure vanilla extract. The flavor of the vanilla will be evident in the finished product, so don’t skimp on this ingredient.  

Variations:

If you prefer to make plain, unsweetened yogurt, simply eliminate the sugar, honey and vanilla. We typically make both sweetened vanilla and plain when we make yogurt.   

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Process time: 8 to 10 hours

5 :  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

 

We usually make both vanilla and plain yogurt, so we mark our jars with stickers to make them easy to identify.