Homemade Yogurt

For the last few years I’ve been making my own yogurt.  It’s really easy to do, it is way cheaper than buying yogurt (1L of yogurt for the cost of a litre of milk), and it tastes amazing.  I eat it for breakfast most mornings, but I also use it to make yogurt cheese, dips, and as an ingredient in many recipes like this, this, this and this.  I also eat a lot of yogurt as a source of calcium, because as a person who is lactose intolerant I am always trying to include calcium rich foods in my diet.  The culturing process eats up most of the lactose, so it doesn’t hurt me.

The brand of my yogurt maker is Deni, and I like it because it’s the perfect size for a quart canning jar.  I just took out the little jars and insert that came with the machine, and make it in the big jar – fewer jars to wash up!

What you need:

1 litre milk, I use whole or homo, from Avalon Dairy

1/4 cup plain yogurt or yogurt starter

What you do:

1.  Heat the milk in a pot, stirring to avoid scorching.  Heat until just before it boils (110F if you want to be exact).

2.  Let the milk cool to room temperature.

3.  Mix a little of the cooled milk into the yogurt, then add a little more milk, stir it in, then mix all the rest together.

4.  Put the milk into a clean jar and screw the lid on tight.  Place it in the yogurt maker.  This keeps it a constant temperature.  I like to keep it in for 8 hours, but you can keep it in up to 12 hours.  It will taste more tangy the longer you keep it in

5.  Refrigerate the yogurt to stop the process. You can eat it a few hours later. I like to just cut up some fruit and put it in a bowl with the yogurt – a delicious and healthy breakfast or snack!