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The HBHW Recommends
Homemade Yogurt
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- 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)
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.
Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean, quart-sized, wide-mouthed canning jar, or another clean, quart-sized container.
Incubate the yogurt in a warm spot for 6 to 8 hours, or until it is set almost as thick as store-bought yogurt. Chill and eat.
Each cook develops her own way of incubating home made yogurt through trial and error. I am going to describe my method, followed by some other common methods and ideas. But first there are a few things you need to know. Yogurt is cultured from acidophilous bacteria, which you can sometimes buy in powdered form at the health food store. I have never actually seen it, but I’ve heard tell about it.
Yogurt can also be cultured from store-bought yogurt which contains “active yogurt cultures” or live bacteria. Read the label and it will tell you if the yogurt contains active cultures or not.
I always use prepared yogurt as my culture. I buy a large container of plain store brand yogurt from the store. I bring it home and scoop it into a couple of icecube trays. Then I freeze it. When it is completely frozen, I take the frozen yogurt cubes and pack them in a plastic freezer bag. Each time I make yogurt, I use one cube as the starter. You can use your own fresh yogurt as a starter too, but eventually it loses it’s power due to the introduction of foreign bacteria, usually after using it about 3 or 4 times. I like to use a new frozen yogurt cube each time I prepare yogurt. I’ve had my best results this way.
When making yogurt with powdered milk, it is good to use more dry milk powder than you would to just make fluid milk. For instance, normally I would use 1 1/3 cups of dry milk powder to make a quart of milk. When I reconstitute milk for yogurt, I add an extra 1/3 cup of dry milk powder, using 1-2/3 cups of dry milk powder for a quart of yogurt. This makes the yogurt thicker and also higher in calcium. Even when preparing yogurt from fluid milk, the results are better if you add a little extra powdered milk for thickness.
There are lots of ways to incubate your yogurt. I prefer to do it in my electric oven. I set the stove dial half way between OFF and 200°, or at approximately 100°. The light which signifies the oven is on, pops on for a moment, and then pops off when the temperature is reached. I set my jar of yogurt in the oven and leave it for between 6 and 8 hours, usually overnight, or while I’m out for the day. I take out the yogurt when it is thick. This method works every time for me. My yogurt has a very mild flavor, which the kids like better than the sour stuff we used to get from the store.
There are many other ways to incubate your yogurt. Some people pour the warm milk combined with the starter, into a large preheated thermos and let it sit overnight. Other folks set the yogurt on top of a warm radiator, or close to a wood stove, or in a gas stove with the pilot operating, or on a heating pad set on low. Sometimes I have placed the jar in a pan filled with warm water, to keep the temperature even. This worked pretty well when I incubated the yogurt next to the wood stove. It kept the yogurt at a uniform temperature, even with occasional drafts from the front door opening and closing. The heating-pad method is supposed to be pretty reliable. You set it on low and then cover the heating pad with a towel, place the yogurt on top of it, and put a large bowl or stew pot upside down over the yogurt. This makes a little tent which keeps the heat in. I don’t have a heating pad, and have never actually used this method myself, but a good friend swears by it. Another friend uses a medium sized picnic cooler to incubate her yogurt. She places the jars inside the cooler and then add two jars filled with hot tap water, to keep the temperature warm enough. After 4 hours, check the yogurt to see if it is thick enough. If it isn’t then refill the water jars with more hot water, return them to the cooler, and let the yogurt sit another 4 hours. When I tried this method, it worked very well. It took a full 8 hours, but the yogurt was perfect, and I liked not having my oven tied up during the day. Also, there was little danger of getting the yogurt too hot while it incubated, and drafts weren’t a problem because of the closed nature of the cooler. You should try to disturb the yogurt as little as possible while it is incubating, in ensure you get good results.
After the yogurt is thick, place it in the fridge. It will stay sweet and fresh for about a week or two. You may prepare more than one jar at a time if you like. I included the method for a quart because this is the size canning jar I use. Narrow mouth canning jars would probably work too, but I prefer the wide mouth ones because it is easier to stick a measuring cup or ladel down inside of it, to scoop out the yogurt. I usually prepare two quart jars at a time. The prepared yogurt is good mixed with jelly, fresh or canned fruit, served with granola for breakfast, or substituted for sour cream in many recipes like stroganoffs. It is also nice pureed in fruit smoothie blender drinks, or stirred into gelatin or popscicles before freezing them. It can also be stirred half and half with regular mayonnaise to make a very tasty low fat mayonnaise. This mixture can be used in just about any recipe which calls for mayonnaise.
Learning to make yogurt is a trial and error process. Most people don’t have perfect or consistant results the first few times they make it. With a little practice though, anyone can learn to make it. When you get a little skill at it, the entire process becomes second nature, and you will have sweet fresh yogurt available whenever you like.
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15 Responses to “Homemade Yogurt”
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May 21st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
We prefer a more european yoghurt made with cream. To do this, we add 1/3c of butter powder to the recipe in this article. Our toaster oven holds 90 degrees F. quite well so we lay a wide mouth Mason jar full of cultured cream inside the oven for 6-8 hours. This is a VERY rich way to eat yoghurt, so be careful of the waist line!
When this is finished, the color is far more natural than most store bought yoghurts. With a little draining over night, we make a cream cheese comparable to the richness of Phillidelphia brand. Salt it while it is still warm them put it in the old Philly container or make your cheese cakes. Yum!
June 7th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Your recipe and information for making yogurt from powdered milk was very helpful. I, too, found that my toaster over holds at 100 degrees F at it’s lowest setting. I plan to try the cream cheese shared by DadMom.
Thank you, both, so much!
August 7th, 2009 at 7:35 am
I like to make home made yogurt in my crock pot. I use 2 quarts of water and 4 cups of powdered milk in my crock pot. I set it to low for 2.5 hours. Then I turn it off for 3 hours. After cooling for 3 hours, I add my starter. Then, I take the ceramic liner out of the crock pot, set it on a heating pad on the lowest setting, and wrap it with 2-3 towels over night. The next morning it’s yogurt and I spoon it into single serving containers or mason jars. Using the heating pad is a good option in the winter when it might be too cold in the house for the yogurt to incubate properly.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:37 am
What a great idea… I’m going to have to try that method. Thanks so much for sharing.
Susanne
August 11th, 2009 at 2:13 am
have you tried kefir.im just getting started about 2 weeks now every one loves the stuff
August 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
This recipe makes a good product. I made it in a rice cooker. Fill 1/2 cooker with hot tap water on the “warm” setting. Check water temperature after 1 hour to insure it is not above 120 degrees. If it is remove lid or set it ajar on cooker to cool the temperature down. Set pint jars or any other container(s), with lids on, in the cooker. After 5 hours…firm yogurt. Can cover the cooker with a couple of towels..unplug and leave overnight for yogurt in the morning. Put in frig to cool.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Greetings!
Was JUST today deciding to look for homemade yogert recipies! TRUELY stumbled upon this website and am HOOKED. Thank you so much for the excellent sounding recipies. Cannot wait to get started. I have recently discovered that I have some food sensitivities, so I am moving away from processed foods, etc. LOL, of course…being raised in a “frugal” environment…and getting away from it….I am now taking my Prodigal Trip back to homemade, wholesome, and cost effective!
Thank you for such a terrific site!
September 14th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[...] Here’s a recipe and instructions from The Hillbilly Housewife (by the way, the upcoming June issue of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest features an interview with The Hillbilly Housewife.) [...]
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:49 am
Is the fridge an acceptable place to store starter?
If so how long does it store?
December 13th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
If your culture is in yogurt form, sure, the fridge is fine. However, if you’re using a freeze-dried powder culture, that should absolutely be kept in the freezer. Most powders containing cultures of different bacteria need to be in air-tight containers kept at low, low temperatures (freezer) to keep the bacteria from growing while in storage. If you order a culture, check for specific instructions on how to keep it. If you’re just using a tablespoon of your last batch of yogurt each time, keep it in the fridge. But powdered cultures are always in the freezer.
December 24th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Hi,
Thanks for posting these instructions. I had a couple of suggestions. Firstly, if you use your microwave to heat the milk you don’t have any risk of scorching the milk. Secondly, for incubating you can use a rice cooker set to “stay warm.” With the lid on it will heat to 50C (just a little more than 120F) so you can successfully make it with the lid off. With my it stays at exactly 40C (104F). The lid off method works well but it does leave milk skin on the top.
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I found a method I love on youtube from herbalmentors. I use the same basic recipe you use, but instead of using more energy to incubate I use a cooler. I put some hot water in it to take the chill off it, then line it with towels. I put the filled jars into the lined cooler and put more towels on top. Then I close the lid, and set the cooler under my table next to the radiator- though, any place away from traffic would probably do- for about 8-12 hours. Hope you enjoy! God bless you!
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I forgot to say that the cooler works fine, even if the radiator heat is not on.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I also like to make it in the toaster oven. I find that I have to add quite a bit of extra milk powder because I like my yogurt thick. Rose, do you have any suggestions for using the microwave for heating the milk? I use the stovetop method, but it sounds like your way might be a little easier and mistake-proof.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:49 am
I use a rice cooker to make my yogurt using your recipe. The cooker is filled half way with water warmed to 110 degrees and I set the cooker on the “Keep Warm” cycle. I pour the yogurt mix into 2 one pint mason jars and cover with their lids. Place the lid on the rice cooker and leave for 4 to 6 hours and VOILA…yogurt. If the lid is ajar on the cooker…no problem. With a thermometer I check water temp periodically so it stays under 110 degrees and won’t kill the culture. If it gets above 110 degrees I take the lid off to reduce the temperature. Good site…good ideas.