Homemade Yogurt

I love yogurt. I usually eat a six ounce serving every day. It is a great source of protein, calcium, and contains good bacteria for my tummy issues. We used to buy Oikos or Fage Greek yogurt, but it started to get expensive, so we started making our own.

I consulted my Twitter friends before getting started. Of course they were very helpful. Thanks everyone:) We decided to buy a yogurt maker from Williams Sonoma. We still have wedding gift cards so it was free for us, score! I love this maker because it makes individual servings. My yogurt is all portioned out for a week. I know you can make yogurt without the maker, but we are really happy with ours:)

I was amazed at how easy it was to make yogurt. We use skim milk and either Oikos or Fage as the starter. Really, all you have to do is heat up the milk, let it cool, and then stir in the yogurt. Once that is done you just let it "sleep" in the yogurt maker for 10-12 hours. How easy is that?

It is SO good too! I make plain yogurt and eat it with fresh fruit and sometimes a drizzle of agave nectar. It is also good with homemade granola. You can also use it to make smoothies, frozen yogurt, tzatziki sauce, etc.

I can't believe we waited so long to make our own yogurt. It is so easy and much cheaper to make at home! Give it a try!

Homemade Yogurt
(Printable Recipe)

42 ounces fresh milk, we use skim
6 0z. plain yogurt, we use Oikos or Fage Greek for our starter

1. Pour milk into a high-sided saucepan. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan. Heat the milk until it boils-180 degrees. This will take about 1-2 minutes. The milk will start to climb the side of the pan.

2. Remove pan from heat and allow the milk to cool to lukewarm-110 degrees. To speed up the process you can place the pan in cold water.

3. In a bowl, add the yogurt and stir in some of the milk. Whisk well. Make sure the yogurt is dissolved. Add the rest of the milk and whisk until smooth.

4. Pour the mixture into the jars of the yogurt maker. Follow the yogurt maker's instructions. We usually do ours so it rests overnight. It takes 10-12 hours. We do 12 so it is thicker.

5. When the yogurt is done resting, chill it in the fridge with the lids on the jars. The yogurt will stay good for 10 days.

Notes:
-You can use your homemade yogurt as the starter, but only once.
-If you want really thick yogurt you can strain it with a cheese cloth or you can use coffee filters.
-You can make flavored yogurt by adding honey, fruit, or jam, but we prefer plain. We jazz it up once it is made.