Late the other night a friend emailed me, “Are you there? I’m having a yogurt making emergency!” I had her call me so we could troubleshoot together. It seems that I have been giving a lot of yogurt making instruction lately, and I love it. There are so many things I still want to learn, but yogurt is one of those things I feel like I’ve got down.
This is why I love making homemade yogurt:
- I get a real “stick it to the man” feeling from making something at home that most people think you have to buy. Rebellious, I know.
- When I make yogurt at home, I know exactly what is in it. My ingredient label would look like this: milk, live active cultures (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus)
- Last, but certainly not least, the taste! Oh my goodness. It’s thick. It’s creamy. It has a sweet freshness that store-bought yogurt could only dream about then wake up and find itself sourly disappointed.
I started making yogurt at home about a year ago after reading blog post on making yogurt in your crockpot. It sounded easy so I decided to give it a try. Thank goodness my first batch turned out or I would probably never have tried again. Sadly, my second, third and fourth batches could never replicate the goodness of that first one. The crockpot method was just not consistent enough.
I’ve spend the last year playing around with methods and ingredients and think I have hit upon a near perfect recipe.
Side note:This book really helped me perfect my technique:
Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages
I highly recommend it for learning how to make all kinds of dairy products at home.
I’ll give you the basic method first so you can get a general idea, then follow up with the an annotated version.
1. Heat milk to near boiling.
2. Cool to about 110°.
3. Stir in yogurt starter.
4. Keep warm for at least 4 hours.
5. Strain, if desired.
Easy-peasy, right? Now for the details:
1. Heat milk to near boiling.
Let’s start off by talking about milk. In order for your yogurt to become thick and creamy, the milk you use needs to have some fat in it. If you are using milk from the grocery store, opt for whole milk (preferably hormone-free) and not ultra-pasteurized. That is what I used for many months, right up until I met Daisy.
This is a Daisy:
This is her milk:
See the cream rising to the top? Yummy.
Note: the yogurt making instructions are basically the same whether you are using pasteurized/homogenized or raw milk. Where there may be differences I’ll let you know.
Heating the milk
If you have a candy thermometer, get it out. It comes in handy while you are learning. I no longer use one because I broke it I have made yogurt enough that I know what the right temperature looks and feels like. You’ll get there too, but to begin with, a thermometer is handy.
We want to heat between 1 and 8 cups (a half gallon) of milk in a non-reactive pan (not copper or aluminum) until it reaches 180°.
Here is where many raw milk drinkers will tell you that heating the milk kills all the beneficial bacteria in the milk (correct) and is not necessary for making yogurt (sort of correct).
In this one instance, I want to kill the bacteria. I’ll tell you why when we talk about our yogurt starter.
As for being able to make yogurt without heating the milk, it is true that you can make yogurt without heating to near boiling, but it will never be as thick or lovely as milk that has been heated. This is because the heat actually changes the protein structure of the milk.
So cook that milk.
Stir or don’t stir, I don’t care. Just heat it until about 180°. If it gets a bit hotter, that’s okay. You just don’t want it to boil. It won’t hurt your yogurt any, but boiling milk expands and boils over quickly. That makes a big mess!
2. Cool to about 110°.
When your milk has reached the proper temperature, take your pan off the heat. We now need the milk to cool to 110° (like warm bath water). This is an optimal temperature for culturing your yogurt. Much hotter and the bacteria will die; much colder and it won’t reproduce.
I cool my milk by putting the pan into a sink of cold water.
Keep an eye on it. It cools quickly. If it does happen to get too cold, just heat it up again. It really won’t hurt my feelings.
3. Stir in yogurt starter.
While your milk is cooling, prepare your starter culture.
All this is is plain, unflavored yogurt. Look for live active cultures on the label and buy the best quality you can find; it makes a difference.
Edited to add: Full-fat is best; reduced or fat-free often has stabilizers to make it thick. It’s possible that they could interfere with the culturing process…
I have had good success with both Stonybrook Farms and Nancys, but my favorite was Fage Greek Yogurt.
I say was, because I have found something even better. I recently bought an heirloom culture from Cultures for Health. If you use a store-bought yogurt for your starter you can then use your own homemade yogurt to start the next batch. However after two or three batches, the culture weakens and will not work anymore. An heirloom culture, properly cared for, can be used to start your next batch indefinitely (just like sourdough starter).
One thing to consider if using raw milk, is that the bacteria present will compete with your heirloom culture, weakening it over time. That’s why I said that in this instance I want to kill that lovely, beneficial bacteria.
Pasteurized milk is already dead, so it should have nothing to compete, but I still bring it up to near boiling to kill any nasties that might be lurking there.
Get out the container you plan to incubate your yogurt in. I use glass canning jars. Make sure they are very clean; you may even want to give them an extra rinse with hot water. To your empty jar/jars, add about 2 teaspoons of starter for every cup of milk you plan to culture in it.
Reminder, quart jars hold four cups; pint jars hold two.
If you have a funnel and a fine mesh strainer, now is the time to use them. When the milk has reached 110°, pour it through the strainer into your container.
Note: If you try to pour with one hand and take a picture with the other, you are likely to spill some milk and get a blurry photo.
Want to know why I use a strainer?
I don’t want those yucky cooked bits in my yogurt. And they will form whether you stir your milk as it heats or not. That’s why it doesn’t really matter if you stir or not.
It may not matter when you heat, but it matters now. Stir the milk and starter together. I use a fork, cuz I’m cool like that.
Put lids on. If you are planning to store your finished yogurt in the same jars, you may wish to label them with a wet erase marker.
I love the plastic lids for jars. I bought mine at Walmart, in the canning aisle, but they are also available on amazon.
Wide-Mouth
Regular
4. Keep warm for at least 4 hours.
Now it’s time to tuck in your little bacterial cocktail (yum) and let it work it’s magic. It needs to stay at about 110° (really, 105° – 115° should be fine) for at least four hours.
In my hall closet, I keep an electric blanket in a fabric bin. When it is yogurt-time, I pull it out and turn it on high. I nestle my jars into it and let it do it’s thing.
If you don’t have an electric blanket, here are some other methods:
- Place your jars in the oven with the light on.
- Wrap your jars in a blanket and put them in a cooler.
- Put your jars in a cooler and add a few inches of hot water. Replenish water as needed.
- Make a yogurt incubator out of a light bulb and some coffee cans.
- Put your jars on a heating pad, but make sure it is not the kind that turns itself off.
- Pour your milk mixture into a very clean thermos with a tight fitting lid.
Just please do not waste your money and cabinet space on a yogurt maker. You really don’t need one.
It will take at least four hours to make yogurt. The longer you let it incubate the more thick it will become. It will also develop a more sour flavor. You may have to make yogurt a few times to find the right balance. I will say that even when I have forgotten my yogurt and let it incubate for 15 hours, it was still sweeter (as in the opposite of sour) than store bought.
To know if your yogurt has set up, take one of your jars and tilt it. You should see a the yogurt pull away from the side. If there is a yellowish liquid surrounding it, don’t worry. That’s just whey.
It may be a bit hard to see in this photo, but you’ll recognize it when you try it.
If you are using non-homogonized milk, you may also see a yellowish layer on the top. Lucky you! That’s just the cream rising.
5. Strain, if desired.
At this point, I like to strain my yogurt. Straining not only results in a thicker final product, it also creates a less sour one. The whey is what has the sour flavor and it continues to ripen with age. Straining your yogurt makes it sweet and fresh tasting, and keeps it that way for longer.
Place a strainer over a large bowl. Line with a clean linen towel or, for smaller batches of yogurt, a coffee filter. Just please don’t waste your money on cheesecloth.
The longer you strain the thicker your yogurt will be. You could strain anywhere from 15 minutes, for a slightly thicker yogurt, to overnight for yogurt cheese.
When finished, pour your whey into a jar and reserve for other uses (I’ll post on those soon), or feed it to your pets or plants.
Then dump your yogurt into a bowl. It will be clumpy. Especially if you used non-homogenized milk.
Not very appetizing, right?
But we can fix that. Just whisk, whisk
whisk
until smooth.
I probably could have whisked this batch a little longer. Or even better, used my immersion blender.
The yogurt will get all soupy again and you will worry that you have ruined it, but never fear! you did not. Once it has been refrigerated it will set up nice and lovely again.
Regular Ending
After whisking, spoon into a large container or jar.
Refrigerate until cool.
Sweeten with freezer jam, honey or real maple syrup before eating.
Super-Fancy Alternative ending
Place a couple of spoonfuls of jam each into the bottom of 8 oz. glass or these awesome plastic
Refrigerate.
Wha-la – fruit on the bottom yogurt all ready for breakfast or the lunch box. Fancy, indeed.
I hear it is good for 10 – 14 days, but ours gets eaten long before then.
Troubleshooting
Yogurt didn’t thicken.
Likely problem: Your starter may have been weak or your milk mixture was too cold. No need to throw it out, just use it in smoothies.
Yogurt ended up with a little bit of curds and a lot of whey. Nothing creamy.
Sadly, it sounds as though your milk was too hot when you added starter. Or your incubator was too hot. Either way, it killed the culture. Please don’t give up; try again.
Any other questions or suggestions? Put them in the comments.
Oh, and, if you are local (Willamette Valley, Oregon), and want some of my starter, I am happy to share. Let me know.
End note: Amazon Affliate links are being used. If you purchase anything from my links, I get a miniscule tiny small commission. However, I would never recommend any product I didn’t use, and love, myself. Thank you.
I was not compensated in money, product, or any other way for recommending Cultures for Health products. I just like them.
PS: If you liked this, check out my recipe for homemade frozen yogurt. Yummy!
Nice! I made strawberry jam the other day, and I can imagine that fresh homemade yogurt would go so nicely with it. I think I might have to try this.
So, the starter – are you saying that I could just buy a container of Fage from the grocery store and use that as the starter?
If I wanted to start small and just make 2 pints, I would need:
4 cups of milk
8 tsp of yogurt
right?
How much do you set aside of your yogurt to use as a starter for next time? If I put the jam in it, I assume I can’t use it again, right?
So many questions!
My answers in bold.
So, the starter – are you saying that I could just buy a container of Fage from the grocery store and use that as the starter?
Yup. You use it as it, right from the container.
If I wanted to start small and just make 2 pints, I would need: 4 cups of milk 8 tsp of yogurt right?
That’s correct.
How much do you set aside of your yogurt to use as a starter for next time? If I put the jam in it, I assume I can’t use it again, right?
That’s right. I usually set some aside in a separate container marked “Do not eat” and keep it in the fridge for next time.
Good luck! Please let me know how it turns out.
Great post! You just may have convinced me to try it again after such a long break. Now that you’ve done all the problem-solving it may be worth it! Way to go! I do have a feeling, though, that if I do make homemade yogurt it will become more expensive than store bought because we’ll eat it faster! Have you found a way to keep it for yourself?! (sneaky laugh inserted!)
Janalyn – you may have to hide it.
)
Actually, you might find that your family is eating a lot more at first, but once they get used to it, they’ll likely settle down – just like bread making.
I dare you to try it – I’ve got some starter here with your name on it.
Okay, this seriously has my curiosity peaked. I think I must try this.
I make yogurt with our raw goat’s milk and it turns out very similar to yours. I’ve read to heat it, but no one has been able to say definatively that the bacteria in the milk needs to die before adding the starter culture, so I’ve left it raw. We like what we end up with, so I’m probably not going to change-yet. I usually need to buy another container of yogurt from the store (we use Brown Cow creamy top-plain) but mostly because I forget to set aside a cup to use in the next batch, lol.
I too started with the crockpot method, but the steps seemed, well odd. It didn’t work either. I tried the oven with the light on and off, as the temp varied. I tried just leaving it on the counter, but nothing was really good until my SIL gave us a Yogourmet. I will disagree with you on them being a waste of money. I don’t know how much she spent (think she found it on clearance) but it’s the only thing that has given us consistently wonderful yogurt! I have seen versions where you add a small amount to several tiny cups and those are a waste of time, space, and money, but the Yogourmet does 2 qts bulk at a time.
We’ve found the best results come from a 65/35 ratio of Alpine milk with Nubian/Boer cross milk. The N/B has more fat, but this year the fat in one of the Alpine’s milk has been rivaling it while she’s nursing. I don’t know how long that will last though!
If our method stops meeting our needs I may try a heritage culture, thanks for sharing your experience!
Kelly – I have not seen the Yogourmet, but it sounds far better than the ones with all the jars – especially if you are planning on straining the whey out anyway. If it works for you, that’s great. I stand corrected. I’ll amend my advice to say, try making yogurt without a machine first. Make sure you like it and will continue before you go spend the money (and clear space in your cupboard).
I have yet to try fresh goat’s milk. I bought some in a carton at the grocery store once and it was so “goaty” I couldn’t stand it. I’ll have to give it a try again, but this time fresh. Thanks!
Thanks for your clear description here. I’ve made yogurt a number of times, but it’s turned out inconsistently. Some good, some less so. I learned a few things about why, so now I’ll be eager to try again. And I LOVE the fruit-on-the-bottom idea. So clever! My husband loves yogurt in his lunch, and I usually scramble at the last minute to mix up the yogurt, sweetener, and fruit. So simple to do it all ahead of time (duh)…
We both thank you!
Kathy – I’m glad you found some good information in my post. I think the number one problem is being unable to keep the yogurt at a consistent temperature while it cultures. That’s why I like the electric blanket.
oh and, just a tip on the fruit on the bottom yogurt. Don’t overfill it (like I did in the picture – oops). It makes it hard to stir. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
When we first started drinking goat’s milk (from our own goats) it tasted “goaty” too. It doesn’t anymore and I’m not sure if it’s from a dietary change or us getting used to it. We have friends that try it and like it, so my guess is the dietary change has improved the flavor. We stopped giving them grain at milking time and I can’t recall if the flavor change occured then or prior, really. I’ve not tried any from a store, so I can’t comment on it.
I forgot to mention the first time that cheesecloth is a waste of time, but butter muslin is very useful for straining. I prefer not to use disposable items when possible, and I use butter musling regularly. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s just a finer weave of cheesecloth. I have a square cut to fit over my qt mason jars and then set a canning funnel over that to strain the goat milk. I have other sizes for draining/straining cheese too.
We also love the plastic lids for the mason jars but use a dry erase marker to date/label items.
Kelly – I haven’t heard of butter muslin – where do you get it? I really like clean linen dish towels, or even bandanas. The weave is light enough to keep back the solids, but loose enough that the whey drains quickly.
It’s a lot like what you’ve described. I’ve heard of people cutting up old t-shirts and/or pillow cases for the same purpose. I just found some today at New Frontiers (are they in OR?) about an hour away from me. Most people look at me strangely when I ask about it. The first batch I got came from The New England Cheesemaking Co, online. I thought I’d be “smart” by cutting it to specified sizes for various jobs, but I need large squares for draining cheese. Thinking about it, I probably could have cut an old pillow case down the the right height and used that, maybe I still will!
Just tried making yogurt with my Excalibur. It’s been 7 hours and it is still somewhat runny. I had a thermometer so I made sure the milk reached 180 and cooled to 109.8 before adding the Yogourmet. Excalibur set at 115. Not sure what’s going on, but I thought it should have set up a bit more than it has at this point. I have noticed on several websites such varied times of incubation. I read the longer the time, the more tangy the yogurt. Is that still true if it takes 12 hours just to get it to set? Anyhow, regardless if this batch doesn’t meet expectations, I will try again. We eat a lot of yogurt and make smoothies everyday, sometimes 2x a day for about 4 of us, so I would like to get this down to a predictable science. Even if it doesn’t set up, will it be okay to add to the smoothies. It doesn’t produce bad bacteria from being left in that temperature for a long period of time without maturing to “yogurt” does it?
Thanks and I learned from reading all the posts. Glad to live in the age of internet that can reach across the miles and connect people of similar interests!!
Donna – Sorry I didn’t get back to you last night. Did it ever thicken? I have not tried using a dehydrator to incubate, though I have heard of it.
If the yogurt did not set up it was likely due to one of two factors.
First, your temperature: have you calibrated your thermometer to make sure it is accurate? To do so, put it in a glass of ice-water. It should read 32 degrees. If not, it is reading off. I once had one that was 12 degrees off. Big difference. If the thermometer is fine, use it to check both the temperature of the Excalibur air temperature while it is running and the temp of your yogurt as it incubates. Just like oven temperature, dehydrators can differ from what the dial is set to. You may need to set it higher.
If temperature is fine, check your starter: did it say “live active cultures” on the packaging? Was it plain, unflavored yogurt? Full-fat is best; reduced or fat-free often has stabilizers to make it thick. It’s possible that they could interfere with the culturing process…
I hope these ideas help. If it did not set up, it is fine to use for smoothies, unless of course you notice a bad smell. It should smell like milk or yogurt. If it smells sour (rancid), throw it out.
Donna-115 might be a bit too hot, shouldn’t go over 110 according to what I’ve read. It won’t “set up” until it has been chilled. Just like warm sour cream won’t be thick, neither will warm yogurt. Put it in the fridge for 8 hours and see what you’ve got. At the very least you can use it in smoothies and try again.
Stopping from Mom Loop! I pinned with great idea!
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