Homemade yogurt is easy to make with milk, a culture, and equipment for heating and incubating. The milk is heated, cooled, mixed with culture, and incubated for 8-12 hours. The end result is a tangy and nutritious yogurt that can be enjoyed plain or with various additions.
Making yogurt is relatively simple for cooks who have a good eye for temperature and infection control, and the flavor of homemade yogurt can be easily adjusted to suit various tastes. The easiest type of homemade yogurt to create is plain, unflavored yogurt, although the flavors can be blended after the yogurt is made, or the yogurt can be served with fresh fruit, granola, or other nutritional additions. Homemade yogurt can be made with any type of milk with any percentage of fat, although whole milk will create a richer, thicker final product.
Yogurt has been produced for centuries in Türkiye and Greece. It is made by mixing Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus with heated and cooled milk, kept at a temperature to promote the growth of these organisms, but not harmful bacteria. The mixture is incubated for 8-12 hours and the two organisms digest the lactose in the milk, thickening the milk proteins and producing tangy lactic acid as a by-product. The end result is yogurt, which can be eaten in a myriad of dishes and on its own.
To start a batch of homemade yogurt, you’ll need some equipment. Start by sterilizing the yogurt containers in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes, always leaving the lid on the pot. You’ll also need a thick-bottomed saucepan to heat the milk and an area to incubate the yogurt. If you plan to make homemade yogurt a staple in your household, you may want to consider purchasing a yogurt incubator. Otherwise you can use the oven, a cooler filled with hot water, or your car on a hot day, but keep in mind that maintaining the right temperature can be challenging and will require monitoring. It’s also crucial to acquire an accurate thermometer, as you will need to check temperatures frequently.
The first step in making homemade yogurt is heating and sterilizing the milk. Heat the milk in a large, thick pot to 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (82 to 85 degrees Celsius), stirring frequently to heat evenly and prevent scalding. Next, let the milk cool to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius), then add a culture. The best culture for homemade yogurt is a batch of store-bought yogurt, as long as the container bears “active cultures” or “live cultures.” Add two tablespoons of yogurt for every liter of milk, mixing the mixture evenly and then pouring it into sterilized containers. Incubate the yogurt containers, keeping the temperature between 105-122 degrees Fahrenheit (41-49 degrees Celsius) and do not disturb them. The longer the yogurt incubates, the thicker and spicier it will be.
After about eight hours of incubation, the homemade yogurt will be finished and can be refrigerated for up to two weeks before using. Be sure to set aside a jar to use as a starter for another batch, and use a new container of commercial yogurt every five or six batches so you don’t run out of culture. If the yogurt smells funny or develops discolorations, discard it. Contaminants can make their way into yogurt in even a very clean kitchen, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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