Making Yogurt at home

Now you've got me hardly waiting for warmer weather, so I can start making yogurt again. I have a yogurt maker, and I use that Brown Cow Cream Top yogurt..oh my gosh, makes such great yogurt..and I use organic whole milk. Of course, you can always use 2 percent milk and non-fat yogurt. I have a yogurt thermometer, too, so I wait like that for the perfect temperature. However, I've made yogurt without all these new gadgets, like you do. It's good when you put the yogurt through a cheesecloth, too. Letting it hang overnight over a bowl in the fridge. It becomes very thick and velvety smooth. Also, you can take your freshly made yogurt, and in a blender, add mango, strawberries, whatever, some honey, maybe a little orange juice, a little water, blend till thick and creamy, add a few ice cubes, and mint leaves for garnish. Wow...that's called a Lassi.

That sounds easy to do. I eat yogurt every day, but I would like to know. Is it best to make with with whole milk, two percent, one percent, or skim milk? Will it be thick, runny, or in between? Does it depend on the fat percentage of the milk? What is its constituency? I buy the Balkan style yogurt that is 6 percent fat, and do not like the fat-free kind as they add fillers like gelatin to them. So making yogurt sounds pretty good.

Wow this is great, thanks. I love yogurt so much and I never gave it a thought to make it myself. Now I think I may give it a try this weekend. My mom also eats yogurt so she may like it too. Do you flavor yours or eat it plain?

waw .. i love yogurt .. my mom used to make us when we were little kids.. i love to make yogrut and tomato salad ..mmm but why you said that i should put in the microwave.. why the microwave??

I like the idea of straining it to make yogurt cheese. We used to do that a lot with store bought yogurt, but this way would be cheaper. The yogurt cheese is really good on bagels if you mix it with some cinnamon and brown sugar.

I love yogurt for my daughter and it gives me an idea to search also. Thanks for that. Just want to clarify, as in overnight in microwave? In what temperature?

That is great to do as an activity and sound great to try but I think that is one of those things I am going to leave to the manufacturers. There is yogurt out there that is really great tasting that is really easy on the wallet as well... I think I will leave this one up to the experts. But thanks for an idea for a rainy day! Zelo

Wow, I will have to try that sometime! It sounds really good. I've never tried making my own yogurt, but a whole gallon of it for under $3 is a great deal! That is a really good idea if you eat a lot of yogurt. I will definitely be interested in trying that recipe sometime. Thanks for posting it! :)

Amazing. and my wife and I eat yogurt..so we will try this for the future as this is fresher and you use better ingredients and it saves you money..good tip and we will be thinking of your with our yogurt serving it to our friends and family..its all good

Wow! I can't believe I missed this discussion! I LOVE to make yogurt! I LOVE mango lassies made with yogurt I made myself. And a yogurt drink in the morning. I haven't had the opportunity to perfect my technique though, as I've only made it a few times. I successfully used non-instant dry milk, I don't remember if it was non-fat or not. I had the most trouble with it getting too hot... I think I set the jars in a pan of hot water which I placed on a heating pad set to the lowest temp. I had read a story an East Indian guy had written about how his wife or mother prepared yogurt, which was she would just heat up the milk in a pot, stir in some starter (yogurt from the previous batch), and then would just leave it on the stove overnight and in the morning they had yogurt. That method never worked for me. I'll try the one you recommend about rinsing a cooler with hot water and putting the jars in there. I don't have easy access to raw milk so I will be trying it with regular store bought pasteurized homogenized milk, as non-instant powdered milk is very hard to find, and instant powdered milk makes it too frothy and yukky. Did you say what kind of milk you used? I've got cucumbers growing in the garden, and a recipe for cucumber/yogurt soup which sounds delicious and I am enthusiastic about trying... especially with homemade yogurt! My mouth is watering.

Wow, I love yogurt but don't have any idea how to make it. I usually by ready made ones from the grocery store. This is an excellent idea that you shared. I'm sure it can save on cost and the best of all, its home made so no preservatives. Thanks for the instructions.

Thanks for sahring your recipe for making yogurt Modestah. I used to make yogurt for myself and used to teach students when i was teaching university. It was hard or long to make the yogurt thick on cold days but your tip on putting hot tea or hot water in closed environment is a new one and I think it is great to grow yogurt overnight great!

My grandma makes the best home-made yogurt in the world. She doesn't follow a recipie or anything. But with today's price of milk, competing with gas, it's almost cheaper to buy yugort from the store, instead of risking making it. It doesn't always work, but if it does, it tastes great

That sounds pretty interesting. I really do not care for many dairy products. But now I do like vanilla ice cream. I really like vanilla flavor. But they do say that yogurt is good for you. They have one kind made by some company but it cleanses out your immune and digestive system.

Thanks for sharing your tips to make a yogurt at home. Last month I bought a yogurt maker because I tasted it in the salesman's sample and it was delicious. So I bought it as this maker isn't expensive. It's easy for me to make yogurt at home with this machine. I just need to put some yogurt and fresh milk in the container. And there will be a little warm water under the container. And I plug it for a night. It will be done next morning.

My whole family loves yogurt and I buy it all the time, but I have never tried making it. It sounds really easy though, so I might just have to give it a try.