Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt may be one of the easiest foods to make a home.  Though it is easy, not everyone gets favorable results on the first try.  So if you are interested in making your own yogurt, here are some tips that will help eliminate some of the frustration you may experience with simply following a recipe.

Yogurt Making Methods:
Before making yogurt, you should be aware that there are two methods of making yogurt; the old fashioned method and using a yogurt making machine.  Both methods concern how you will incubate the the milk to make it into yogurt.  If you are using the old fashion method, you will put the cooked milk in an airtight container and wrap it in a heavy blanket to keep it warm.  The yogurt must be left untouched overnight and then refrigerated in the morning.  If you are using this method, it is important the yogurt does not get too cool before wrapping it in the blanket.  If using a yogurt machine to incubate the yogurt, you will just place containers full of warm milk in the incubator and set the incubation time.  If you like predictable results, the yogurt machine will keep the milk a constant temperature even if you allow the milk to cool too much before incubating.

Yogurt Making Materials:
To make yogurt, you will need a cup of store bought plain cultured yogurt to use as a starter, a pitcher, a large pot, and a whisk. If you would like to make yogurt the old fashion way, you will need an airtight container and a heavy blanket. If you are more comfortable with using an incubator, you will need to get a yogurt machine.  I use a Euro Cuisine YM100 yogurt maker.  This has worked great for me and has better reviews than the YM80 since it can be programmed to shut off when it is ready.

Yogurt Recipes:
If using a yogurt machine, its best to use a recipe from the yogurt machine booklet.  However, if you are using the old fashion method, click here for a great yogurt recipe. 

Yogurt Making Basics:

1. Once you have everything you need to get started, remove your starter yogurt from the refrigerator and pour it into the pitcher so that it can warm to room temperature while you complete the other steps.
2. Clean and dry the pot, pitcher, utensils, and container(s) which will be used once the yogurt is ready to incubate. Note: Once you've made yogurt a few times, you can clean utensils and containers while the milk is cooking but it is best to have everything ready the first few times to assure the milk does not over cook.
3. Measure the milk and pour it into a clean pot. Heat milk on medium-high and monitor carefully to assure it does not over cook. This may take a little while, but since every stove is different, you will not know how long this step will take until you have made yogurt a couple of times. The best way to tell when the milk is ready is to watch and when the milk starts to boil, a foam will form on top of the milk, which will start to rise on the sides of the pot.  It is important to remove the milk at this point since if you remove it too early, the yogurt will be thin and if you let it cook too long, the yogurt will have a gritty texture or may be ruined.
4. Once the foam starts to raise, remove the milk and let the milk cool until you can place the tip of your pinkie finger in the milk for ten seconds without getting burned. To speed up the cooling process, I like to put the pot of milk in a large bowl of ice water. If you do this, you will have to check it after 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes until it is ready. If you are using the old fashion method of incubation, it is important that the milk does not cool too much or the milk may stay liquid instead of turning into yogurt.
5. Once the milk is ready, remove the film off the top of the milk and beat it into the yogurt starter in the pitcher. Then pour about one cup of the warm milk into the pitcher and mix well with the yogurt starter. Pour the remaining warm milk into the pitcher and stir. Pour the yogurt into the incubation container(s) and set aside to incubate. If using a blanket, be sure that it is in a warm location where it will not be disturbed. If using a yogurt machine, follow the instructions for setting the incubator and then do not disturb it while it incubates. 
6. In the morning, remove the yogurt from the incubator or blanket and refrigerate.

Yogurt Flavoring:
Though yogurt can be made with flavoring in it, I prefer making flavorings separate so as to not be stuck with a whole batch of one flavor of yogurt.  Making plain yogurt is also best since it can be used as a starter for the next batch of yogurt.  Though flavoring yogurt can be as easy as adding honey, sugar or fresh fruit, it is also nice to make syrups.  Homemade fruit syrup can also be used as an ice cream topping, for making milk shakes, or to flavor cottage cheese.  Here is a recipe for homemade mango syrup

Making Greek Yogurt:

1. Whether you like to cook with Greek yogurt or just eat it plain or with honey, making Greek yogurt from your plain yogurt is quite simple.  Though there are methods to thicken plain yogurt by adding dry milk before incubation, this method changes the taste.  To make Greek yogurt, you can use any type of plain yogurt starter but I prefer using plain Greek yogurt for a starter.  If you use plain Greek yogurt as a starter, the resulting plain yogurt will still have to be strained to make it Greek yogurt, but the final product will taste closer to Greek yogurt.  
2. Once you've made plain yogurt, you will need a bowl and a plain (non-terrycloth) kitchen towel and a rubber band.  Place the kitchen towel in the bowl and pour one or two cups of plain yogurt onto the towel in the bowl.  Take note that the amount of Greek yogurt will be significantly less since the whey will drain out of the yogurt.  So if you have a recipe that calls for 2 cups of Greek yogurt, make sure you strain 3-4 cups of yogurt to assure you have enough Greek yogurt in the end.
3. Once the yogurt is in the bowl, bring the corners of the cloth together and secure them with a rubber band.  Be sure the bowl remains under the towel since it will begin to strain immediately.  Hang the rubber band on a cabinet knob or on the handle of an elevated microwave so the towel will hang over the bowl.  Let the yogurt strain for an hour or more.  Remove the yogurt from the towel and you will have a thick Greek yogurt.  If too much whey drains out of the yogurt, stir in some non-strained plain yogurt and stir until you get the right texture.  

What to do with Whey:
Since Whey is a very healthy protein, it can be reserved and used for making Ricotta cheese or used in place of water when making bread.  Using whey instead of water will result in a softer loaf.