It was exciting and really worth it to make homemade yogurt. I started off making a smaller batch than the other recipes because I didn’t think I could eat that much yogurt.

Here’s my first jar of homemade yogurt. I’ve already finished half of it and it was delicious! It’s really creamy and not as tangy or thick as the store bought one.

The usual recipe calls for 8 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of starter yogurt. I used 4 cups of milk and 2 heaping tbs of plain yogurt. I got 2 mason jars of yogurt.

For a starter I used Nancy’s organic yogurt which has billions of live cultures of acidophilus and bifidum. But any plain yogurt will be just fine.

Directions:

Using a 2 quart crockpot (which is the smaller one) I measured out 4 cups of skim milk (1% fat milk). Let it cook in the crockpot for 2.5 hours at LOW setting.

Then unplug and let it sit there for 3 hours. After 3 hours, take out 2 cups of the warm milk and add in 2-3 tbs of plain yogurt. This plain yogurt is the starter that will provide the good bacteria.

Whisk the yogurt into the warm milk thoroughly then add the it to the crockpot. Stir well, close lid. Take a towel and wrap it around the crockpot for 8 hours. If you have a gas stove with a pilot light you can always stick the crockpot ceramic into the oven for the next 8 hours. The longer you keep it wrapped and warm, the more sour it gets.

After 8 hours just transfer the yogurt into a clean sterile jar and refrigerate. It should keep for 1-2 weeks.

I’ve heard that you don’t have to throw out a batch that didn’t turn out quite right. Just squeeze out the liquid and you’ll have ricotta cheese.

It makes a cooling dessert after a spicy meal. I like adding fruits such as ripe cantaloupes. I’ve also tried drizzling it with agave syrup. Yummy!

Mine wasn’t as thick, probably because I used skim milk. But it was still very good. Next up will be goat milk yogurt. I think that may be much thicker and creamier too.

Note: 4 cups = 1 quart