How To Make Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is one of the best foods ever invented by humans. Like pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and tempeh, yogurt is super healthy for being one of the best sources for probiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are beneficial to the human body—they give you a healthy digestive tract, strong immune system and much more! This is the very reason why health-conscious individuals always have yogurt in their grocery list every week, at least.

You can easily avail yourself of a cup of yogurt from a nearby store, like most people do.   But you may opt for homemade ones rather than store-bought. And this second option is highly recommended. Why?

Is homemade better than store-bought?

There is no denying that yogurt is super healthy. But as companies move forward, they tend to make sure the consumers have the undying support to their brand. They may make some tweaks to their formulations to appeal to a larger audience. Like for example, some yogurt brands may have more amount of sugar added to adjust the sweetness. Naturally occurring sugar like lactose in milk is okay. But added sugar during processing to adjust the flavor might just be bad for some, especially those at risk of developing diabetes or even cancer.

Artificial coloring is also an issue with commercial yogurt.  Plain yogurt can be boring. So manufacturers add artificial color to better the appearance. But that is just all, nothing else.

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It would be better if they use natural colors, but artificial ones just make food more vibrant. As much as possible, you must avoid using artificial coloring as they generally are unhealthy—they usually cause allergies.

Ideally, yogurt should only consist of milk and active live culture and they are what you’ll only need to make homemade yogurt.

How to make homemade yogurt

What you need:

• 1 liter of whole milk
• About 45 ml Plain yogurt
• 1 liter canning jar
• Saucepan

Choosing live active culture

Hold on, if you’re using whole milk, it’s better to use raw milk. Old whole milk bought from the store may have a high bacteria count, which may affect the yogurt culture entirely.

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There are many brands of yogurt that do not do good in making homemade yogurt. Some do not truly have an active culture. Read the labels if the yogurt you’re getting indicates that it has an active culture. Another thing to take note of is to never pick sweetened or flavored yogurt. There is not much live culture in it to start with.

Process:

• Pour in milk in a saucepan
• Bring to 180°F (82°C) while stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
• Remove saucepan from heat and let it cool to 115°F (46°C)
• Once temperature is reached, put 3 tablespoons or 45 ml of yogurt in the jar
• Slowly put milk into the jar while stirring to blend the yogurt and the milk
• Make sure to wipe the jar rim
• Cover with lid and apply band
• Incubate the jar for 8 hours at 100°F to 113°F (37°C to 45°C)
• Check if the yogurt is already firm. If not, incubate it for another hour
• When the yogurt has already set, chill it for at least 6 hours before serving.

Remember that during incubation, the yogurt needs a warm place (around 100°F to 113°F). Since yogurt is temperature-sensitive, a steady temperature must always be observed. Have a thermometer to ensure the incubation temperature is maintained all throughout. If the temperature is cooler than this, incubation may take longer (up to 12 hours). You can place your jar in an oven if it can maintain the temperature required.

You can store the yogurt in the fridge for 3 weeks.