Homemade Yogurt

Graham's favorite breakfast and snack is yogurt. He could eat his way through a 32 oz. (2 Lb.) container in one day, if I let him. Needless to say, I've bought a lot of yogurt and have probably supplied close to a quarter of the used containers for our church's kitchen!

I've felt a little guilty, though ... I own a Yogourmet electric yogurt maker and haven't made use of it. I tried about a year ago, and the batch never did set up. I was discouraged and resolved not to try again until I had done more research on yogurt recipes. Well, I went and tried it again ... so much for research! The result?? This time it set up beautifully. Just like yogurt I'd purchase at the store. I'm not sure what went wrong the first time, but I'm definitely fired up to try this again.

The best part is that Graham loved the homemade yogurt. He likes cinnamon sugar sprinkled over top if the yogurt is plain, so I don't even add flavoring or fruit. Furthermore, I can use homemade yogurt as starter for the next batch (as long as it has active culture) and save money.


Homemade Yogurt
Yield: 32 oz.

1 quart 2% milk*
5g Yogourmet-Bifidus-Acidophilus-Probiotic-Starter

1. Pour 1 quart of milk into a pot. Heat for one or two minutes at 82 degrees C or until the milk comes to a boil.

2. Allow the milk to cool to between 44-45 degrees C. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pan in cold water. Then pour the cooled milk into the batch jar (inner container).

3. Add lukewarm water to the lower level marker (this is the level for 1 quart - it amounts to about 8oz. of water) inside your Yogourmet maker. Plug in the appliance and make sure the red light comes on.

4. Pour 1/2 package of starter into a cup and gradually add five or six tablespoons of the cooled milk. Once the starter is completely dissolved, emply into the cooled milk in the batch jar and stir. Be careful on this step, as it is essential to mix well to ensure the starter and milk are blended evenly.

5. Cover the batch jar with its lid, slip into the yogurt maker and place the cover on the yogurt maker. Incubate for about 4 hours or until the desired consistency is reached. I incubated the yogurt for 5 1/2 hours.

6. To stop the incubation process, take the batch jar out of the yogurt maker and refrigerate it for about 8 hours. The yogurt is then ready to serve. It will keep for approx. 3 weeks if kept cold, but it is best within the first week.

*Different types of milk can be used. Whole milk produces thicker yogurt. If using skim milk, you can add up to 1 cup of milk powder for a firmer, but yet still soft yogurt. I did an internet search and found a wide variety of recipes using different types of milk.

If you don't own a Yogourmet, a thermos can be used.