I am so glad I discovered the trick to making great yogurt at home!!  I find summer heat can upset my digestion and a cool bowl of home-made yogurt with fresh fruit or agave sweetener, or a smoothie made with yogurt, fresh fruit and avocado really hit the spot.  If you have not tried my recipe, you are missing out.  Commercially made yogurt is expense and creates individual packaging that needs to be disposed of.

Make Yogurt at Home

Heat one-half gallon of milk to 180 degrees over medium heat.  It makes no difference between skim, 2% or whole milk; choose what fits your nutritional needs.  Cool to 110-115 degrees and add cultured starter.  Starter can be purchased online through cheese making suppliers like Hoegger Goat Supply, but a trip to the grocery store will get you a plain yogurt cup of your style.  I love the creaminess of Greek yogurt, but any plain culture works (no flavoring or fruit please) .  You need only 3 Tblsp of starter for a half-gallon batch but adding a little more won’t hurt anything.

Mix the starter into the milk until dissolved completely then either pour into a yogurt maker or pour into 5 pint mason jars that have been washed in the dishwasher or boiled to sterilize jars.  Warm oven to 200 degrees F  and place the jars on a tray in the oven.  Turn off heat and do not disturb for 6-8 hours.  Overnight works great at my house and doesn’t interfere with baking needs.  After the yogurt has set up, cover with lid and refrigerate.

Yogurt Uses

Yogurt is great for smoothies, fresh with fruit or granola, frozen into ice cream, substituted for sour cream in any recipe, and can also be drained in cheese cloth to make a cream cheese type spread.  Yogurt also makes a great facial mask for gentle cleaning!

Why don’t you give it a try and let me know your favorite use/ recipe for yogurt!