Or as we would say: How to Make Yoghurt at Home. This is a really simple Homemade Yoghurt Recipe.
To make yoghurt or yogurt at home you need no fancy equipment or machines. To make great yoghurt you certainly do not need an expensive yoghurt maker. You can make your own healthy natural yoghurt just as it has always been made – cheaply and naturally.
Making Yoghurt at Home – Simply
The ‘Starter’
The starter is simply a small batch of yoghurt which will supply your milk with all the right yeasts and bacterias to get it to turn itself into more yoghurt for you. Your first yoghurt ‘starter’ should be a pot of bought natural yoghurt. In future you can use your own yoghurt as a ‘starter’ for making more.
When you are making yogurt at home you can of course buy a Yogurt Starter Pack
And, if you’re going down that route maybe you want a Electronic Yogurt Maker
You can make as much or little as you like based on this ratio – 1 tablespoon of starter for 500 ml of milk.
- Boil the milk then leave to cool.
- Meanwhile stir your starter until it gets quite liquidy.
- Once the milk has cooled to the correct temperature remove the skin which has formed.
- Add 2 tbsp of the warm milk to the starter and stir well.
- Now add all your starter/milk combo to the pan of warm milk.
- Stir to combine then turn the mixture out into a container and cover with a lid.
- Wrap the container in a blanket or towel and put somewhere warm and draught-free for 8 hours.
- You should have a container full of yoghurt which can now be kept in the refridgerator to prevent it from becoming too sour.
Guaging the Correct Temperature of the Milk
If you have a thermometer the milk should be at 45ºC (113ºF). If, like me you don’t have a thermometer you can guage the correct temperature like so:
- Carefully put your little finger into the milk.
- If you can hold your finger there long enough to count to 10 the temperature is correct and your milk is ready to turn into yoghurt.
I haven’t been making yoghurt at home for very long. I always thought you needed a yoghurt making machine and fancy thermometers. Plus, out here fresh milk is a rarity and I did not know that UHT (long life) milk would work in the yoghurt making process.
Thankfully I can report that making yoghurt at home is easy. You need no equipment other than a saucepan and a bowl. Yoghurt made with UHT milk is perfectly fine.
For more information on yogurt making at home, and using the finished product check out The Book Of Yogurt. And, if you really are not convinced about maintaining temperatures and timing yourself try a Yogurt Maker Machine to help you out!
They are actually pretty good Kitchen Gift ideas, for those who enjoy healthy eating but prefer gadgets to homemade yogurt paraphernalia such as hot water bottles and cooler boxes.
Thank goodness – no more store bought natural yoghurt for me. Have a go, you may be as surprised as I as to how easy making natural yoghurt at home really is!
For a more self sufficient future
Wow! Am going to give it a go – wouldn’t have thougth it to be quite so easy! Thanks for the info! 🙂
Hey Sootie, it wa even easier for me…..I just have to eat it! Lovely though.
Yay! Another homemade yogurt afficionado! I purchased a yogurt maker because it has a timer and I like the cute little glass jars. It’s admittedly a gadget and not required for yogurt-making. Homemade yogurt is delicious, and so much healthier and more economical than storebought yogurt — all for the price of a jug of milk. And I can have fun with creating whatever flavors I like. Having control over exactly what’s in my yogurt appeals to me — just take a look at the labels on storebought yogurt and you’ll see what I mean. 🙂
Victoria’s last blog post..The Horse: AAEP 2003: Foal Care From Birth to 30 Days
Victoria, I was amazed, the first time I made it, just how simple it is to make yoghurt at home. I have it for brekkie most days and its miles better than the chemical packed store bought stuff! With homemade cherry preserve it really is divine!
This will save bunches of money. So glad I found your site! thanks for all your helpful ideas!
Hi Tricia, glad to have you here!
My yogurt ALWAYS comes out runny!! HOW do you get it to come out so thick! Please please!! it is so frustrating, coming up with this runny yogurt every time. I use 2 TBS of yogurt to 1 quart of raw milk. I heat, let cool, add the starter gradually the way you do, and place in an off oven with my tea kettle to create a warm moist area for 8 -10 hours. What am I doing wrong why I’m not getting a thick yogurt?
Hi Nichole, Maybe the milk is getting too cool before you add the starter. I’ve started putting mine in a cooler bag to stay warm for 8 hours – with a hot water bottle if the weather’s cool.
Other than that, I’m lost. I get the odd runny batch but normally the homemade yogurt is thick. I can never tell that I’ve done anything different! Older yogurt as a starter – the kind you wouldn’t want to eat – does seem to make the creamiest homemade yoghurt though.
thanks for the recipe, but at what point do you add sugar to the youghurt?
Peninah – I don’t bother adding sugar to my homemade yogurt, but if you wanted to sweeten it I guess the best time would be when it is set and you are putting it into the fridge to store – or just before serving.
mmm… homemade yogurt… mine comes out fine if I use a bought yogurt as a starter but runny if I use a homemade yogurt. I’ll persevere and see if a runny starter can make a creamier yogurt. (?)
I love the small glass pots as well so I’ve simply bought replacement jars! No machine, just lovely jars with plastic lids. perfect!
Hi Julie, mine seems creamier if the homemade yogurt is a little less fresh than I would like to eat!
Thanks, I thought the only way to get yogurt was to buy. I’m trying this today.
Mine came out really runny too. I used a starter that is a runnier yogurt (Organic Bulgarian Yogurt by White Mountain), a little on the unfresh side. I followed all the directions, and it came out the same consistency of the milk. Not one bit creamier =(
Any ideas?
Hi Destiny,
I am no expert but it sounds like the starter may have been dead, or the mix didn’t get to the right temperature.
Hi, I’m so interested to try to make my own homemade yogurt. But my question is what if the place where I will keep the yogurt is not warm anymore for a long hours? waiting for your respond. Thank you.
Akeille you’ll need to find some way of keeping the yogurt warm. Try wrapping in a blanket and putting in an insulated cooler box.
hi
i have bo place for boiling the milk (i live in thailand, so it is warm here the whole time) can I make yoghurt without heating the milk before?
Sabine, I’m no expert but I don’t think you will end up with gone off milk rather than yogurt if you don’t heat it before.