From Scratch to Scrumptious

Easily make healthy homemade yogurt with the help of a slow cooker and a beach towel!

Did you know that you can make yogurt at home? All you need is milk and some plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt at the store has “active, live cultures”, which will turn your milk into delicious homemade yogurt!

After your first batch, simply save some of your plain homemade yogurt to act as the “starter” for your next batch!

I love having yogurt for a snack because it’s high in protein and calcium. Even better, when you make it yourself, you control how much sugar is in it!

Homemade Yogurt Ingredients

Milk: I recommend 2%. You can make yogurt with any type of milk: whole, 2% or fat free. Store-bought yogurt is generally made with 2% milk.

Store-bought yogurt for babies is made with whole milk. I tried it at home once and there is a clear difference between yogurt made with whole milk vs 2%.

Yogurt starter: I recommend using plain Greek yogurt because it is made only with milk and cultures (or “cultured milk”).

See below for a discussion of Greek yogurt alternatives.

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

The steps for making yogurt (in a nutshell) are:

1. Heat the milk. (20 min)
2. Let the milk cool. (10 min)
3. Culture the milk. (1 min)
4. Let the cultures grow. (6-10 hours)
5. Stop the cultures from growing any more. (6-10 hours or overnight)
6. Strain out the whey to thicken the yogurt. (5 hours)

Let’s dive into those steps more deeply!

Recipe Prep

Remove the yogurt starter from the fridge to allow it to warm up a bit. Turn your slow cooker to the “low” setting to warm up. Get your beach towel ready!

Heat the Milk

Why we do it: The milk needs to be heated to kill off any bacteria that may contaminate it. Heating also changes the milk proteins, making the yogurt thicker with a better final texture.

Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a pot big enough to hold a half-gallon of milk. On the stovetop over medium heat, warm the milk to a temperature of 185°F. Stir occasionally.

When the temperature reaches about 150°F, you’ll want to stir more frequently. This is the time when the milk can scorch on the bottom of the pot. It won’t ruin your batch of yogurt, but it’s a pain to clean!

This step takes about 20 minutes.

Let the Milk Cool

Why we do it: The milk needs to cool down enough to be safe for yogurt cultures to grow. These “cultures” are good bacteria that change milk into yogurt.

Fill your sink with cold water. Maybe throw some ice in there for good measure. Cover your pot and place it in the cold water. Let the milk cool to 90-110°F. This is a temperature that bacteria (cultures) are able to grow.

If your water gets too warm, drain the sink and add fresh cold water.

This step takes me about 10 minutes.

Culture the Milk

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt starter with 1 cup of hot milk. Pour this and the remaining milk into the slow cooker. Give it a stir.

Turn off the slow cooker and unplug it. Wrap a beach towel around the sides and top of the slow cooker to help it retain heat.

Let the Cultures Grow

Let your milk sit for 6-10 hours. A longer “incubation” time will result in a thicker, tangier yogurt. A shorter “incubation” time will result in a slightly thinner, more mild flavor.

I usually incubate mine for about 7-8 hours.

Stop the Cultures from Growing More

Unwrap the slow cooker and remove the inner liner. Carefully place it in the fridge. Try not to jiggle it, and definitely do NOT stir it. That would disrupt the culturing process.

I usually leave my yogurt in the fridge overnight. If I’m in a rush, I’ll cut it short to 6 hours, just long enough for my slow cooker liner to feel cold.

Strain the Whey

While you can eat your yogurt just as it is, I recommend straining it a bit so it’s not thin or watery. Plus, you get about 3 cups of amazing whey! Watch for my post next week for what to do with this liquid gold!

Once your yogurt is completely cooled, wrap it up in cheesecloth, tie off the top and “suspend” it.

For a fun way to tie the top of the yogurt, check out this video about the Highwayman Hitch Knot.

I’m not sure how most people “suspend” wrapped up yogurt, but I find that the easiest way is to put it in a colander that can sit over a large bowl or pot. No hanging required.

Here’s my yogurt all wrapped up and nestled in my red colander. My bowl isn’t terribly big, so I have to empty the whey a few times before it’s all strained out.

Below is what my yogurt looks like after straining.

Then, I stir it up or use an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth.

How to Flavor Homemade Yogurt

My favorite ways to flavor homemade yogurt are to add:

• fruit jam (I love strawberry, blueberry and peach!)
• mashed or chopped bananas
• apple butter
• vanilla and sweetener (see below)
• chopped up Oreos (especially in vanilla-flavored yogurt)

How to Sweeten Homemade Yogurt

I recommend flavoring the yogurt first (since many of the flavoring options contain sweeteners) and then sweeten to taste.

I like to add simple syrup (or a 2:1 syrup) because the sugar is dissolved and won’t feel grainy in your yogurt. Of course, you could use regular sugar or honey.

To make a simple syrup: heat equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool before adding it to yogurt.

To make a 2:1 syrup: combine twice as much sugar as water (ie: 2/3 cup sugar dissolved in 1/3 cup water) and heat until sugar is completely dissolved.

Can I Make Yogurt Using a Different Starter?

Technically, any yogurt with “live, active cultures” can be used as a starter for your yogurt, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Read on to learn the pros and cons.

Regular Yogurt Starter

Yes, you can make yogurt from regular yogurt. I’ve done this many times with great success.

Try to find one made with only milk and cultures (or cultured milk. Same thing).

Some plain yogurt is made with thickeners such as pectin, cornstarch, etc. While this won’t hurt your yogurt, it’s not necessary.

Flavored Yogurt Starter

Yes, kind of: If you only have flavored yogurts, you may be able to make yogurt with them.

Yogurt with bits of fruit: Use extreme caution. Here’s why: if your starter has bits of fruit, your final yogurt will have bits of fruit that could go bad before your yogurt. If you decide to try it anyway, I would not save a starter from this batch of yogurt. Also, your final product will taste fruity.

“Fruit-flavored” yogurt: Yes, mostly. If, on the other hand, your yogurt is only “fruit-flavored” and does not have bits of fruit, I would guess it’s going to be ok. Once again, your final product will taste fruity.

Vanilla flavored: Yes, mostly. This is another case of excessive, unnecessary ingredients. You can use vanilla-flavored yogurt to make a batch of yogurt, but your final product will have a faint vanilla flavor.

I have done this in a pinch, and I’ll do it again. I don’t mind the vanilla flavor.

Happy Culturing!