How Do I Make Yogurt At Home

Hello everyone, making yogurt at the comfort of my home has been something I wanted to do for a long time now but each time I try it either doesn't forms or goes totally sour, have seen a couple of videos on YouTube but they just talk too fast and some of the items they use are not available in my side of the world. I would love to learn how its made if I can get a detailed recipe.

 

If you can buy plain (unsweetened/unflavored ) yogurt that says it has active cultures, then you can use that as a yogurt starter. A couple heaping tablespoons in a quart of warm milk should be about right.
Then you need to incubate your culture in a warm spot overnight or longer. A regular yogurt maker will keep your yogurt at the right temperature until it cultures, and I have also read about making yogurt in a food dehydrator, as well as using the pilot light in a gas oven.
A simpler thing to do is to make kefir instead.
Kefir is not as thick as yogurt, it is more like a thick drink; but it has a lot more probiotics than yogurt, and it will culture at room temperature so you do not need any special equipment to make kefir.
You can find kefir grains for sale online (ebay and amazon), and you can also get the starter packets that are very easy to use, and handy if you are not making a lot of kefir all of the time. Once you have cultured the first batch, then you can use part of the batch as a starter for the next quart. This will work about 4-5 times, and then you need to use a new starter packet.

 

I usually boil the milk first for yogurt making unless it's the UHT stuff in the carton, add the active bio yogurt then add the milk once it's cooled to body temp. I use a 1 litre yogurt maker which takes 8-12 hours.....idiot proof. When it's finished make sure to stir it well and chill it in the refrigerator to help it set properly. I tend to eat it unsweetened with fruit. We also grow our own figs and keep bees for honey. They all work well together.

 

I remember my grandmother used to make at home. It requires sometimes just 1 drop of the lemon juice in cup of milk. And let it keep for 12 or so hours. And after that process starts for the yogurt. Also some people make use of existing yogurt for say 1 tbsp. And that helps manage the yogurt formation. I have yet to try it.