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You are here: Home / Recipes / How to Make Yogurt from Scratch

How to Make Yogurt from Scratch

February 11, 2014 By Jenn @ Frugal Upstate 6 Comments

I am so proud–I finally made yogurt from scratch!  I’ve been meaning to try this for a couple of years, but finding a “Thriftee-Yogurt Maker” circa 1974 or so at the Salvation Army last week ($4.99!) finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed!

How to make Yogurt at home

The basic process of making yogurt is this.  You take milk.  You heat it up to just below boiling to kill off any naturally occurring bacteria, then you cool it down to lukewarm and add a little bit of the “good” yogurt bacteria.  You keep it at the right temperature (about 110) long enough for the good bacteria to multiply and take over your milk.  Then you have yogurt.

Now on to exactly how I made it!  I used the recipe that came with my yogurt maker.  I took 5 cups of whole milk, added 1/3 cup of dry milk (which was recommended for a thicker final product) and then put it on medium high heat on my stove, stirring occasionally, until wisps of steam started coming off the milk  (to be specific it should reach 190-200 degrees).

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I let the milk cool down to what my old cookbooks would call “blood warm”–a drop on my wrist felt like it was the same temp as my skin-not warm, not cold.  Meanwhile I had plugged in the base of my yogurt maker to warm up.  I tucked a meat thermometer into one of the cells so I could make sure the vintage yet new to me maker actually worked and heated up!

For my starter culture I used a container of Chobani plain yogurt.  Any unflavored yogurt that says “live cultures” on it somewhere will work as a yogurt starter culture.  Again following the directions that came with my yogurt maker I put 2/3 of a TBS of yogurt in each cup.  Well, since I don’t have a 2/3 TBS measure I just used a heaping 1/2 TBS.

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Then I poured the milk in and gently stirred the yogurt in.  Note: all of the tutorials I’ve seen always say to not stir or move the yogurt while it’s culturing after that initial mixing.

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My kitchen is always cold in the winter–and it’s been super cold here lately–so according to my thermometer the yogurt wasn’t getting up above 90.  110 was the target goal for culturing yogurt so I covered the whole shebang with several towels.  After that it quickly increased to the 110 range.

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The directions said 5-10 hours for the yogurt to culture and set.  I was heading up to bed at about the 7 hour range, so I checked at that point.  The yogurt seemed thick, so I unplugged the unit, removed the yogurt and moved it to the fridge.  (again–the directions stated to refrigerate for at least 3 hours)

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This morning I had nice, thick yogurt that was very mild–just a bit tangy.  I enjoyed it and the kids LOVED it.  They’ve already gone through half of it, mixed with some of my homemade jams.

This was super simple, and I’ll be making it again soon.  If you don’t have a yogurt maker, you don’t have to run out and buy one (although there are ones available brand new for about $25 and much nicer looking than my 70’s model).  They key is the temperature.   You need 11o degrees for 5-10 hours.  You can do this in a dehydrator with a thermostat (like my Excalibur which can be set to specific temperatures), in a plastic picnic cooler (set your jars inside and pour boiling water around them then close the lid), in an oven with a pilot light, in a regular oven preheated, turned off, and wrapped in towels or even on an old fashioned heating pad.

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Comments

  1. Chris says

    February 12, 2014 at 8:38 am

    Hi,You can also heat the milk to 110C add the culture and place itin a vacuum flask overnight. This works well but is easier if the flask has a wide neck

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      February 12, 2014 at 8:53 am

      That’s another great idea Chris! We have small wide mouth thermoses we use for the kids lunch that would be great for small amounts.

      Reply
  2. Christine Morrison says

    February 22, 2014 at 3:26 pm

    Hi Jenn –
    Great tutorial! Have you had a chance to run a cost comparison? You started with a cup (ish) of yogurt and 5c of milk. Did you get 6c of yogurt?
    Thanks!
    Christine

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      February 28, 2014 at 9:33 am

      Christine–You don’t lose any volume-so whatever the liquid amount you pour in (milk and starter as you noted) solidifies into yogurt. I added the powdered milk in for a firmer, higher protein result, so that adds into the cost a bit as well. I didn’t do a cost comparison but I should 🙂 Considering a large container of yogurt costs about the same or more than a gallon of milk at about half the size, I imagine I come out ahead no matter how you slice it–it’s just how MUCH ahead and is it worth your time? I like that I can make full fat yogurt if I like (which is nearly impossible to find in a store), can make more whenever I want and know it doesn’t have any additives in it.

      Reply
  3. Laurine says

    December 12, 2020 at 10:39 pm

    Hi, thanks so much for the instructions. I just bought the very same machine from a thrift store but it came with no lids and no instructions. Any chance you can share the instructions book? Thanks heaps

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      April 29, 2022 at 3:33 pm

      I’m so sorry, I don’t have any idea where the booklet got to since writing this post!

      Reply

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About Frugal Upstate

About Frugal Upstate

I’m Jenn –an Upstate NY wife, mom, blogger and veteran. I talk very fast, read constantly, take on too much and make plenty of mistakes. I’m a real person, not perfection. I love to talk about the frugal lifestyle, “Village Homesteading”, living a more sustainable lifestyle and being prepared for all the curves life throws at you.

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