Homemade Yogurt

My schoolmate and I used to make yogurt all the time when we were in college, and did not have a lot of money. It tastes better than store-bought too! We placed 1 Tabl. of active yogurt into a glass 9 x 12 baking pan. We used whole milk, half & half was even better! Mix yogurt with 4 cups of milk. Place in lowest setting on oven, place on top shelf of oven, and leave over nightin closed oven. You should have yummy yogort by morning. Mix with your favorite fresh fruit. Sweeten with honey, sugar, or your favorite sweetner.

Cool! What I have found that works great for incubation is to seperate the milk/yogurt starter mixture into small mason jars, put the jars in a pot, and fill the pot with enough water to come up to where the milk/yogurt mixture is in the jars. Then put a candy thermometer in the water. Turn the burner on really low and get the water to between 110 and 120 degrees, and keep it there for 4-6 hours. Worked like a charm, and then you just put the lids on the jars and pop them in the fridge and you have individual servings all ready to go!

I tried using 4 cups of nonfat milk instead of the dry milk and water, and it turned out perfectly. I warmed up my oven a little, and then left the light on to keep it warm, left the mixture in there overnight, and put it in the fridge when it had solidified enough. I think since my oven was not that warm, I had to leave it in quite a bit longer, but it turned out really good, and was fun to make!

After some trial and error with the incubation period ( I do not have a gas oven) I found that wrapping the container in a hot pad on the lowest setting for about 8 hours produced PERFECT yogurt...rich and creamy. The kids love it too...what a time saver and a great way to use my over abundance of milk powder!

Yay! This was soooo easy and delicious. I made it in a large glass mixing bowl and put it in my electric oven overnight with just the light on. If it isn't thick enough in the morning I set the oven for 100 and leave it for a couple hours. Delicious! I was intimidated to try making yogurt and thought you had to have the yogurt machine. Now I will now be making it at least twice a week without the added nuisance of a machine taking up space. My son can eat 2-3 small containers a day (and he's only 6 1/2), and he loves this so it is going to save us a lot of money.***I just made this again and wanted to add that fresh yogurt is already sweet! Who Knew!

Agree with Corrine and Sherry. Milk is the way to go. Powdered milk gives it a funny taste. I use skim milk, but whole and half and half is great if you don't mind the calories. I've a recipe in my recipe box that gives some hints including how to make runny yogurt creamier... even how to make "yogurt cheese" All the best

As a college student in Southern Utah I would make the yogurt, put it out in the sun and by the end of the day it was perfect(as long as the sun remained out all day) You can also add jam, vanilla, or sugar.

This was ok. The flavor was good but not amazing. Make sure not to stir it or it will separate and be runny.

I think this a great start for venturing into the world of homemade yogurt. However, the steps described can lead to a great deal of variability. Also, you can use any kind of milk, and not restrict yourself to powdered (or use it all).

This yogurt was easy to make, but it tasted like the dry milk, which I didn't prefer. It works well when used in pancake or waffle recipes, but my husband and I didn't like it on its own or with granola.

It is recommended that you don’t use more than 5 generations of starter; as the live culture is no longer active. And after all isn’t that why we love yogurt, because it’s alive?!!!

Thanks for reminding me that this is possible. I first made yogurt from the Whole Earth Catalog in the 1960's when I had small children and no money. The powdered milk saves money, and, just as important, saves on fat content. Someone asked if you can thicken it. Yes, you can. Either add powdered milk to bottled milk of whatever kind you prefer, or use more powdered milk with water. Just make sure the powder is mixed in well. You can experiment to see which proportions give the result you prefer, but remember that more powder means more calories, so you may want to serve smaller portions. You can also experiment to see which yogurt culture you like best, whether it's Dannon or Fage or some other. This is easier and cheaper than buying powdered cultures from specialty stores. In my experience it's better to add the fruit after the yogurt has fermented. I also made my own granola from the Whole Earth Catalog. Those were the days! and now I'm retired, I'll do it again!

This is a recipe we had growing up. To help with the taste of the powdered milk, Mom often added 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. More can be added to adjust to your taste. Thanks for the memory!

A thermos flask works well, saves leaving it in the oven

This is a great, easy way to get a good amount of delicious yogurt. I used 2% milk because that is the kind of yogurt I like best (yes, LOVE): Fage 2%. Mmmmmm BUT!!! the Fage is Greek yogurt, which is creamier and has a higher percentage of calcium and protein, which I'd like to emulate. Does anyone know how to concentrate milk, that is, get the water out so it's more concentrated? That, I think, is what sets Greek yogurt apart: it's concentrated so it's creamier, etc. BTW, the recipe nutritional information indicates that there are 15 grams of fat per serving in this recipe! If anyone can figure out how you get 15 grams of fat from skim milk powder and water, maybe we can feed the world!!! Thanks, and thank you for the recipe!

I have been making homemade yogurt for years. I learned how to do it from my husband's mother who has been making it for about 40 years. This recipe makes a nice yogurt. But, like some of the other reviewers I don't like the taste of powdered milk and always use fresh milk with great results.

I made this exactly as recipe states. I used my electric oven overnight with the light on, and it turned out wonderful! Will definately use this recipe often.

My sister gave me a yogert machine with 1 packet of yogert mix. The mix is not in my budget. This recipe will work perfect. I love to put yogurt on my cereal instead of milk! So now I can have an endless supply of yogurt!

I found this easy but I seem to get a lot of liquid on top of the yogurt if I stir it in my yogurt is really runny. Otherwise it is really good and easy to make. I will try it with whole milk next time. I have been using the powdered milk. Thanks

I can't believe how easy it is to make homemade yogurt!! If everyone knew it was this easy, people would save money by making yogurt at home. I love plain yogurt so I follow the recipe as written and it is perfect just like that. I don't have to add anything although I do love to eat it with granola and fruit.

This was my first attempt and prompted because my local supermarket rarely has plain yoghurt and I don't like flavored. I tried this recipe using four cups of 2% milk and plain yoghurt. I scalded the milk first, then let it cool to 110F. I placed the mixture in a quart sized mason jar then set it in a slow cooker filled to the neck of the jar in warm water, covered it and left it all night (10 hours) without switching on the slow cooker. The yoghurt was thick, creamy and had a lovely piquant tang. I will try it next using the powdered milk, but so far, so very, very good.

This totally worked! Great inexpensive and environmentally sound way to make yogurt. We eat yogurt everyday and I was sooooo sick of all the empty yogurt containers. I set my jars inside my box dehydrator with the trays out and turned it on low right before I went to bed. Worked like a charm! Yogurt was done in the morning.

awesome! now I can get rid of the 2 yogurt machines I have taking up space. The machines take so long to make so little. With this recipe, I'm able to make grater quantities and adjust the add-ins to satisfy my yogurt loving family

Turned out fabulous!!! So easy and even added fruit before cooking. LOVE IT!!!!!

Can you use this recipe in a yogurt maker??

EASY!!! I put it in a large Zip Bag overnight in my "OFF" oven. I kept this going all summer.

I use 1% or 2% milk and add a little skim milk powder. To make "Greek" yogurt, strain the finished yogurt in a colander lined with J cloths or cheese cloths. Set a bowl under the colander to catch the whey. ( you can save the whey and use it in baking ) Let strain for 4 or 5 hours in the fridge, if it gets too thick you can add some of the whey back in. I flavour mine with lemon rind and lemon extract and sweeten with honey...so good...like a lemon pie! We will never go back to regular yogurt. Ash

I don't care for powdered milk, so I've been making this with 2% milk, which makes it thinner, but it works for me. If you use a higher ratio milk to yogurt, it thickens better, and I leave it in the gas oven with light on longer, as well. I added a banana and nutmeg, stuck it in the freezer for half an hour, and it's great for breakfast or dessert. Today I used it as a salad dressing. Love this recipe -- thank you!

This is a great way to make yogurt without all the chemicals found in most store brands(especially GMO corn starch) but it does take too long. I did a little experiment yesterday(2nd time making yogurt). I took two small glass jars with equal amounts of ingredients as the recipe calls for in each one, one covered and one open, put both in an uncovered pot with water higher than the ingredients in the jars, put on the electric burner the lowest setting possible to keep it around 110 degrees for 12 hours(still have to turn it on and off manually so it's not too hot). The yogurt without the lid ended up much thicker than the one with the lid but both are usable. I also used vanilla yogurt as my starter and seems to work fine. Why do recipes always say to use plain yogurt as a starter?

Really good, firm yogurt. You can use real milk if you wish. Yumm, so easy, I make all of our yogurt now!

Thinking of replacing the Powder milk with goat milk.

This is the best way i ever made yogurt, it's delicious

I used a thermos flask to incubate for 9hrs and it turned out wonderful. This was my first attempt at yogurt making and I am proud of the result. I also used yogurt starter because I don't trust the store yogurt available in my country. They could read live and active culture but cannot be trusted. Good end product.

So wonderful. Now, greek yogurt is the latest craze. What I do is start with liquid skim milk, and then add extra skim milk powder. It boots the protein content. I too put it in the oven overnight with the lignt on, after I have preheated to 150. The hardest part was finding a good fresh yogurt that did not have gelatin and other thickeners in it. This recipe itself was a snap. Thank you!

This is easy to make, which is good. After reading the reviews, I decided to use milk instead of the water and powder. It came out too runny and I didn't like the flavor as much as Dannon's.

Really Great Yogurt! Plus you get to decide how tangy your yogurt gets! Hubby Dearest said, "it's definitely yogurt!" One problem I had is that two of my jars refused to thicken! No biggy there - I simple drank my 2 jars of milk, since I'm a milkoholic! And it was rich, rich MILK! I did triple the ingredients. Will be making again and again!

Super easy to make. Took 2 minutes. BUT, the texture was wierdly slimey even after it had set up overnight in the fridge. Also had a strangely salty flavor. I'll definitely make it again, but about half the amount of dry milk, and twice the amount of yogurt starter. I'm using the rest of this in my Magic Bullet with frozen blueberries and other frozen fruits. THAT helps a lot.

I made this in Algeria where at the time (1980’s) there was no fresh yogurt culture. Used culture bacteria from my expat neighbor. Yes, it really works with powdered milk! For flavoring, I stirred in some frozen concentrated orange juice; then I saved some of that first batch so I could use that to start another yogurt. Originally got this receipe

I have a yogurt maker: Below is how I make my perfect yogurt: 1. Boil the whole milk 2. Add sugar to the milk 3. Pour the milk into the jars and wait till it's warm, around 115°F 4. Mix 1 table spoon of Greek yogurt with 1 table spoon of milk 5. Put above yogurt mix into each jar, just 1/2 - 1 tea spoon for each jar, mix it. 6. Place the jars in the yogurt maker, set 10 hours and push the red On button.

I have a yogurt maker: Below is how I make my perfect yogurt: 1. Boil the whole milk 2. Add sugar to the milk 3. Pour the milk into the jars and wait till it's warm, around 115°F 4. Mix 1 table spoon of Greek yogurt with 1 table spoon of milk 5. Put above yogurt mix into each jar, just 1/2 - 1 tea spoon for each jar, mix it. 6. Place the jars in the yogurt maker, set 10 hours and push the red On button.

Use real milk it's much better. The best way to use powdered milk is to add a few tablespoons to make yogurt thicker when you start the batch.

Someone asked how to take out some of the water and make it thicker, you pour it into cheese cloth and let the liquid "whey" leak off. you can also weight the bundle forcing out more whey. remove the firmer cheese and add berries and make a yogurt spread for bagels etc. Yum!

Worked perfectly! I used dry milk and I thought the taste was fine.