FERMENT: How to Make Homemade Yogurt (without a Yogurt Maker)

• Fresh Yogurt Ingredients
• What Equipment Do You Need?
• Step-by-Step Simple Homemade Yogurt
• How to Make Greek Yogurt
• How to Make Yogurt Cheese (Labneh)
• How to Store and Serve your Homemade Yogurt
• Related Links:

Have you ever wanted to make your own homemade yogurt, but assumed it was complicated or that you’d need a lot of special equipment? Do you want to make sure your yogurt is full of active, living probiotics? Or, maybe you never considered either of these things, but are trying to cut your grocery budget or be more frugal – making your own yogurt is a great way to save money on this basic staple food!

Per gallon (or quart, pint, whatever) buying milk is a lot less expensive than yogurt. Storebought yogurt is often four or more times more expensive, just for quarts of plain yogurt. If you want individual portions of flavored yogurt, or specialty yogurts like Greek yogurt, a lot more than that. You can save a TON of money by making your own!

Are you trying to reduce plastic waste in your kitchen? Ditch those wasteful single-serving cups (or tubes, pouches, or whatever) and make your own yogurt in eco-friendly reusable glass jars. No worries about plastic touching your food, and more importantly, sitting in a landfill forever (or worse, dissolving into microplastic in the ocean). You don’t even need mason jars- any clean glass jar with a tightly sealing lid will work for this method… it’s a great way to upcycle or reuse any jar that’s a good size with a wide enough opening to be convenient.

Fresh Yogurt Ingredients

Milk:

I always use whole milk when I am making homemade yogurt (well, for everything, really). While you can culture other milks, whole milk makes the richest and creamiest yogurt. If you don’t like whole milk, you can use 2%, but your yogurt will be less thick and rich.

For even thicker yogurt, you can add up to a quarter cup of powdered milk per quart to the warm milk before inoculating the yogurt. I usually add one or two tablespoons of dry milk per quart jar, and stir until it has dissolved, then add the yogurt culture. This will give you a denser yogurt more like Greek or strained yogurt, without the straining step. It’s optional though, so if you don’t have powdered milk, or don’t want to use it, no worries!

Yogurt Culture:

You’ll need a freeze-dried packet of commercial yogurt culture, or a tablespoon or two of healthy, live-cultured yogurt from a previous batch or good quality store bought yogurt. You can buy yogurt culture online, or from some grocery stores. I really like the sweet flavor of the Y5 culture (pictured below) from New England Cheesemaker’s Supply, but have used different brands and they all work just fine.

If you are using your own or store-bought yogurt, keeping a clean culture is critical if you want to continue getting good yogurt without buying new culture packets for each batch. Make sure you sterilize your jars before making the yogurt, and use clean tools.

I like to make several jars of yogurt per batch, and make a new batch when I’m down to the last jar. Take a sample with a sanitized spoon  (at least, freshly washed in hot soapy water) as soon as you open the jar, to reduce the risk of your yogurt culture getting contaminated. You should be able to keep your homemade yogurt culture going for a long time, if not indefinitely, this way.

If you ever wait too long to make a new batch and see any  mold, off-smells or tastes, or other signs of spoilage in the jar, discard your working culture and start again with a new packet of freeze-dried culture. They’re not terribly expensive, but it’s still less expensive to keep your own strain going if you can, especially if you eat or cook with yogurt regularly!

What Equipment Do You Need?

Pot:

Instead of a yogurt maker, I use a large stock pot filled with warm or hot water to keep the jars of yogurt at the proper temperature for the yogurt culture to grow and thicken the milk. You can also use a cooler half filled with warm water or a hot water bottle, which will keep the temperature even more stable. Or, use the yogurt setting on an instant pot, if you have one of those (we do, but I’ve never fussed with the yogurt setting, since my low-tech/no-tech way works just fine!). Whatever you use, fill the container to just below the rim of the jar lids.

I find that a large pot of 112 F water with a lid will stay warm enough for the yogurt to set up nicely. I usually don’t even measure the temperature, just check it by feel and use warm but not hot water. If it’s cold, I wrap the pot in a fluffy towel or two, and maybe top up with more hot water if it’s cooling too fast (we keep a cold house in winter… this isn’t necessary in summer or if your house is warmer). If you have a wood stove or radiators, put the pot of water near them (but not so close that it gets too hot).

Thermometer:

You need to scald the milk before cooling it and adding the yogurt culture. Yes, even if it’s already pasteurized! You can do this without a thermometer (by heating the milk but stopping it well before a boil, just as a few bubbles begin to appear around the edges of the pot).

However, it’s better to use a thermometer if you have one to scald the milk to the right temperature without burning it. Either a cheese, brewing, or candy thermometer will work, or a digital meat thermometer or even an infrared one. If you use an infrared thermometer, make sure to stir the milk while taking the reading so you aren’t just measuring the surface temperature.

More importantly, you want to make sure the milk has cooled enough to safely add the yogurt culture but is still warm enough for it to grow. If the milk is too hot when you add the culture, the live cultures will die or be damaged, and your yogurt will not set properly or at all.

Mason jars:

I like to use wide-mouth mason jars to make my yogurt. You can also use any other glass jars with tightly fitting lids though. I usually do quart jar batches, but you could also use smaller jars. I use quarts since they’re taller, so I can fill the water bath higher, and it will keep its temperature stable for as long as possible.

Sterilize the mason jars by boiling them. If your dishwasher has a sterilize setting, this is also an easy way to sanitize your jars, though probably not as efficient if you aren’t also canning to run that for just a few jars.

You can also use a commercial food-safe sanitizer (like Star-San or Iodaphor, or other homebrewing or food-service approved no-rinse sanitizer). I keep a spray bottle of pre-mixed Star-San in my kitchen (or homebrew space) for my fermentation projects, so often I’ll just spray down my clean jars, jar funnel, and spoons rather than boil them… it’s a lot faster! Remember, sanitizers need a clean surface to work though, so always start with freshly washed implements.

You can make yogurt without sterilizing your jars (but always at least wash them with hot, soapy water immediately before using), but they may not last as long in the fridge and have a higher risk of spoiling. If you are trying to maintain a perpetual yogurt culture so you don’t have to buy dried starter culture for every batch, you should always sterilize your jars and any other tools that will come into contact with the milk.

Butter Muslin:

If you want to make Greek yogurt, labneh, or other strained yogurt, you’ll want a butter muslin or at least several layers of fine cheesecloth. Unlike the cheesecloth, when you’re done, you can wash, boil, and hang the cloth to dry and reuse the muslin over and over again. I’ve been using the same one for years! Just make sure to rinse and squeeze it until the water runs clear immediately after using it. Ideally you’d then boil, drain, and hang it up right away, although if you’re pressed for time, you can rinse and hang it up, and boil it later (dry it again before storing it). If you leave it wet or unwashed and it molds, you’ll need to throw it out (or compost it).

Step-by-Step Simple Homemade Yogurt

step one:

Scald milk by heating it gently to 185 F in a large pot. Stir periodically so the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch and your milk will heat evenly.

step two:

Add powdered milk if you are using it, and stir until it dissolves. Let the milk cool to 112 F, then stir in the fresh or powdered yogurt culture to inoculate your batch of yogurt. Follow instructions on your brand of culture- most want you to sprinkle it over the top of the milk and let it rehydrate for a minute or two, then stir it in.

step three:

Using a sanitized (or freshly washed) canning funnel (if you have one), fill the sterilized glass jars with the freshly inoculated warm milk. You can also use a clean ladle or a regular funnel. Top the jars with clean lids and tighten them down.

step four:

Place in a warm water bath just up to the threads of the jars. I don’t submerge the jars in case any lids leak (you don’t want a jar full of watery yogurt!). Cover the pot or cooler, and keep it warm until the yogurt is set. Try not to move or disturb it while it is setting up. Incubate at 110 F for 6-12 hours or until the milk has thickened. I usually leave it overnight and refrigerate it in the morning. If it is very cold in the house, I’ll top up or change out some of the water before bedtime if it is cooling too fast. I also usually wrap the pot in some fluffy warm towels or a blanket to maintain a good temperature. This helps the cultures to grow and do their work.

How to Make Greek Yogurt

If you want even thicker Greek or Scandinavian-style* yogurt you’ll need to do one simple extra step. Hang it up to drain in a clean butter muslin for a few hours, or even overnight. It’s best to do this somewhere cool, or in the fridge in summer. *Skyr is actually a type of cheese made from skim milk, and thickened with rennet as well as being cultured and drained, but you can come close to the texture with an easier cheater version by draining your yogurt.

If you strain your yogurt, save the cultured whey that drains off! Hang it over a bowl or the sink to catch the whey. Don’t waste the whey unless you’re drowning in milk on a dairy farm or whatever… but if that’s the case, you probably already know what you’re doing, carry on.  It’s nutritious, and can be used in smoothies, soups, and baking, or to jump-start a vegetable or fruit lacto-fermentation project. It makes an awesome pizza crust if you substitute it for water in your favorite dough recipe. Or give it to your dog or chickens (mixed with dry food) for a treat!

How to Make Yogurt Cheese (Labneh)

Let your yogurt drain even longer and add a sprinkle of salt for labneh, or yogurt cheese, which has a longer shelf life with its lower water content and higher acidity. The lactic acid bacteria will keep producing that sharp tangy flavor as the yogurt drains if you’re draining it at room temperature. Plus, a lot of the milk sugars drain off in the whey and the tangy yogurt flavor is concentrated.

Mix in freshly snipped herbs, garlic, red pepper flakes, or black pepper, or form the cheese into a ball and roll it in the seasonings. This is a delicious appetizer or mezze plate served with olives, dolma, and roasted vegetables. Serve your yogurt cheese with pita bread, crackers, or use it as a bagel topping. It’s also great spread on sandwiches, or crumbled in green salads. Try substituting it for goat cheese on flatbreads, pizzas, and quiches. You can also shape it into balls and marinate it in olive oil in the fridge, like feta or mozzarella. So good!

How to Store and Serve your Homemade Yogurt

You should refrigerate your finished yogurt promptly after it is fully set. It will become more tangy the longer it stays in the water bath and can become unpleasantly sour or even separate if you leave it too long.

Make sure to use a clean spoon to portion out your yogurt. It should last for at least two weeks in the fridge, although it may last longer if unopened.

Use your homemade yogurt in any recipe where you’d use commercial yogurt. It makes great breakfast bowls, parfaits, or smoothies, mixed with fresh or preserved fruit and honey or maple syrup, and nuts or crunchy homemade granola. You can mix vanilla extract in to the cultured milk before you incubate it if you know you’ll only be using it for sweet applications. Otherwise, you should add your fruit, sweeteners, and other mix-ins after the yogurt is fully set. You can meal-prep these and make flavorful layered parfaits in wide-mouth jars or other containers. You’ll have grab-and-go snacks in the fridge whenever you need them!

You can also substitute plain yogurt for sour cream or creme fraiche, for a lighter and protein-rich variation. I like to substitute it for some or all of the mayonnaise in homemade salad dressings, or in your favorite potato salads, pasta salads, creamy coleslaw, dilled cucumber, and egg salad recipes for a lighter, tangier kick!  A dollop on a bowl of curry or chili, or stirred into a hot soup adds a tangy rich finish. Or try a cold fruit soup on a hot summer day… it’s basically a smoothie bowl and super refreshing.

Related Links:

• How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut

• How to Make Salted Lemon Pickles

• Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

• Golden Oats Steel-Cut Breakfast Porridge

• Blueberry Pumpkin Seed Nutty Homemade Granola