Quick tips for making yogurt at home.
I’ve been making my own yogurt for nearly five years now. I began in October 2012 using a recipe posted by my friend Tammy on her blog. Since those first few times, I’ve come up with a method that’s quicker and easier.
I’m a multi-tasker. That means I really can’t tolerate standing at the stove to stir a pot of milk while it heats to a certain temperature. So I heat the milk without a stove: in the microwave.
I make a half gallon of yogurt at a time. I have an 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup — which I believe every serious cook should have — and I fill that with the milk. Then I pop it in the microwave, set the timer, and start it up.
Every microwave is different — I can’t stress that enough. I set mine for 14 minutes on high and when I pull the milk out, the temperature is right around 190°F. I didn’t come up with this time by happy accident. It was a lot of incremental zapping and temperature measuring that got me there. If you want to use this technique, you’ll have to do the same thing so you know the magic number for your microwave.
Unless you have a microwave-safe thermometer, do not leave the thermometer in the milk while it’s in the microwave. (But you knew that.)
Of course, the time will vary depending on the quantity of milk. That’s one reason I almost always do a half gallon at a time.
Once the milk has heated to the right temperature, I leave the measuring cup on the countertop, normally on a rack so air can circulate around it. I leave the thermometer in it so I can check the temperature periodically. I stir it once in a while when I remember to. Room temperature will determine how quickly the milk cools.
Heating milk in the microwave for yogurt-making is quick and easy.
When it gets to about 120°F, I whisk in about 2-3 tablespoons of unflavored yogurt. I don’t buy yogurt starter, although I do occasionally buy plain yogurt to use as starter. This ensures success, although using my own yogurt for a starter could work, too. (I honestly can’t understand why people will spend several dollars on starter for a batch of yogurt when existing yogurt works fine.) I usually mix up the yogurt with some of the milk before combining everything and whisking to ensure there’s no lumps.
I love my Instant Pot.
Once that’s done, I pour the milk into four pint-sized canning jars and cap them with plastic caps. I use pint jars because that’s what fits into my Instant Pot, which I use to finish processing the yogurt. If you don’t have an Instant Pot or other yogurt maker, you should consult Tammy’s recipe to see how she uses a regular picnic cooler. That’s the way I used to do it, with quart sized jars, and it works very well. Nowadays, it’s easier to just load it in the Instant Pot than to haul up a cooler, fill it with hot water, and have it sit around for 6-8 hours.
For timing, I’ve discovered that 6 hours is just right, at least in the Instant Pot. If I let it go longer, it gets a sort of slimy consistency that I really don’t like.
Once the yogurt is done, I usually put the jars in the fridge to chill them. That gives me yogurt ready for smoothies.
The Euro Cuisine Greek Yogurt Maker is another handy gadget for yogurt or cheese makers.
But if I want Greek yogurt, I go one step further and put it into a yogurt strainer. I love the one I have, the Euro Cuisine GY50, which I also use for making certain fresh cheeses. (It’s reusable so it’s a a lot cheaper and neater than dealing with cheesecloth. Mine’s plastic, but a stainless steel version is also available.) I can fit a quart of yogurt in it and let it drain in the fridge for as long as I like. The whey collects in the bowl at the bottom. After straining out the whey, you’re left with about half the amount of yogurt you started with. So a quart of regular yogurt yields about a pint of Greek yogurt.
Lately, I’ve been straining all the yogurt I make and saving some of the whey in the fridge. Then I can use the Greek yogurt in my smoothies but add back whey to thin out the mix without adding juice or milk. If I have a lot of whey I put the excess in my chickens’ water, supplementing their diet with calcium and protein to help them make stronger eggshells.
In the past, people have asked me when I add the flavor. What flavor? I like my yogurt plain. But if you want flavor, mix in some jam or preserve when you’re ready to eat it. I like mine with granola for a good crunch.
Those are my homemade yogurt tips. If you use any of them or have your own to share, please do use the comments to let us know.
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I enjoyed reading this, thanks for your time. I can feel you use love when cooking, which is amazing. Wishing you lots of great yogurt with a crunch!
Thanks very much!
I buy milk that has expired that day for 22 cents a gallon. I put a gallon in a ceramic soup terrine with a lid. 35 minutes in my small microwave brings it to 185F. When it reaches 120F I put in a pint of whey that I removed from a previous batch for a starter. I place the terrine on an old electric heating pad on high and cover the top with an old small pillow cushion case from the thrift store filled with 2 two pound bags of the cheapest broken grain rice I could find. The rice is still in the plastic bags inside the pillow. I sealed the pillow case with some high temperature silicone gasket glue I found laying around in my junk. The pillow goes in the microwave for 3 minutes on each side and it is then placed on top of the terrine and the whole thing is wrapped in a old beach towel. If it’s cold out I may have to reheat the pillow after 3 hours. I filter it through an old pillow case cut in half in a strainer. I have made as much as 3 gallons at a time as I can’t pass up 22 cents a gallon milk. I had the pad and terrine so all I needed was the pillow, which cost next to nothing. In the 1970s I made it in a cooler with a small light bulb inside to keep it warm. I have been using the same culture for over a year with 5 weeks at the most between uses. So far it is still good.
I didn’t realize you could use the whey as a starter. Do you store the whey in the fridge between batches? I strain out a bunch when I turn my regular yogurt into greek yogurt.
Thank you for this! It sounds a lot like what I used to do, only it’s been so long I forgot and I wanted to make yogurt again…had a vague sense that I eventually switched to the microwave but couldn’t remember how long I ‘zapped’ it for.
Our milk comes in plastic bags and each is 1/3 of a gallon, so that’s the amount that I’d make at a time. I think I microwaved it for 12 min maybe? At least I have a rough idea now :)
(And I put the whole pyrex measuring cup – mine has a lid – into the oven to incubate. Just have to remember not to preheat it while the yogurt is incubating!)
It seems to be mostly about temperatures. Bringing it up to just below boiling and then waiting until it gets down to about 130°F to add the yogurt cultures. Then keep warm for 6 hours. I make it in my Instant Pot now.
I’ve been heating milk in microwave,cooling to 118*
Wrap it in a towel and place it in an insulated bag over night. In the morning I put it in a strainer for a few hours…perfect thick Greek yogurt