Here is a recipe given to us for homemade Yogurt - Thanks, Aunt Judy!
3 litres of homo milk - Harmony Organic works very well!
375 ml Hewitt’s cream – optional (other brands contain loads of additives)
¾ cup plain Hewitts yogurt with active cultures
(If you want to make a smaller batch the culture to milk ratio is 2 to 4 Tablespoons of yogurt with active culture for every 4 cups of milk)
It is really handy to have a meat thermometer that shows temperatures between 70 F and 200 F. This way you can make sure that your incubating temperature doesn’t get too high or too low.
You will need:
a large stainless steel pot or preferably a large glass stovetop safe pot.
Large glass bowl for incubating
Glass or plastic containers for storing yogurt in the fridge
Constantly stirring, bring the milk to a boil or almost to a boil is close enough as long as you get the temperature over 115 F (if using raw unpasteurized milk you have to bring it to a boil).
If you boiled the milk in a stainless steel pot pour the contents into a glass bowl large enough to hold all the milk otherwise the milk and the steel react with each other.
Don’t incubate in metal or plastic.
Let the milk cool back down to between 95 F and 115 F. This is important. ( Too hot and it kills the bacterial culture; too cold and it will incubate as sour milk.)
I cover the bowl while the milk cools and stir it when I am checking the temperature with the thermometer. This can take a couple of hours if you brought the milk close to a boil. When the milk has cooled down enough add the plain yogurt and stir it in. I incubate mine in the oven with the oven light on. Sometimes I turn the oven on just for a few minutes to kick start the rise in temperature.
Check every half hour or 45 minutes to make sure it is not getting too hot or cold.
I use the meat thermometer to check the oven temp. It is more accurate than the oven reading and most ovens don’t register temperature below 170 F. If the temperature does look like it is starting get too hot just open the oven and let some of the heat escape.
About 3 hours later check if the yogurt is set by tilting the container.
If for some reason your batch of yogurt fails to incubate you probably made a mistake with temperature (too hot or cold). Don’t throw the milk out! Just reheat it back to the 95 F to 115 F and add the yogurt culture again. As long as you are careful about the temperature you will always have yogurt.
There are other ways to incubate the milk… in a box with a light bulb, using a heating pad, gas oven with a pilot light, a crock pot, or maybe even sunlight. The most important thing is to keep the temperature in the correct range.
3 litres of homo milk - Harmony Organic works very well!
375 ml Hewitt’s cream – optional (other brands contain loads of additives)
¾ cup plain Hewitts yogurt with active cultures
(If you want to make a smaller batch the culture to milk ratio is 2 to 4 Tablespoons of yogurt with active culture for every 4 cups of milk)
It is really handy to have a meat thermometer that shows temperatures between 70 F and 200 F. This way you can make sure that your incubating temperature doesn’t get too high or too low.
You will need:
a large stainless steel pot or preferably a large glass stovetop safe pot.
Large glass bowl for incubating
Glass or plastic containers for storing yogurt in the fridge
Constantly stirring, bring the milk to a boil or almost to a boil is close enough as long as you get the temperature over 115 F (if using raw unpasteurized milk you have to bring it to a boil).
If you boiled the milk in a stainless steel pot pour the contents into a glass bowl large enough to hold all the milk otherwise the milk and the steel react with each other.
Don’t incubate in metal or plastic.
Let the milk cool back down to between 95 F and 115 F. This is important. ( Too hot and it kills the bacterial culture; too cold and it will incubate as sour milk.)
I cover the bowl while the milk cools and stir it when I am checking the temperature with the thermometer. This can take a couple of hours if you brought the milk close to a boil. When the milk has cooled down enough add the plain yogurt and stir it in. I incubate mine in the oven with the oven light on. Sometimes I turn the oven on just for a few minutes to kick start the rise in temperature.
Check every half hour or 45 minutes to make sure it is not getting too hot or cold.
I use the meat thermometer to check the oven temp. It is more accurate than the oven reading and most ovens don’t register temperature below 170 F. If the temperature does look like it is starting get too hot just open the oven and let some of the heat escape.
About 3 hours later check if the yogurt is set by tilting the container.
If for some reason your batch of yogurt fails to incubate you probably made a mistake with temperature (too hot or cold). Don’t throw the milk out! Just reheat it back to the 95 F to 115 F and add the yogurt culture again. As long as you are careful about the temperature you will always have yogurt.
There are other ways to incubate the milk… in a box with a light bulb, using a heating pad, gas oven with a pilot light, a crock pot, or maybe even sunlight. The most important thing is to keep the temperature in the correct range.
