Simple Yogurt Recipe
Smooth, creamy and thick – this yogurt is deliciously simple to make. With a little yogurt as a starter from the supermarket, you can make an endless amount of yogurt with fresh milk and a yogurt maker.
A healthy breakfast with probiotics is waiting for you every day!
This recipe yields about 600ml of yogurt.
What is Yogurt?
Yogurt, is essentially, fermented milk with good bacteria. Every yogurt (or yoghurt) product will contain the word “Lactobacillus”, which is a type of bacteria that coagulates the milk by producing lactic acid. This reduces the pH and makes it sour (or tangy, as I like to call it). Essentially, when making yogurt, we are technically growing more of that (good) bacteria in milk until it is saturated enough that they cannot grow anymore.
Usually, yogurt costs double the amount of milk with the same weight/ volume; but it is actually very simple to do at home.
The most important steps are:
- boiling the milk to kill all existing bacterias (about 90°C / 194°F),
- cooling the milk in the future yogurt container, and
- fermenting it with yogurt for a minimum of 8 hours (constant temperature between 40°C – 47°C/ 104°F – 116.6°F).
To make this process easier, I have a portable food-grade incubator and a food thermometer. The incubator helps keep the temperature range constant, while the thermometer helps check the ideal temperatures to kill the unwanted bacteria, and to ensure the boiled milk is cool enough for the good bacteria in the yogurt to activate.
Ingredients
- Fresh Milk
- Yogurt
- Strawberries, optional
- Honey, optional
Utensils
- Saucepan
- Food Thermometer
- Stirrer, or Spoons
- Yogurt Maker
Tips
- Milk is denser than water, so it tends to conduct heat poorly. When heating/ boiling milk, make sure to stir consistently, otherwise, it will burn at the bottom of the pan.
- The longer the milk is boiled over the stove, the more the lactose (naturally occurring sugar in the milk) will break down. This helps in forming a smoother yogurt later.
- Heating up the milk to 90°C / 194°F confirms that all bacteria in the milk have been destroyed. This ensures that only the good bacteria remain after mixing the yogurt with the milk.
- While the milk is still hot, I placed the food thermometer to note the temperature as it cools to the desired range.
- The good bacteria in the yogurt only become active between the temperatures of 40°C – 47°C (104°F – 116.6°F). If we add it in while the milk is still hot (above the range), the good bacteria will die.
- When the yogurt is saturated with it, the good bacteria will simply no longer grow. While it’s possible to continually allow fermentation up until 36 hours, I have not tried it, preferring to keep my yogurt fermentation period between 8 – 12 hours.
- Ensure to watch the video to see exactly how I made it!
- Nutrition facts do not include fruits and honey.
Storage Instructions
Leftover yogurt contains live culture, or bacteria, and it needs to be kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Make sure to use only clean and dry spoons to scoop the yogurt to prevent contamination.
This yogurt can be kept frozen in an air-tight container for about a month or so. Make sure to defrost it overnight in the fridge, as opposed to defrosting at room temperature (as this increases the risk of other bacteria growing).
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Simple Yogurt at Home
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Silicone Spatula
- Incubator
- Food Thermometer
Ingredients
- 650 ml milk
- 2 tbsp yogurt, store-bought, keep refridgerated
Instructions
- Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Pour all the milk into the saucepan.
- Continuously stir until the temperature of milk is 90°C / 194°F, or about 4-5 minutes of boiling the milk. When the milk starts to rise rapidly (about to overflow), remove the saucepan from the stove, and reduce the heat to medium-low. For thin yogurt, the saucepan can be removed from the stove after it has reached the temperature. For thick yogurt, continue boiling the milk, stirring constantly, for another 5 minutes.
- When the milk is done, remove the saucepan from the stove and switch off the heat.
- Pour the hot milk into the incubator's inner container, or its equivalent, and set it aside to cool for about 2 hours, or until the milk's temperature reaches the range of 40°C – 47°C (104°F – 116.6°F).
- Add the yogurt to the milk and stir until well combined. Set up the incubator as per manufacturer's instructions, for the milk to ferment in the range of 37°C – 47°C (98.6°F – 116.6°F) for 8 – 12 hours.
- Optionally, stir the yogurt after 1-2 hours to ensure that it's fermenting evenly with a clean and dry spoon.
- After fermenting, stir the yogurt with a clean and dry spoon. Give it a taste. It should smell fragrant and taste a little tart and creamy. Either transfer to a clean container, or place it in the fridge directly to enjoy over the week.
- Optionally, take some out to serve with fresh fruits, honey and crushed digestives.
Video
Notes
- Milk is denser than water, so it tends to conduct heat poorly. When heating/ boiling milk, make sure to stir consistently, otherwise, it will burn at the bottom of the pan.
- The longer the milk is boiled over the stove, the more the lactose (naturally occurring sugar in the milk) will break down. This helps in forming a smoother yogurt later.
- Heating up the milk to 90°C / 194°F confirms that all bacteria in the milk have been destroyed. This ensures that only the good bacteria remain after mixing the yogurt with the milk.
- While the milk is still hot, I placed the food thermometer to note the temperature as it cools to the desired range.
- The good bacteria in the yogurt only become active between the temperatures of 40°C – 47°C (104°F – 116.6°F). If we add the yogurt in while the milk is still hot (above the range), the good bacteria will die.
- Ensure to watch the video to see exactly how I made it!
- Nutrition facts do not include fruits and honey.