Homemade Yogurt With just two ingredients and five minutes of hands-on time, you can have creamy yogurt, made just the way you like it. Yogurt Vocabulary Live or Active Cultures: These are good bacteria that turn milk into yogurt and give it its texture and tangy flavor. You’ll need live cultures, or yogurt starter, for the first batch. Any plain, unflavored store-bought yogurt with live yogurt cultures will do. After that, you can use your homemade yogurt as the starter. Science! Culturing: This is the amount of time it takes for milk and starter to turn into yogurt, anywhere from 8–24 hours. The longer it cooks, the tangier it gets. At 16 hours or longer, the tanginess will be similar to store-bought yogurt. When adding sugar before culturing, we recommend culturing no longer than 16 hours. Milk Protein Skin: As milk heats up, a skin can form on the surface, so stir regularly. There’s nothing wrong with the skin other than it leaves hard bits in the otherwise smooth yogurt. Just skim off when done cooking.
Need to Know Before Culturing
• When adding the starter, the milk must be 105–115°F (41–46°C). If it’s too hot it won’t properly culture (like yeast when making bread). • Before adding the yogurt starter to the milk, whisk a small amount of the heated milk into the starter in a separate bowl. This way, the starter will be smooth and evenly distribute.
Thick Yogurt
• Place a strainer such as a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, coffee filters, or high-quality paper towels over a large bowl to catch liquid. Then add the yogurt, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until desired consistency, about six hours for Greek-style yogurt. • The liquid that drains off after straining (whey) can be used in protein drinks, smoothies, soup, marinades, as a starter to make more yogurt, or as a substitute for buttermilk.
Storing
• Gently spoon into individual portions or storage containers without stirring. • You might notice some separation. This is normal, especially with longer culturing. • Will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Next Batches
• You can use yogurt starter from your homemade yogurt for up to a week. • If your yogurt is not culturing as quickly as earlier batches, the starter may be too weak. Use store-bought yogurt in your next batch.
