Yogurt: Make Your Own At Home and Save

Its easy to make large batches of yogurt at home by using simple starter cultures from your favorite yogurts purchased at your local grocery store. You can even find specific yogurt and kefir starter cultures online by doing a google search.
I prefer to use organic milk and look on the back of your yogurts for the best variety of bacteria species.  I like using a combination of Fage Greek plain yogurt and Stoneyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt. Make sure you get yogurt without sugar and/or flavorings.  You can add those once the yogurt has cultured. Once you make your own yogurt you'll have the starter for the next batch!

This is a great learning project to tackle with kids too.  If you've recently had an infection and taken antibiotics this is a great way to restore healthy probiotics (bacteria) to your digestive tract.  Here's the recipe.  Enjoy!

1 Quart Milk (organic if you can get it)
1 Tablespoon yogurt from your favorite yogurt brand(s)
1 cup of Instant Milk powder (this is optional, but necessary if you like thick yogurt)

In a large saucepot, bring the milk (and milk powder, if used) to a boil.  Keep your eye on the milk because you don't want the milk to boil over and make a mess.  Once the milk starts to foam at the top, remove the milk from the stove.
Allow the milk to sit and cool to between 105 and 110 degrees.  A candy thermometer is helpful here.
Once the milk has cooled, take a half cup of warmed milk and add your 1 Tablespoon of Yogurt to this and mix thoroughly with a fork.  It is best to make your yogurt on a sunny day, so that it will be nice and thick.  If you make it on a cold or rainy day, you may need to add an extra Tablespoon of yogurt or you may not get the results you want-the yogurt may come out runny.  You now have all those healthy probiotics ready to reproduce and make yogurt.
Add the 1/2 cup of milk and yogurt to the rest of the heated milk and give it a good stir.
Next transfer the milk and yogurt mixture to a glass, stainless steel, or any container with a good fitting lid.  Cover the mixture and place it in a warm spot in your kitchen where it will be allowed to set undisturbed for about 12 hours.  You can place it in an off over or place a kitchen towel around it to keep the temperature constant.
Once you have allowed the yogurt to set, you may see a yellowish liquid on the top of the yogurt.  That is the whey.  Its very good for your immune system and is very nourishing.  You can stir that into your yogurt or drain it off and drink it.
Let me know how your yogurt turns out!!  And don't forget that you can increase this recipe as you need.
Refrigerate the yogurt once it is set and dig in!
Now is the time to add any fruit or jams to the yogurt, but be sure to preserve a 1/2 cup of the plain mixture for the next batch you make.

I got this recipe from Flavors of India: Recipes from the Vegetarian Hindu Cuisine by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff 1972.