Homemade Yogurt

I made a batch of yogurt 2 days before I had Faith and finished flavoring the yogurt about a week later.  Here's the process:

What you will need is a crock pot,a candy thermometer, a 1\3 cup of starter (all you need is plain yogurt that has the active cultures and no gelatin added) and a gallon on milk.  I use 2% because the higher the fat content the thicker your yogurt is naturally.

For my starter I froze a whole ice cube tray from my last batch of yogurt I made.  I only have to use 3 of the cubes as a starter.  If using homemade yogurt you should only use 2nd generation homemade yogurt.  The cultures will become weaker as you reuse it.

You pour the whole gallon of milk into the crock pot and turn it on high. You can also heat the milk on the stove in a pot.

The milk needs to reach the temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the crock pot or remove from the stove.

You will then let it cool to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If in a pot now is the time you should pour it into your crock pot.

Add your starter with the cultures.

Stir it in.

Cover with lid and wrap in a towel.  It will sit overnight on your counter.

In the morning it will be thick.  Place in the fridge for 12-14 hours.

It will be thick enough to cut with a spoon.

If you like extra thick yogurt you can strain the whey out with cheesecloth and a colander. The longer you let it sit the more whey will be strained and the thicker the yogurt will be.  You can save the whey to use in pancakes and other baked goods.

Once it was strained.

We got about 3 quarts of yogurt.

When ready to flavor divide into bowls.

Vanilla yogurt.

I use Torani vanilla syrup to sweeten the vanilla yogurt.

When making fruit flavored you can use fresh or frozen fruit and then add granulated sugar and let it come to a boil to make the syrup on the stove top. I got these strawberries from our strawberry patch, there were the extra small ones.

Once it comes to a boil use a masher to mash up the fruit. Let cool.

Pour over your yogurt. And stir until combined.

I always keep a little bit of plain yogurt for cooking.  You can use plain yogurt mixed with milk to use as a substitute for buttermilk.

And that is how you make homemade yogurt!  It's super yummy and tastes just like what you would buy at the store.