homemade yogurt

has anybody made thier own yogurt.  I am starting to hate the taste of the additives, so I want to make my own.

if you have a recipe please send it.

Making Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker

Instructions
Here are Phyllis Hobson's techniques for making yogurt if you do not have an appliance designed for it.

With a thermos
Almost fill a thermos bottle (preferably widemouthed) with milk heated to 100 degrees F. Add 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt and mix thoroughly. Put the lid on and wrap the thermos in two or three terry towels. Set it in a warm, draft-free place overnight.

In an oven
Pour 1 quart of milk into a casserole dish and add 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt. Stir well and cover the casserole. Place in a warm (100 degree F.) oven with the heat off. Let it sit overnight.

On a heating pad
Mix 1 quart of milk and 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt. Set an electric heating pad at medium temperature and place in the bottom of a cardboard box with a lid. (A large shoebox works well.) Fill small plastic containers with the milk-yogurt mixture; put on the lids. Wrap a heating pad around the containers, then cover with towels to fill the box and let sit, undisturbed, for 5 to 6 hours.

In the sun
Pour 1 quart warmed milk into a glass-lidded bowl or casserole. Add 3 tablespoons plain yogurt and cover with the glass lid or a clear glass pie pan. Place in the sun on a warm (not too hot) summer day and let sit 4 to 5 hours. Watch it to make sure it is not shaded as the sun moves.

On the back of a wood-stove
Many grandmothers made clabber by setting a bowl of freshly drawn milk on the back of the stove after supper. Make yogurt this way by adding 1 cup starter to 2 quarts milk and let it sit, loosely covered with a dish towel, on the back of the cooling wood range overnight.

In a Crock-Pot
Preheat a Crock-Pot on low for about 15 minutes, until it feels very warm to the fingertips. Put covered containers of yogurt mixture into the Crock-Pot, cover it, and turn off the heat. At 35- to 45-minutes intervals, heat the Crock-Pot on low for 10 to 15 minutes.


I haven't made any but hope this will help.

Shane,
        I don't have a recipe but I bet if you did an internet search you'd find one. I'd like to make a suggestion if I minght. Go and get yourself some Fage or Oikos yogurt. They're all natural greek yogurt, have 15 - 17gms of protein and taste outragous. They're very thick, not like the commercial yogurts, so thick infact you can use them as a substitute ofr sour cream. I add mixed berries and a packet of splenda and enjoy to the delight of my tounge and tummy.

      Hope this help,

Donna, sfy (southern fried yankee)

Here's the recipe that I changed from recipezaar.com (original called for whole milk):

I make this about one every 10 days, using 1 cup of the last batch as starter for the next batch.

Ingredients:

 

1 gallon (16 cups) 2% milk

1 cup plain yogurt with LIVE CULTURES  (check label)

 

 

Instructions:
1. In a pan, bring the milk almost to boiling.
2. Pour into a non-metallic bowl.
3. Cover and allow to cool to between 110 and 120 degrees.  (Takes about ½ hour to 45 minutes)
4. Gently mix in the yogurt.
5. Cover bowl top and bottom with towels to retain warmth as the yogurt sets--8-12 hours, or overnight. (I set mine in the oven, turned off.)
6. Do not disturb until the yogurt thickens.
7. Line a colander with cheesecloth, 2-3 layers.
8. Pour yogurt into lined colander and drain 4-5 hours in refrigerator for thick Greek-like consistency.

 

For yogurt cheese (substitute for cream cheese in any recipe, drain even longer, 6-8 hours in the refrigerator.

 

Nutrition Facts from Caloriecount.com

 

Approx 12 servings, ½ cup each serving

Calories  176;  Calories from fat 61;  Total fat 6.7 g; Cholesterol 27 mg;  Sodium 148 mg; Total carbs 16.7 g; Sugars 17.9 g;  Protein 11.8 g

I've made yogurt before by using fat free powdered milk (I forget why using fresh milk is discouraged). I didn't have an exceptionally warm place to put it so I kept it in shoebox in the cabinet above my stove. I left the light on all night to keep it toasty warm. It's yummy! I never thought about using a thermos. That is a really good idea.

Some tips:

DON'T STIR!

Use a good , plain yogurt as a starter. Using fruit or other flavored yogurt won't work. And if you don't like the plain yogurt before you use it to make your own, you're not going to like it after.

The longer you let it sit, the thicker it gets. Just because the recipe says 4-6 hours doesn't mean the conditions are ideal in your house. If it doesn't look thick enough, another hour or 2 won't hurt it but it will thicken it nicely. Just make sure you keep it covered so nothing gets into it.

Have fun!

I'm late to this game, but I do make yogurt every week, and drink a yogurt smoothie most mornings, so I thought I could pass on my techniques.

I use a 1-qt yogurt container to make my yogurt in, it is convenient and already labeled.  I also use a 1-cup container to put my culture in for the next batch.  So each batch is a bit over 4 cups.  I use a 4-cup glass measuring cup to mix in, and all of my implements are fresh out of the hot dishwasher when I start.  That reduces the chance of spoilage.

about 4 cups 1% milk (you can use anything from skim to whole milk)
1/3 cup instant dry milk (this thickens the yogurt without the use of gelatin)
1/2 cup live culture (from commercial yogurt, commercial starter, or your saved culture from previous batch)
candy thermometer that reads down to 100 degrees F

Pour 2 cups of milk into your measuring cup.  Add instant dry milk and blend (I use a stick blender/immersion blender).  Try not to blend in much air, as it throws the measurements off.  Add the rest of the milk, making the level a generous 4 to 4 1/2 cups volume.  Microwave until the milk rises (this is a sudden boiling, you have to watch the first few times to see how long your microwave takes).  Use the thermometer to stir the milk down and measure the temperature.  Something around 160 degrees F is good.  (If it is much warmer than this, the next time you do this cook for less time.  The goal is 160.  I know, I'm not really giving exact times, but microwaves come in different power levels, so you just have to experiment.)  This pasturizes the milk (probably not necessary with previously pasturized milk, but good if your milk has been open for a week) and also cooks some of the protein and makes the yogurt firmer.  Cover with plastic wrap, with the thermometer still in the milk, and set it aside until it cools to 100-125 degrees F.  Pour some into your live culture to warm it up a bit, then pour your live culture back into the warm milk.  Stir well and pour into the quart container and the rest into your 1-cup container.

I use a large lunch-box insulated bag to incubate the yogurt, along with a poly-fleece blanket to make sure my containers have a nice warm nest.  I usually leave the containers overnight or during the day while I am at work.

Sometimes the yogurt will look a bit curdled on the surface.  That can be caused by bubbles rising to the surface during the incubation (try not to mix in any air when adding the powdered milk).  To start the next batch, I will often pour the top half cup off (use it for my smoothie), and use the un-curdled yogurt at the bottom of my culture cup.  Do this at the time you are making the yogurt to prevent other stray bacteria from getting into your culture.  I can usually use my own cultures for a couple of months before it is time to start fresh.  It isn't so much that my yogurt has gotten contaminated, though, as the cultures in my starter get off balance.  You can read on the cup of, say, Dannon yogurt what cultures are in it.  There are more than one.  The first time you make your own yogurt from Dannon starter, the balance of those cultures will be similar to Dannon, but say one bacteria will grow better at the temperature you started at.  The next time you start, that bacteria will be dominant, and will grow more dominant.  Eventually you will have a very different yogurt from what you started with.  It will still be yogurt, and safe to eat, but it will be a different flavor and texture from Dannon.  When you notice the difference, you can buy another cup of plain Dannon and start fresh.

Catherine