Making Homemade Yogurt
Making your own yogurt is so much fun, I hope you’ll give it a try. However, it’s not an exact science because it involves living organisms. Translation: things don’t always turn out like you hope. But once you get your system figured out, it’s fairly predictable. Just remember, “The yogurt gods can be fickle” (a quote from one of my readers who I cannot remember), so don’t get discouraged. Start with my video or check out the posts listed below for help.
Note: If you are looking for instructions to make regular yogurt or Greek yogurt, the post entitled Healthy Homemade Greek Yogurt will show you how to do both.
Still have a question? Shoot me an e-mail. I’ll try to answer back quickly.
Greek Yogurt 101
Healthy Homemade Greek Yogurt (Fat-Free)
Don’t Fear the Homemade Yogurt
How to Strain Yogurt the Easy Way
Answers to Your Questions About Making Homemade Yogurt
More Than Six Ways to Incubate Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker
A Discussion About Protein in Greek Yogurt
18 Ways to Use Whey–a By-Product of Greek Yogurt
Recipes Containing Yogurt on Salad in a Jar
- Creamy Balsamic Salad Dressing
- Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce for Fish
- Frosted Strawberry Cake Donuts
- Whole Wheat Powdered Sugar Donuts (Baked Not Fried)
- Yogurt Fantans
- Steak and Mushroom Slow Cooker Soup
- Baby Black and White Cookies
- Black and White Red Velvet Cookies
- Chocolate Cupcake Tops (aka Frosted Chocolate Cookies)
- Meyer Lemon Yogurt Squares
- Peachy Amaretto Frozen Greek Yogurt
- Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Icing
- Soft Cinnamon Cookies with Browned Butter Icing
- Yogurt Pie Crust
- Coconut-Ginger Greek Yogurt (nonfat)
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Despite my name being both male and female I am a male from the Gold Coast Australia and was interested in making yoghurt. I followed your instructions to the letter and it didnt set. I only used 1 litre of milk and added I heaped tablespoon of starter. I purchased a Avanti thermometer and made sure the temperatures were right. I added the starter adt the right temperature. I decided to check the accuracy of the thermometer. I boiled some water in a saucepan and when boiling I added the thermometer which has a connector which attaches to the side of the saucepan. The probe to stake was only touching the boiling water. I left it there for a few minutes and noted that it only went up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Oh by the way it was a candy/deep fry thermometer so I was capable of measuring up 400 degrees. I thought 212 degrees was the boiling point of water so the thermometer should have registered 212. So it appears it is 12 degrees out. So I am thinking that when I used the thermometer to check the cooled milk I got a wrong reading which may have eitehr been too hot or too cold and that was the cause of my failure. What do you think
Laurie, you may be right but whenever yogurt doesn’t get thick, I suspect two things. First–the starter. Was it fresh? Did it have live bacteria? If you used commercial yogurt, it’s hard to know for sure. Maybe try a different brand. Wish I could send you some of mine.
The other thing I always suspect is the incubation method. Did the temperature remain higher than 100 degrees F the entire time? Or is it possible it got too hot? Have you checked out my post about troubleshooting yogurt?
You reported using more starter than I recommend. I only use 1 teaspoon per quart but I honestly doubt if that was the problem.
Hope you’ll try it again. Just make a pint at a time until it works for you. It’s worth the trouble if you’re a yogurt lover. Once you get your system down, it will be a breeze. Promise! Paula
Thanks Paula for the prompt reply. I used a commercial natural yogurt and the carton said it contained live culture. It also had plenty of use by date so I suspect it was ok. I am using a wide mouth 1.8 litre thermos flask as my incubator which I rinsed with hot water before I poured the milk into it. The temperature on the Gold Coast at the moment is quite warm. I noticed your instructions that it took about 17 minutes for your milk to cool at 115 degrees F. When my milk reached 180 degrees I turned it off and kept stirring whilst it was cooling but the temperature dropped to 115 degrees on the thermometer in about5-10 minutes and that is when I added the starter. As I said I suspect the thermometer was faulty and the milk was over 120 degrees and killed the starter. I have ordered a new thermometer which I will test before I use it. Now I know what a woman feels like when she loses a baby…..
I’m making this yogurt nearly every day now for my family of 10 — thanks to your great instructions. I own some plastic Ball brand freezer jam containers with twist on lids. I layer homemade blueberry sauce and greek yogurt in the cups and send them off to school with my kids. Also, I am so glad you suggested buying that strainer because it makes the whole process so easy to use.
hi! you wrote to me November 27, sorry for not getting back sooner! we had a small kitchen catastrophe! i’d written you about making yogurt that turned kind of into cheese, made from powdered milk (a bad experiment!). i’d made a half gallon of milk not realizing it only needed a quart, and the excess got put in a pitcher in the fridge (it wasn’t hot) and somehow the pitcher cracked clean down from the lip to its feet speading Thanksgiving cheer and that wonderful used-milk-smell to my fridge. It was days before realizing it’d cracked… anyway–i’d disposed of my yogurt creation and was about to make more when the sink backed up twice and by some miracle i was invited to Thanksgiving at the last moment so the food prep could wait til days later. The sink has stopped up again (no more home remedies or taking apart the pipes, m going to get Drano) so everything is still a mess from the last yogurt trial. interesting, yogurt left to itself on the counter turns a lovely shade of moldy gray! arraugh!!! i will try again, with a clean kitchen and paying extra strict attention. i do have a problem maintaining the 110 degree heat, but i’ve just found an old heating tray which will be experimented on before use, maybe that will help! Thank you for your site! it has been quite helpful! and p.s.: re: powdered milk– there’s a site called US emergency supply, which is where i got the idea to use powdered milk and to substitute butter. i’m big on trying the Other Way but really need to do it the CORRECT way first! Thanks for your help, and may you have blessed holidays!
Hi my name is Matthew Prempeh i am in 6th Grade andI am a student in St. Jeromes school. On May 30 my Grade is having international day and my teacher told me I had the country Greece. I have chosen to make Greek yogurt but i failed so i saw your website and you showed me how to make it the correct way. Now i know how to make it but i forgot the ingredients. can you please put the ingedients on your website TY. bye.
Hi Paula! I have successfully made my own greek yogurt on my first try, thanks to your instructions. My oven does not have a setting for 100 degrees, so I wanted to share what I did, in case it can help someone else. I cooled the milk just below 120 and stirred in the starter. Then I wrapped the entire bowl in foil, including the top, and put a plate on top it to act as a lid. Then I placed the foil wrapped bowl in a soft sided cooler, put towels around and on top of it and zipped it closed. I invested in one of the thermometers with a cord, so I was able to seal the prong part inside the bowl to monitor the temperature while it was in the “incubator”. I had preheated my oven for about a minute and turned on the light. When I put the milk inside it, the temp of the milk was at 114. I left it in there overnight and when I got up this morning, the temp was at 99. When I opened my little package, I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had yogurt! I strained it per your instructions and now have 2 large tubs of delicious greek yogurt. Thank you for sharing your secrets!
Staci
I am very excited to try this! Question: Can you use milk that is about to go off?
Hello! I just made my first batch! Very excited! If I added the vanilla to it, can I still use a small portion of that to make my next batch? Or do I need to get a fresh starter? Thanks!
Traci,
You can still use it, even with flavorings and sweeteners. I do it all the time. pr
Thank you so much for the wonderful directions for making greek yogurt. I just made my first batch over night, and thanks to your detailed instructions it turned out wonderfully. I sweetened it this morning with a little sugar and homemade vanilla extract and it is chilling now. My stove’s lowest setting is 170 so I read some of your comments and realized I have a presto fry and stew pot with a warm setting which worked great. I also improvised a little on the straining and used a reusable coffee filter, of course I cleaned it very very well first. Again thanks so much. And by the way I found you on pinterest and I can’t wait until amazon sends the attachment for my food sealer so I can try making salad in a jar. Happy superbowl weekend! Cindee Johnson
Hi. I had a failed batch. I’m thinking my oven wasn’t hot enough. Can I just heat that same batch up again and start over or do I have to throw it out completely?
Thank you!
Hi Cindee, Congratultions on your successful yogurt. I predict you’ll be looking for a bigger strainer soon.
pr
Good morning .. I’ve made yogurt from another recipe I found on the internet .. then I came upon yours and tried it last night .. looks great so far … but I do have a question. Must I refrigerate the yogurt and let it cool completely before I strain it for Greek Yogurt?
Hi Barb,
I do not chill the yogurt before straining because it greatly prolongs the process. With a good strainer, you can strain in 45 minutes to an hour down to half the original volume. Another reason not to chill first is that your yogurt will be smoother and creamier when you whip it after straining. Many of the directions you see are for straining regular yogurt that has been purchased at the store which is already chilled so they put it back into the refrigerator where it came from. What a pain to find a space big enough to sit your strainer in the fridge inside another larger bowl.
The way I see it, what’s another hour at room temperature for straining. I have forgotten about my yogurt and left it to incubate for up to 24 hours with no harm done. I don’t recommend it but it was still fine to eat. So my usual routine is 4-8 hours to incubate with another hour to strain. Works fast.
Thanks for writing. Hope you enjoy it.