Homemade natural yogurt - DIY

Making a yogurt is very simple thing, all you need is milk, yogurt bacteria culture, jar and a source of heat. You can buy yogurt bacteria cultures such Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus but for me it is too much hustle to keep them in good health and without contamination so instead using pure bacteria I use cultures which are in already made yogurt. What I mean by that is that I make 1st batch with a store bought natural yogurt, then I leave a single jar of yogurt made by myself to make a new batch. Every 3rd or 4th batch I will again start with a new yogurt bought from the store. Replacing the culture you have is a good practice to minimize contamination and to ensure that you use right strain of bacteria.

As a source of heat I use a yogurt maker, which is basically an incubator that keeps 37-40 oC (98 - 104 F) temperature inside. Having this equipment is not a must to achieve a good yogurt, you can for instance keep the jars next to a warm radiator and the whole process will work out just fine. But keep in mind that bacteria don't like temperatures higher than 40 oC (104 F). 

Below you will find the steps.

Enjoy!!

Suzanah

What is needed:

• 1 L (33.8 oz.) of milk preferably full fat and not UHT.
• ~150 mL (5 oz.) of yogurt (or appropriate amount of yogurt cultures)
• optional: 1tbs of milk powder (for a thicker consistency, such as the one of a Greek yogurt)
• jars (mine have volume of 130 mL (4.4 oz))
• Heat source

Steps:

1. Wash jars and disinfect them with scalding water. 

2. Add a teaspoon of yogurt to each jar.

3. Add milk to jars and mix. (optional: if you use milk powder dissolve it in warmed up milk and then add to jars)

4. Place closed jars on the heat source for 6-9 hours.

5. After 6-9 hours place warm yogurt in the fridge, wait for it to cool down and it is ready. Homemade yogurt contains a lot of transparent whey liquid, so if you see it don't worry it is absolutely normal.  If you want to reduce the amount of whey liquid make this procedure with addition of milk powder.