Recipe – Homemade Yogurt from Mark Pearson

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Thanks for submitting this Mark. I eat quite a bit of yogurt – plain Greek yogurt with berries and nuts is my favorite – but I’ve never made my own! I’m going to give it a try.

Here is my ‘recipe’ for home made yogurt, which is really not much of a recipe at all, but it’s so easy to do, not many people know that you can make your own, and it’s cheap and healthy!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups (1 quart) milk (the higher the fat, the thicker but starting with 1% is fine)
  • 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (purchased or homemade)*
  • One can condensed milk (sweetened or unsweetened) (optional)
  • Flavorings such as jam, honey, dulce de leche, molasses, fresh or dried fruit, garlic, herbs, etc (optional)
  1. Ingredient info:
    • *If using store-bought yogurt, choose a yogurt that has active cultures, low sugar, and tastes good. It’s important to select an unsweetened version that contains live cultures, but the fat content doesn’t matter.
  2. Special Equipment:
    • Crock Pot or InstaPot, candy thermometer; cheesecloth for straining (optional); Mason jars or other container for storage

Preparation:

  • Turn on CrockPot or Instapot to high heat (some have a “yogurt” setting)
  • Add milk to bring to a boil.  Stir continuously to avoid scalding the milk.  Bring milk to 180 degrees
  • Once required temperature is reached, turn off/ unplug device and allow milk to cool to about 110 degrees
  • Once cool, using a whisk, stir in other yogurt (purchased or previous home made batch).  If desired, add in condensed milk.
  • Cover mixture with lid and towel to keep warm and allow culture to grow. I leave mine for at least 8 hours
  • After incubation period, uncover and check mixture consistency. If it worked, you should have yogurt. If it didn’t work, you have soupy milk lol
  • Straining the yogurt is optional and will make it thicker. The longer you strain, the more whey protein that is removed.  This can be kept and used in other recipes, or discarded.
  • I keep my unsweetened yogurt in the fridge in a sealed container and then when I want to eat some, doctor it up with fresh or thawed fruit, honey, cinnamon, chocolate shavings/ cocoa, coconut, dried mango or apricot, vanilla, you name it!