Easy Homemade Yogurt Without A Machine
12
- Prep Time15 mins
- Total Time4 hrs 15 mins
- Makes8 cups
(Photo: iStock)
Yogurt is created when you add active bacterial cultures to warm milk. After sitting for 4 hours, it will be slightly tangy; after 15 hours it will be even tangier, and it will continue to develop flavour as it sits in the fridge. Making your own yogurt saves on money and on plastic, too!
Ingredients
8 cups 3.25% milk
1/2 cup gelatin-free plain 2% yogurt, with active cultures
Instructions
FILL the kitchen sink or an extra-large bowl with water and ice.
POUR milk into a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot that will fit into the ice bath and later into your fridge. Set over medium-high. Heat milk, stirring often, until small bubbles appear around the edges and an instant thermometer reads 185F. Remove from heat and place into ice bath. Cool to between 108F and 115F, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 min (or, if you have more time, let the yogurt sit at room temperature until it cools; stir occasionally to prevent a skin from forming). Remove from ice bath. Whisk in yogurt. Cover pot and set in centre of an unheated oven. Turn on the oven light. (This provides the heat for yogurt to form.) Alternately, wrap your pot in a towel to keep the heat in. Let stand 4 hours to 15 hours. The longer it sits, the more tart yogurt will be.
REMOVE yogurt from oven. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Keeps well up to 10 days.
Kitchen tip
To make the yogurt thicker (it starts out very runny), transfer to a fine-mesh sieve lined with 3 layers of cheesecloth. Set over a bowl to drain and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Nutrition (per ½ cup)
Calories 79, Protein 4g, Carbohydrates 6g, Fat 4g, Sodium 53mg.