How To Make Yogurt?

How do you make yogurt?

• how can you make yogurt at home i heard that to make yogurt to need to put a little bit of yogurt(like 1 spoon) in milk and let it stay overnight. but how can you make yogurt if you dont have any to start with. just wondering

• Answer:

  To make yogurt, you must heat milk to a specific temperature (usually around 185 degrees F, but recipes I've seen vary), then cool it to about 116 degrees. At this point, you need to add a starter culture that contains the bacteria that will ferment the milk and create yogurt. Yes, you can use a spoonful of yogurt as a starter, but I've always had better results using a culture I purchase from one of the local farms in my area (you can also get this on the internet). After stirring in the starter, you must hold the milk at a warm temperature (again, around 116 degrees F) for 8-12 hours. I have a commercial yogurt maker I use for this purpose as I find it gives me better results than just trying to keep the stuff in a warm place. After your yogurt sets, you can make your yogurt thicker by placing it in a strainer lined with clean cheesecloth. Place a bowl under the strainer to catch the whey that will run off. It's best to keep your yogurt in the fridge while you are straining it. So, you see, making yogurt takes a bit of effort, but I continue to make my own because it tastes so much better fresh. I cannot find a yogurt to equal to it in any store! Good luck to you!