Homemade Yogurt

After one month of reading recipes and mentally preparing myself, I decided to make homemade yogurt with live cultures. It was so simple! It is so tasty! Not to mention, it is so much less expensive than constantly buying it from the store. My guys love yogurt.

Yogurt:

2 quarts whole milk
8 oz whole fat yogurt for starter (I used Fage - I learned that one must read the ingredients label to determine whether the yogurt is whole fat or light)

Cook 2 quarts of yogurt on high in you crock pot for two hours. The milk will almost be boiling. Remove crock from element base and set aside on a hot pad on the counter. Set the lid so steam can release and the milk can cool to 115 degrees F. Stir to help it cool. When the milk has cooled to 115 degrees F, add in the whole fat yogurt and mix well. Replace the lid and wrap in a bath towel to maintain the heat. Place crock in the oven to help maintain the heat (you may also use the microwave). Allow to rest for at least 12 hours. YOGURT!

A few notes:

I allowed our yogurt to rest for 12 hours, but I am going to try 14 next time. The longer you let it rest, the tangier the yogurt will be.

The yogurt will come out runny. What you may do if you do not like this consistency is strain it. I put a cheap Gerber flat diaper (we use them to dry our dishes - not to catch human waste) and lined a colander with it. I poured the yogurt in the lined colander, set the colander in a round cake pan and placed it all in the refrigerator. You can squeeze it to make it strain faster, but yogurt comes through rather than just the whey. I allowed it to strain for about 4 1/2 hours and gained a better consistency. I think I'll strain it longer next time; maybe 6 hours. You may strain with cheese cloth or any other towel you see fit for straining.

Add in whatever you like in your yogurt or eat it plain. I added honey to ours this time.