FoodHealth

How to make Creamy Homemade Yogurt

Creamy Homemade Yogurt

Yogurts are high in protein, calcium, vitamins, and live culture, or probiotics, which can enhance your gut microbiota. From helping people lose weight to fighting off common cold, the benefits of your homemade yogurt should make it your body’s best friend. If you have never made homemade yogurt before probably because you thought it is a tedious process, well, there is good news as it is pretty easy to learn and easy to prepare.

There is really no right or wrong way to make your homemade yogurt and thankfully, homemade yogurt is very forgiving, peradventure you make an error. If you scan through as many blogs as possible, be rest assured that you will see tons of ways homemade yogurt can be made and that is because each curator has found a way that works best for him or her when making homemade yogurt.

Your homemade yogurt requires little or no special equipment and you can choose to invest in a yogurt maker but not to worry if you do not have the finances to afford one as there are various alternatives you can explore. Fortunately, you might even have some in your kitchen currently ranging from thermos, slow cooker (make sure you preheat the slow cooker but turn it off to incubate when using this appliance).

Alternatively, you can use a covered container, by setting it in a conventional oven (preferably with the light on), a microwave, a cooler (place jars of hot water inside to help maintain a warm environment) or simply swaddle the covered container with a heating pad, blanket, towel or anything fabric that retains heat.

Homemade Yogurt

In actual facts, your homemade yogurt requires at least five (5) hours to incubate and of these hours, there are only about 30 minutes of active time. I would usually make my yogurts overnight so I can sleep and avoid the temptation of frequently checking on it when I shouldn’t, lol…

Did you know?

That the bacteria responsible for making your homemade yogurt process properly are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles. These bacteria also keep our stomach healthy while helping with metabolism. Yogurts may also contain bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidus regularis and these can mostly be found in store-bought yogurts.

For this article, I will share two (2) ways you can make your homemade yogurt.

Creamy homemade yogurt

Method 1

Ingredients

  1. 1 cup (250 grams) Milk powder or powdered milk
  2. 3 cups(750ml) Water
  3. 2 to 4 tablespoonful(125ml/grams) Plain Natural Yogurt or Greek yogurt(store-bought)

Directions

  1. Pour the milk powder or powdered milk into a saucepan, add a cup of lukewarm water and mix well to dissolve the milk. Now add the remaining water and stir well.
  2. Place the saucepan on medium heat and set the milk to a boil. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. When you begin to see some tiny bubbles on the milk, stir and stay alert, and the moment it starts to boil, remove it immediately from heat.
  3. Now we’ll let the hot milk cool down to about 44ºC, not so hot or cold.
  4. Scoop out that thin film that has formed on top of the milk and mix in the yogurt. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
  5. Now carefully pour the mixture into a container of choice and seal tightly. I also take an extra step and seal with a clean plastic bag or foil paper or a huge blanket. You can also use towels if you like, this is to conserve the internal temperature of the yogurt
  6. Place it in a warm oven or a food cooler with hot water bottles beneath it or anywhere around your home that gets a little heat undisturbed for 8 to 12 hours so that it can set properly.
  7. After 8 hours, you’ll get a thick natural yogurt, with no sweeteners or flavors.
  8. Now you can scoop out about 4 tablespoonsful and set aside for your next batch. And sweeten or serve the remaining as you wish.

Homemade Yogurt

Method 2

Equipment

  1. Canning jars and lids: 2-quart size and 1-pint size
  2. A heat source such as heating pad, oven light, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.

Ingredients

  1. 8 cups milk (preferably raw whole milk)
  2. 4 TBSP yogurt starter

Instructions

Oven Light Method

  1. Heat the milk in a stainless steel pan on the stove over medium heat until it reaches 180°F.
  2. Pour heated milk into clean canning jars and cool, either by sitting on the counter or in a cool water bath until the temperature drops to 115°F.
  3. Use a clean whisk to mix the yogurt starter into the cooled milk.
  4. Place the jars into the oven with the light on for 12-24 hours. The light should provide a consistent heat of about 110°F.
  5. Put jars into the refrigerator until the yogurt is cold and set.
  6. Once the yogurt is set you can pour off the liquid whey from the top or strain the yogurt using a cheesecloth for a thicker consistency.

Instant Pot Method

  • To heat the milk in the Instant Pot, press the yogurt button until the display reads boil.
  • When it beeps, check that the temperature is at least 180°F.
  • Cool the heated milk by either letting it sit on the counter or in a cool water bath in the sink until the temperature drops to 115°F.
  • Use a clean whisk to mix the yogurt starter into the cooled milk.
  • Return the inner pot to the Instant Pot and press the yogurt button until the display reads a number of hours.
  • Press the “+” or “-” button until the display reads the desired length of time. I like to incubate mine for at least 12 hours. Incubating for 24 hours will yield the tangiest yogurt with the least amount of lactose left. Do not incubate for longer than 24 hours or the probiotics will start to die off from lack of food.
  • Once the time is up, put the pot of yogurt into the refrigerator until the yogurt is cold and set.
  • Once the yogurt is set you can pour off the liquid whey from the top or strain the yogurt using a cheesecloth for a thicker consistency.

Enjoy your homemade yogurt!

Homemade Yogurts with Fruits

Please note

  1. For the yogurt starter, just use any plain yogurt with live active cultures.
  2. If you’d like to make a smaller batch just use a ratio of 2 TBSP starter for each quart of milk.
  3. If you’d like to make a larger batch (such as using the Instant Pot to make a gallon) just double the ingredients listed.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 165mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1mg

Homemade Yogurt

Was this article helpful? Learn more by finding out how to make homemade snacks here.

Credit:

https://www.nigerianfoodtv.com/best-homemade-yogurt-with-milk-powder-no-yogurt-maker/

https://wellnessmama.com/59276/yogurt-recipe/

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