TODAY I COVER HOMEMADE YOGURT METHODS AND CULTURE OPTIONS. THESE SUPER SIMPLE YOGURT METHODS WILL MAKE KEEPING A PLENTIFUL YOGURT SUPPLY EASY.
Our family loves yogurt and I have tried a lot of methods and cultures over the years. So here is my bit of wisdom on the topic. I hope it helps you in your yogurt making journey!
Why homemade yogurt?
- SAVES MONEY We save a lot of money at the grocery store by making our own yogurt. The grass fed organic milk that we purchase is about $7/gallon. The healthy whole milk yogurt equivalent to our homemade yogurt was costing us close to $16 gallon. So, as you can see, making our own is over a 50% savings! Add that up over a year!
- CONTROL THE INGREDIENTS Most store bought yogurts have loads of sugars and other chemical ingredients (artificial flavors or fake “fruit” bits). These negate any nutritional value you may gain from the culture. By making my own I can use the freshest grass fed milk, a base culture of my choice. And, I can leave out the artificial sweeteners and flavors.
- CONTROL THE LENGTH OF THE FERMENT This allows me to control the amount of natural sugars in the yogurt to suit our taste and our nutritional benefit.
Homemade Yogurt Culture Options
There are two basic types of cultures. Thermophilic and Mesophilic. The basic difference between them is the temperatures at which they need to be cultured. These two cultures can be made from either direct set or Heirloom starter cultures.
Direct Set vs Heirloom cultures
Direct set starter cultures can only be used one time. Simply use a new packet (or measurement from a jar) of the direct set starter in the milk each time yogurt is made. This makes a pure and consistent batch of yogurt but you must continually purchase the starter culture.
Heirloom starter cultures, similar to heirloom garden seeds, need only be purchased one time. Once a batch of yogurt is made simply reserve a spoonful of yogurt (2 T. /quart of milk) to add to the next milk ready for yogurt. In this way you can keep yogurt going indefinitely, as long as you are careful to treat your culture well.
Thermophilic Yogurt
Thermophilic yogurt cultures require a warm temperature to develop. This is the most common type of yogurt and the one most often found in the grocery store.
Most thermophilic yogurts culture at temperatures between 105 and 115 degrees. This means it must be kept around 110 degrees for the entire fermenting (or incubating) time.
Unless you want to sit by the stove checking warm yogurt for 8+ hours this requires some sort of warming device to hold the yogurt consistently at the correct temperature. This can be as simple as an ice chest with hot water or as advanced as an Instant Pot. See ‘Methods’ below for more on this.
Most thermophilic starters recommend first heating the milk to 160 degrees. Allow it to cool back to 110 degrees before adding the starter culture. This process kills some of the natural bacteria present in milk that may compete with the starter culture and keep your yogurt from thickening up.
Thermophilic cultures can be cultured for anywhere from 5 to 10 hours depending on how tartness desired. Any longer and it is considered Long-cultured yogurt (more on that below). The thermophilic yogurt will thicken sufficiently by 6 hours, but longer ferments are totally fine and can be very beneficial to health.
My favorite Thermophilic yogurt cultures
There are many very good thermophilic cultures available. Our family particularly likes the Bulgarian culture because it is so creamy. It is also an heirloom starter so we do not have to continue to purchase the starter.
This Greek culture is also excellent, although it is easy to make Greek style yogurt occasionally with just about any other yogurt. Simply hang the yogurt in cheesecloth to separate off the whey. The yogurt in the cloth will thicken up like a Greek yogurt.
I have also successfully made yogurt from good grass fed store bought yogurts when I have run out of a starter culture. Just be sure that any yogurt you use is high quality and is plain with no added flavors or sugars.
Mesophilic Yogurt
Mesophilic yogurt cultures can ferment/incubate at room temperature. While this yogurt is often softer, or runnier, than thermophilic yogurt, being able to make it at room temperature is nice.
That is because there is no need for any special yogurt equipment to keep the yogurt warm. Simply add the culture to cold milk and set it out on the counter where it is a consistent 70 to 77 degrees until it thickens.
It does take a bit more care and time than thermophilic yogurt. Usually between 12 and 18 hours, but can take up to 24 hours. I usually start mine before I go to bed so that I can check let it begin fermenting overnight and can keep an eye on it through the next morning.
I check it every couple of hours until I notice a change or thickening. The milk usually thickens by 12 and 16 hours depending on the temperature that was maintained. Once the yogurt has thickened a bit I put it into the fridge to thicken further.
While this method is quick and easy to make, it does require careful placement of the jar to keep the temperature consistent. I suggest setting a quality thermometer around the kitchen to find the place that stays consistently between 70 and 77 degrees.
For most of the year this is the top of the fridge for me. In winter, when our home is cooler, I even tent a towel over the jar to trap in a bit more heat. In summer I move it to the top of a wire shelf near the fridge. It is not quite as warm as directly on the top of the fridge.
This will take some practice to find the perfect spot, but once you find it you will love this kind of yogurt.
My favorite mesophilic yogurt cultures
We have had great success with this mesophilic Heirloom starter collection with 4 different cultures. Viilla is a Finnish culture that is very creamy and rich. Piima is a runnier yogurt that is similar to cultured milk. Making Piima with cream instead of milk results in a sour cream. Filmjolk is more tangy and custard like and is great over fruit pie. Matsoni is a rich, creamy yogurt that is excellent for frozen yogurt.
Homemade Yogurt – Long cultured
Long cultured yogurt is yogurt that has been left to incubate for up to 24 hours. As the warmed milk is combined with the yogurt starter, the bacteria begin to feast on the lactose in the milk and produce lactic acid, and the culture proliferates and spreads throughout the milk.
Because the yogurt culture feeds off the lactose in the milk, a longer culturing time can stress the culture or even kill it, as the bacteria run out of food. As the bacteria begin to starve, it may affect a culture’s ability to perpetuate beyond a single batch.
Therefore, I recommended with heirloom cultures, that the amount needed for the next batch is taken out earlier in the cycle instead of waiting until 24 hours.
Long culturing has a health benefit. The longer the culturing process goes on, the longer the culture has time to multiply. Thereby increasing the amount of bacteria and acids in the yogurt while decreasing the lactose content of the milk. Diets such as GAPS promote 24 hour culturing period in order to reduce lactose in the diet.
When we first began making our favorite Bulgarian yogurt we incubated it for about 8 hours as the directions recommend. This made a fairly sweet yogurt with only a slight tang. With my current simple yogurt making method (discussed below), we have extended that now to 14 hours for health reason.
Homemade Yogurt – Raw Milk Yogurt
To make raw milk thermophilic yogurt the milk is not heated past 110 degrees. Some sources suggest only heating to 100 degrees. This is to retain all the health benefits of raw milk.
Raw milk thermophilic yogurt will not thicken as well as pasteurized milk. This is because of the competing good bacteria present in the milk and the proteins in the milk that are not denatured.
Therefore, it is recommended natural gelatin be added to the yogurt when the culture is added to help thicken it. One Tbsp of gelatin to 2 quarts of milk is sufficient.
To make raw milk mesophilic yogurt is a little more involved. There is an added step… making a pasteurized ‘mother’ culture. The raw milk yogurt is usally make be made.
But, the mother culture will require weekly feeding as well. While it may be a bit more involved, it can be done. And is healthy and worth the effort if you have access to raw milk. There are more details on making this yogurt at Cultures for Health.
Homemade Yogurt Methods – thermophilic cultures
STOVE TOP When I first began making thermophilic yogurt I tried just putting the yogurt in a jar inside a pan of warm water on the stove. That was not too successful. Keeping a constant temperature for 6 or 8 hours is difficult at best.
YOGOTHERM Then I purchased a Yogotherm non-electric yogurt maker. Basically is was an insulated thermos type container. I had to modify it to get it to stay warm enough and it still needed a lot of babysitting. Could have done just as well with a small ice chest and a pan of hot water inside.
CROCK POT I debated purchasing a more expensive yogurt machine. In the end I experimented with my crock pot with moderate success. Again, it was difficult to maintain proper temperatures for 8 hours. 4 to 6 hours was more doable but usually not enough to set up well.
INSTANT POT Now the exciting news! Several months ago I purchased this Instant Pot. It has a yogurt feature and it has rocked my yogurt making world! It is now so simple and easy to make yogurt.
And, I didn’t have to buy another single-use gadget for my kitchen! That is a win in my book. When my Instant Pot isn’t in use making yogurt it is in constant use making bone broth or cooking dry beans. If you get an Instant Pot, be sure to get a 7-in-1 like mine with a yogurt preset.
But seriously, making yogurt in the Instant Pot is incredibly SIMPLE!
Homemade Instant Pot Thermophilic Yogurt making steps
- Be sure to remove the rubber gasket from the lid of your Instant Pot. If you have ever cooked meat in you Instant Pot this ring will have taken on a meaty smell. Removing it will keep your yogurt from taking on this meaty smell.
- Pour in your milk and push the yogurt button until it reads ‘boil’. This will automatically bring your milk up to 160 degrees. When hot it will beep and say ‘ygrt’.
- Push the Cancel button and allow the milk to cool down to 110 degrees. This usually takes about 30 minutes. Swirl a good thermometer in the milk for a minute before taking the reading.
- Once the milk reaches 110 degrees you can swirl in either your direct set culture or the heirloom culture you saved from the last batch of yogurt. Stir gently until well dissolved.
- Place the lid on the instant pot, set the pressure release valve to ‘seeling’.
- Push the yogurt button once again. It has default setting of ‘boil’ or 24:00 on low pressure. You need to adjust it to your desired time (anything from 6 hours to 10 hours is a good place to start if you haven’t tried this before). Then put to medium pressure. Once this is set it will beep and start.
Homemade yogurt methods and culture options video
And that is it! Next I just check back hours later when the cycle is done. All that is left is to put my yogurt into jars and into the fridge. It is that easy!
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I’d love to know if this post was helpful to you in any way. Or if you give this a try let me know how it turns out.
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