Have you ever tried making homemade yogurt? If not, you are really missing out! Not only is it very easy and delicious, but also a frugal alternative to the store bought brands. There are two different methods I recommend: in a stock pot or in a crock pot! 
As I have shared before in my original post on making homemade yogurt, “Of all the cultured dairy products, yogurt is the most versatile. Yogurt assists the intestines in destroying harmful bacteria by producing an acid environment. Yogurt with active cultures may encourage friendly bacteria production in the digestive tract. Milk protein is more quickly and easily digested in yogurt form over liquid sweet milk. The more tart the yogurt, the greater the absorption of calcium. Eating yogurt can relieve both constipation and indigestion.”
This past week I made yogurt in a crockpot for the first time and it was a big success and very easy! It took maybe 10 minutes of my time and the rest was just letting it sit there and culture away! I kept breaking my candy thermometers, thus making my original method very difficult to complete. With the crockpot, it’s like 1, 2, 3! All’s you need is a 1/2 gallon of your milk of choice, 1/2 cup of yogurt starter (plain yogurt from the store or a previous batch), and a crockpot! It works beautifully! Homemade yogurt will not be as thick as store bought but still tasty. Thanks to Nourishing Days for passing on the method. Check it out here!
We love to add a little maple syrup and vanilla extract for a delicious yogurt! Karis loves yogurt and eats it practically every day. Enjoy!
How do you like your yogurt?
Trying the crock pot yogurt for the first time today…when do you add in flavors such as vanilla or fruits? I’m assuming after it’s completely done and before cooling it for the 8 hours? Would appreciate input. Thanks! Enjoying your site and making small changes here and there to eating and homemaking habits.
Yes, you add any flavoring after it has completed the culturing process. I usually sweeten as I serve in order to reserve 1/2 cup of the plain version for the next batch, or remove this amount and sweeten the remaining as desired.
Have you tried making Coconut milk yogurt?
I too, am well stocked with rhubarb this season. Strawberry Rhubarb is the classic for pies, but for Yogurt I find that Rhubarb is the perfect compliment to the mutual tartness of yogurt, and that any other fruit benefits from the addition of Rhubarb.
I found that if you use 1 litre of milk with 1 liter of half & half cream (10 %) instead of using 2 litres of your regular milk, the yogurt will thicken as good as store bought. It only takes 5-6 hours to incubate. Once it’s finished chilling in the fridge, it comes out nice and thick!
It’s rhubarb season at my house right now and I have been making rhubarb sauce. Rhubarb sauce spooned over some homemade yogurt, with a little sprinkle of cinnamon is truly decadent!!