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?
Hi
I was hoping you could help me out. I started making my yogurt last night, and forgot about it. All that I remembered to do is put the milk in the crock pot, heat it up, and turn it off to cool. Then it sat for about 12 hours before I remembered it. What do you think?
I cannot find the specific recommendations for how long and at what setting do I cook the yogurt. Can anyone tell me?
I tried yogurt in a crockpot but got impatient, but will try again today, using 1 cup mixed berries, 1 cup non-fat dry milk, and 1/2 cup or 1 cup yogurt from the homemade batch I made last week and 1/2 gallon of strawberry flavored whole milk (cows).
The first time I made yogurt I brought the mild to 180 degrees in a pot after waiting for my crockpot to heat it up and I lost patience. Now I read, that I needed to allow it 2 1/2 hours? I think I did, so it might just be ab extra slow cooker?
Last week I watched Youtube.com videos showing how to make Greek or homemade yogurt. I recommend them all, because they don’t do it all the same way. then I cooked milk and 1/2 cup dry non-fat powdered milk stirred in until it was 180 degrees, quick cooled it by pouring it into the 2 – 2 cup yogurt containers (store bought I had saved) and putting them in the fridge, When the temp of the milk mixture in the containers was 105 I removed them from the fridge, and stirred in 1/4 cup store bought plain yogurt into each one, and keep a 1/2 cup in a 1 cup container for the starter yogurt, which I am using to start this new strawberry flavored batch.
I wrapped them up in a towel and put them in the stove next to the oven light, and occasionally turned on the oven for about 1 minute on 150 degrees to keep the heat up a little. The results were very good, but I didn’t strain the batches and they were thick but not like our favorite store bought. I did add some vanilla flavoring and a little bit of sugar or honey, and it made a pretty good flavored yogurt, but this time I am going for sweet dessert type for my boyfriend to try.
I make yogurt all the time! I usually use the stockpot method, but am eager to try the crockpot method. My kids (4 and 2) and I love it plain with a tablespoon or two of raisins. Not sure why, but the sweetness of the raisins and the tartness of the yogurt is heavenly. I guess I do the same thing with ice cream- handful of salty peanuts with sweet vanilla ice cream compliment each other well.
I have had a sweet tooth for my whole life, and plain yogurt really helps me combat my sugar cravings.
Oh, I forgot to mention- I use an entire cup of yogurt starter, instead of half a cup and it thickens pretty nicely.
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!!