Making my own yogurt

[FireLane]

I love yogurt, but it was becoming too big a part of my grocery bill. Most of the yogurt brands at the supermarket either have too much sugar, or cost an outrageous $2 for a little cup, or both.

I decided I'd look into making my own yogurt at home. Naturally there are websites that'll try to get you to overspend here, too: $100 for a high-tech yogurt maker, or $20 for special starter cultures, or whatever. But all you really need is a big pot, a candy thermometer, and a small starter cup of whatever kind of yogurt you like best. I followed this recipe and it worked like magic:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-yogurt-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-125070

It's a can't-miss recipe. All it takes is a little stirring and a few hours of time for the yogurt to sit quietly and ferment. I can add as much or as little sugar as I like, boost the protein content with a scoop of whey powder, and get fancy with whatever flavorings I want. I've experimented with peach, honey, dark chocolate, maple syrup, cinnamon, and more.

The best part is that I can get a gallon of whole milk, even the organic kind, for $7. That will make 16 generous servings of yogurt. Assuming I eat one a day, I'll be saving over $500 a year. Damn, that's a lot of money saved, and for something that's better-tasting and healthier than the store brands!

[sparkytheop]

I also make my own yogurt.  I just use the regular whole milk from the store though, which goes on sale for $2/gallon about every other week.  I'm not a huge yogurt fan, but the homemade is definitely better.

[JoshuaSpodek]

I recently made sauerkraut for the first time, which ferments too but vegan.

I had no idea how easy it was. Cut cabbage, add a little salt, mush it together, and let sit. Presto: symbiotic bacteria and worlds of flavor.

Many of the recipes and videos I learned from said it would taste incomparably better than store-bought or restaurant. I agree. More flavor than I'd ever experienced for sauerkraut.

I'll do it again, and I'll add other vegetables, herbs, and spices for variety.

[Mac_MacGyver]

Why is store yogurt nearly always far free? Gross, good on you for making it!

[spaniard999]

I do my yogurt at home too.
I recently found a trick to make it even better.
I used to just do the mix, put sugar and put in the yogurt maker.
The better the temperature is kept, the better, so I started covering the yogurt maker with cloths, like the ones everyone has in the kitchen.

Wrap the yogurt maker very well and after 7 hours you will have a yogurt way better that you had!

[acroy]

Awesome. We go through a ton of yoghurt, will float making our own with DW

[FireLane]

Update: This week I made a batch of chocolate orange yogurt. 4 cups of fermented whole-milk yogurt, 1 tsp of orange extract, 1 tsp of Valencia orange zest, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, and one block of dark chocolate shaved into ribbons on a box grater.

Grating the chocolate was a lot more work than I expected, but this came out great! I'm thinking kiwi-strawberry yogurt with a dash of lemon extract next.

[sparkytheop]

Update: This week I made a batch of chocolate orange yogurt. 4 cups of fermented whole-milk yogurt, 1 tsp of orange extract, 1 tsp of Valencia orange zest, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, and one block of dark chocolate shaved into ribbons on a box grater.

Grating the chocolate was a lot more work than I expected, but this came out great! I'm thinking kiwi-strawberry yogurt with a dash of lemon extract next.

That sounds good.  I tend to use chocolate chips instead of grated chocolate, unless I really need to use grated chocolate.

Looks like my son used up most of my extracts though!  I'll need to make some more.  (He adds them to all kinds of stuff.)

Another thing I've done is peanut butter or PB powder and mini chocolate chips.  That was pretty good.

[crimwell]

We do a gallon at a time (we have boys that eat a lot of yogurt). Essentially same method as here,  just leave the jars in the oven over night. Usually put it in around 9:30 pm, get it the next morning.

My favorite yogurt to use for starter is the plain trader Joe's whole milk Greek yogurt