How to Make Yogurt at Home: Step-by-Step Recipe

I love homemade yogurt and making it at home is easy! It is a dairy product that offers tons of health benefits and is rich in essential nutrients and probiotics. It can play a vital role in maintaining and improving your overall health. This guide will walk you through the basics of making yogurt at home, introducing a variety of methods (including the one I prefer), as well as some background on starter cultures and origins. 

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The History of Yogurt Making

Central Asia and the Middle East:

• Early Origins: The exact origins are unclear, but it is widely believed that yogurt was discovered accidentally in Central Asia or the Middle East over 4,000 years ago. Nomadic tribes carried milk in animal skins, which provided a perfect environment for natural fermentation due to the warm climate and natural bacteria in the skins.
• Fermentation: These early people noticed that milk stored in these conditions would thicken and sour, turning into a tangy, thicker substance that could be stored longer than fresh milk. This early form of yogurt was not only more palatable than spoiled milk but also provided essential nutrients and probiotics.

Ancient Civilizations:

• Ancient Greeks and Romans: Yogurt made its way to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was valued for its health benefits. The Greeks called it “oxygala,” and it was used both as a food and a remedy for digestive ailments.
• Indian Subcontinent: In ancient India, yogurt was mixed with honey to create a dish called “the food of the gods.” It remains a staple in Indian cuisine today.

Spread to Europe:

• Mongol Empire: The spread of yogurt to Europe can be attributed to the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. The Mongols carried yogurt during their conquests, introducing it to the regions they invaded.
• Turkish Influence: Yogurt gained popularity in the Ottoman Empire, which had a significant influence on the culinary practices of Eastern Europe. The Turks consumed yogurt regularly and used it in various dishes, both sweet and savory.

Scientific Discovery:

• Elie Metchnikoff: In the early 20th century, the Russian Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff popularized yogurt in Western Europe. He hypothesized that the longevity of Bulgarian peasants was due to their regular consumption of yogurt, which he attributed to the beneficial lactic acid bacteria it contained. His research brought yogurt into the spotlight as a health food.

Commercial Production:

• Danone: In 1919, Isaac Carasso, a Sephardic Jewish doctor from the Ottoman Empire, started the first industrial production of yogurt in Barcelona, Spain. He named his company Danone, after his son Daniel. Danone’s yogurt was initially sold in pharmacies as a health food for children with digestive issues.
• Yoplait: In the 1960s, yogurt’s popularity surged in the United States, partly due to the founding of Yoplait by a group of French farmers. Yoplait’s marketing efforts and introduction of fruit-flavored yogurts made yogurt a household name in America.

Global Popularity:

• Health Food Movement: The health food movement of the 1960s and 1970s further boosted yogurt’s popularity as a healthful, probiotic-rich food. The introduction of Greek yogurt in the 2000s, with its thicker texture and higher protein content, added another dimension to yogurt’s appeal.

Seasonality of Yogurt and Dairy

Dairy products like milk are abundant in the spring and summer when cows graze on fresh grass after giving birth. This produces milk with higher nutrient content, leading to richer, more flavorful yogurt. It’s important to consume food when it’s naturally produced in abundance. As the cow starts to dry up and the grass dies back in late fall, fresh dairy on grass-fed cows is near impossible. In our area, during the winter months, there is no fresh grass to graze on, so hay and grains are usually supplemented. While this isn’t the worst thing, it’s not the natural diet for the cow. We still get milk from our herd share during the winter, but the production is significantly reduced.

Sourcing Dairy

I would encourage folks who want to know their food to find a herd share in their area where they can purchase raw milk. If you aren’t comfortable consuming raw milk, you can pasteurize it yourself by bringing it up to about 165°F for 15 seconds. If raw milk isn’t available in your area, try to buy low-pasteurized, organic, non-homogenized milk from the store. Do your research on raw milk before buying or consuming. Visit the farm and be sure that the farmer has clean and sanitary practices for milking, milk storing, and animal care.  

Types of Starters Cultures:

Yogurt is a fermented food that needs a starter culture to make. There are two primary types of starter cultures.

Mesophilic starters are cultures that thrive at moderate temperatures, typically around room temperature (70-90°F). Mesophilic yogurt ferments at room temperature and is typically thinner than traditional yogurt made with thermophilic cultures. It’s often called Scandinavian or Viili yogurt. It has a mild, tangy flavor and a smooth, creamy texture. Perfect for eating plain, with fruit, or as a base for smoothies.

Thermophilic starters are cultures that thrive at higher temperatures, typically between 90°F to 110°F. Thermophilic yogurt is a traditional yogurt made with thermophilic cultures, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. It has a tangy flavor and a thick, creamy texture. Enjoyed plain, with fruits, honey, or granola, and used in smoothies, dressings, and cooking. Greek Yogurt is a strained yogurt that is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt, made using thermophilic cultures and then having some of the whey strained off. It is often eaten as a snack, used as a base for dips and sauces, or as a substitute for sour cream.

Making or Selecting a Yogurt Culture

For this recipe, I am using a thermophilic starter, which will turn out like traditional yogurt. There are four ways to obtain a yogurt culture: 

Making a Culture from Raw Milk:

This one is the trickiest of the three methods because you will need some patience and an incubator that maintains a temperature between 90-110°F. Start by putting some raw milk into a small mason jar. Seal with a lid. Let milk sit out at a thermophilic temperature for 24 hours. Let the milk clabber (form a large curd, a similar texture to yogurt). This may happen within 24 hours or may happen over the course of a week. Once the clabber has formed, you can use it as a start culture for your yogurt.

Using Store-Bought Yogurt: 

Select a plain, unflavored high-quality yogurt with live active cultures from the grocery store. Check the label to ensure it contains live or active cultures and no additives. You can use a few tablespoons of this store-bought yogurt as a starter for your homemade yogurt. This method is convenient and cost-effective, especially if it’s your first time making yogurt.

Using Previous Batch: 

After making your first batch of homemade yogurt, you can save a few tablespoons to use as a starter for your next batch. This process can be repeated continuously.

Buying Commercial Starter Cultures:

You can buy freeze-dried yogurt starter cultures specifically designed for homemade yogurt. These are available online, in health food stores, and sometimes in grocery stores. If you go this route, I recommend using the instructions on the package. 

What You Need to Make Yogurt

Equipment:

• A heavy-bottomed pot
• A thermometer
• A whisk
• Glass jars with sealable lid
• A warm spot for incubation. I am using my bread-proofing box, but you can do the same thing in a cooler (I’ll explain both)

Ingredients:

• 2 gallons of fresh milk (whole or skim or anything in between is fine)
• 4 tablespoons of starter (I am using yogurt from a previous batch)

Instructions

1. Choose Milk: Select high-quality milk (raw or pasteurized). Whole milk will give you the creamiest yogurt, while skim milk will produce a thinner consistency. I like to use raw skimmed milk.
2. Heat Milk: Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pot and heat it over medium-low heat until it reaches 185°F. This process denatures the proteins, which helps the it to set properly. Stir occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom of the pot.
3. Cool Milk: Remove the pot from heat and let the milk cool down to 110°F. You can speed up this process by placing the pot in an ice bath. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooling.
4. Add Culture: In a small bowl, mix the starter into one cup of the cooled milk. Whisk this mixture back into the pot of cooled milk. 
5. Add to jars: Add your inoculated milk into glass jars until full with one-inch head space. You can use whatever sizes you’d like. 
6. Incubate: Once the milk is topped off in the jars, screw on an airtight lid and place them in a warm spot to maintain the temperature around 110°F for 12-24 hours. I usually set my bread-proofing box to the appropriate temperature and let it go. You can also fill a cooler with hot water and place the jars in it (water should cover the top of the milk line), close the lid and let it sit. The longer the incubation, the tangier the taste. Once set, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating.

Tips for Best Results

• Thickness: Drain off some of the whey using a cheesecloth and hang it up. The longer it hangs, the thicker the yogurt (this is how to make Greek yogurt)
• Live Cultures: Use a high-quality starter with live active cultures for the best results. Never use flavored or cheap yogurt as your starter (pick one with just milk and cultures, no other ingredients). 
• Warm Place: Ensure your milk is incubated in a consistently warm spot for proper fermentation.
• Fresh Start: Always use fresh milk and clean equipment to prevent contamination.

Alternate Methods

There are numerous methods to make homemade yogurt. Each method has its unique advantages and all will make a great product. Below, is the basic process and equipment needed for a few alternate methods.

Note: The basic premise of any yogurt-making method is that the inoculated milk (milk with starter culture mixed in) MUST maintain a constant temperature between 90-110°F until it is set which can take anywhere from 12-24 hours.

Instant Pot

I don’t have an instant pot, but you can find many recipes online for yogurt-making using this method. Pour the milk into the instant pot and use the yogurt setting to boil the milk. Cool the milk to 110°F, add the culture, mix well, cover, and use the yogurt setting again to incubate.

Crockpot/Slow Cooker

Let the milk warm up in the crockpot to 185°F. After the milk is cooled to 110°F, stir in the culture, cover, and wrap the crockpot in a towel to maintain warmth.

Yogurt Maker

I haven’t used this method myself, but it is fairly straightforward. You pour inoculated milk into the provided containers. The containers then go into a warmer and sit for the allotted time, until set. If you choose this method, the equipment will come with specific instructions.

Oven Light

This method uses an oven light to maintain warmth for incubation. Pour into mason jars and place them in an oven with the light on for warmth. Wrap them in a towel could help maintain the temperature. 

Heating pad

​For the incubation period, you can wrap your jars in a heating pad for the allotted time.

I hope this post was informative and gave you some options for making yogurt at home. Please reach out with questions and let me know if something could be made more clear. Have fun!

More Homemade Dairy Recipes:

How to Make Ricotta Cheese