Did you know you can make homemade yogurt without a starter culture packet or a yogurt maker?

Healthy food is expensive. I believe in paying the farmer instead of the doctor, but it can be hard on the wallet. I have grown vegetables, joined a CSA, and preserved food, but the food budget is still pretty high. Store-bought cultured foods are expensive. (A 16-ounce jar of sauerkraut costs at least ten dollars). It is healthier to make homemade fermented foods than to buy them. When I consistently make Kombucha and yogurt I save a lot of money.  

Yogurt is a great convenience food if you are always on the go. (We consume A1 beta-casein-free dairy products, which can be hard to find.) Store-bought yogurt can contain undesirable ingredients such as carrageenan, food dyes, or sugar. Homemade yogurt is a better choice, and it is not difficult to make.

I started making Greek Yogurt years ago with a culture I purchased from cultures for health. I did not have to buy a new packet for months; I kept using one batch to start the next batch. (This worked until I had an unsuccessful batch when the dehydrator turned off overnight.)

When this happened, I decided to try making yogurt without the “starter culture packet.” If the yogurt is plain and has live cultures, you can make homemade yogurt with it. I felt adventurous and tried it, and I succeeded on the first try! My first batch was successful.

I developed a system for making homemade yogurt. My secret to success is to time how long it takes to heat and cool the milk. I timed the first few times I made it and recorded how long it took to heat the milk and how long it took to cool it to the right temperature. This simple step has prevented me from ending up with scalded milk.

Stoves have different settings, so time the process yourself. Recording the time and stove settings makes the process easy. I like to make a half gallon at a time and make yogurt once a week.

A yogurt maker and starter packet are not needed to make yogurt.

Recipe – ½ gallon of yogurt

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons of plain yogurt with live cultures
½ gallon of milk (we use A1 beta-casein free)

Equipment
Mason Jars
Large Pot (I use All-Clad 5 quart )
Excalibur Dehydrator
Thermometer
Non-metal strainer
Pyrex measuring cup

Directions

• Heat the milk over medium heat. It takes me about 15 minutes to heat a half gallon of milk in my 5-quart All-Clad pot. (This is total time.) The milk temperature must reach 180F.
• Remove the hot milk from the stovetop and allow it to cool. The cooling process takes around 50-55 minutes. (I set the timer so I know when it is done).
• Pour the cooled milk through a non-metal strainer into a measuring cup, which will remove any “skin” that has formed on top of the milk. I then pour the milk into two-quart mason jars.
• Pour two tablespoons of yogurt from your previous batch into each quart of milk and mix it in.
• Remove the trays from the dehydrator, put a lid on each jar, and set them in your dehydrator.
• Set the dial to 115 F. (My dehydrator has a yogurt setting.) Culture the yogurt for at least 8 hours. (I usually do this overnight). You can culture it longer, but not more than 24 hours.
• Remove the yogurt jars and let them sit on the counter for 1-2 hours before refrigerating them.

Homemade yogurt is delicious; my kids love it. I like to sweeten it with honey and a splash of cherry juice, but it is good plain.

When my children were younger, I loved serving the yogurt in these silicone squeezy containers; it lessened the “mess” factor. I store the yogurt in mason jars and use it to make smoothies, yogurt parfait, and creamy strawberry popsicles.