When we moved to Mexico there was no “no sugar added” yogurt to be found in any of the grocery stores, and when you are used to eating plain yogurt, nothing compares. Plus yogurt is one of those foods that can be a hidden sugar trap. Seriously, take a look at the label on the back of your lowfat vanilla yogurt, yes, even greek yogurt, and the amount of sugar that is in one small serving. Yikes. I know.
So began my journey to make my own yogurt at home. About five methods, six different temperatures, and two food thermometers later, I got sick of how “putzy” it was to make yogurt at home, at least the ways I had tried making it. Plus, “real” plain yogurt showed up in our stores, and it was worth the money and my time to just buy it.
Fast forward to about a year and a half ago. We had been living out here in the mountains in our little village of Las Moras for about 6 months, and buying yogurt was no longer a viable option. My friend Rachel gave me link to a friend’s blog who was living in the Philippines and making yogurt from powdered milk. When I read her post it sounded SO EASY…like too good to be true.
Well, I gave it a try, and the rest is history.
What you get is delicious, plain yogurt, that is thick and creamy and takes about 5 minutes to make (minus water boiling time)… and I’m never going back.
Here is how:
Fill a kettle with water, and put on the stove to boil.
What you need:
Powdered whole milk (it is not good with skim, just go for the fat, you won’t regret it)
Water
A large pitcher
Whisk
1 small store bought plain yogurt (about ½ cup)
2 Glass jars w/ tight fitting lids (I use 2- 26oz. old marantha almond butter jars)
A cooler (any size is fine, but smaller uses less water)
First, measure out 4 cups of filtered water and pour it into the pitcher. Then measure 1 ½ cups of powdered milk and add it to the water.
Whisk well until there are no lumps.
Then add the yogurt, and whisk again until well mixed.
Pour the yogurt, milk mixture into the glass jars, and cover. Shake well.
Place the jars inside your cooler, and pour the boiling water in covering your jars up to about the middle of the jar.
Close the lid of the cooler and put it in a warm place and cover with a blanket to incubate the yogurt. **Tip – During the winter months I cover it with two blankets to keep it warm during the entire incubation time.
Leave the yogurt to culture for 10-11 hours. I personally like to leave it for 11, the texture seems a little thicker.
After 11 hours, dry off the jars and place in your refrigerator to cool. And…eat!
Here I mixed 1 cup of the yogurt with some instant coffee for a delicious pancake topper!
Other tips:
– Do not try and use skim powdered milk, it doesn’t work. Your yogurt will be runny. The full fat is worth it, trust me.
– I have left my yogurt to culture for 15 hours, even 24 hours before (I forgot about it) and it was still edible. It was a little sour, but still totally edible.
– If you like your yogurt a little sweet, add sugar afterwards, or stir in fruit jam such as strawberry, or blackberry for sweetened flavored yogurt.
– Once you make your first batch you can use ½ cup of your homemade yogurt as your starter yogurt in place of a store bought one. You only need to start a new batch with store bought yogurt around every 4-5 weeks.
– This yogurt also makes a great substitute for sour cream on top of chili, baked potatoes, tacos, etc.
– You can also use this yogurt in baking how you would in any recipe calling for yogurt.
**In the near future I hope to try a version with powdered Coconut Milk! I’m pretty excited to see if it turns out, and I’ll keep you all posted.
I hope you’ll try this method, it’s so easy, and I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
Have you ever tried making yogurt at home? How did it turn out? Have you kept making it, why or why not?
Have a great week!
Liesl
Fitness in the Kitchen 