You’ll need about a cup of leftover yogurt or gifted or store bought culture starter. You can buy yogurt culture starter kits (similar to yeast packets) at any number of stores. You'll also need milk or any substitute you are using.
Use 5g of yogurt culture starter per litre (quart) of milk. In our house, two litres, produces enough yogurt to last us a couple weeks.
Measure out your milk, and set aside the yogurt culture/or starter for use in the final step. I like to use whole milk if I'm using cows milk. You can use any milk or nut milk (almond, soy, goat, cow, coconut, cashew).
Heat your milk slowly on medium until the temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (right before it boils), then take it off the heat and let it cool to 108-112 degrees Fahrenheit.
The rich fat of the milk warming up and separating. It looks like melted butter on top.
Once your stove temperature reaches 180 F, remove from heat, and let the temperature cool. Once your milk reaches 108-112 degrees Fahrenheit, add in your leftover yogurt or yogurt culture starter and mix thoroughly.
Have those jars and lids, cleaned, sterilized and ready to go in advance. Once your ready, pour in your milk & yogurt culture mix. At this point, I place all the filled jars (without their lids), into an oven tray and place clean cloth over top to cover.
Turn on the oven light (without turning on the oven) to generate enough warmth to incubate your yogurt.
Incubate your yogurt for 4-5 hours or until the yogurt has reached the desired firmness.
Once your yogurt has reached the desired firmness, place lids on your jars and then refrigerate to stop the incubation. For an extra thick greek yogurt, strain your yogurt through a cheese cloth (a clean pillow case works well also)
Fresh, live & tangy. Add to scones, pancakes, tzatziki, salad dressing, or anything else you like). Sweeten with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
BASIC PLAIN YOGURT RECIPE
- Two litres of milk (almond, soy, nut, coconut, hemp, walnut, cow, goat...)
- 10g of yogurt culture starter OR 1-2 CUPS of leftover yogurt (set aside).
Clean 6-8 medium sized jars and lids and set aside. Pour milk into a saucepan and heat slowly on medium, until the temperature reaches 180 F. Remove from the stove and cool until the temperature reaches 108-112 degrees Fahrenheit. Now add in your yogurt culture starter or your left over yogurt. Mix well. Pour into the clean sterile jars. Place the clean jars (without lids) together in a oven tray and cover with a clean cloth. Leave in the oven for 4-5 hours with the light on until your yogurt reaches the desired thickness. Remove from oven. Place on sterile lids and refrigerate to stop the incubation. Strain for added 'greek yogurt' thickness as desired.