Homemade Yogurt

I just got done making my first batch of homemade yogurt and it turned out awesomely good! Thanks to my friend, Carla, who shared the recipe, I no longer have to buy yogurt or sour cream! Here's what I did...

The recipe called for whole milk, but I used a 1/2 gallon of 2% milk. I turned the crockpot on low and poured in the half gallon of milk and let it heat on low for 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Then I turned the crockpot off, unplugged it, and let it cool with the lid on for 3 hours.

After three hours, I took out 2 cups of the warm milk and put it in a bowl. To that I added 1 cup of Stonyfield's Oikos Plain Organic Greek Yogurt (the yogurt needs to be plain and have live active cultures) and whisked it all together.

Next, I poured the yogurt-milk mixture back into the crockpot of warm milk and whisked it all together. After that I wrapped the whole crockpot in a triple-layer of large bath towels and went to bed. According to the original instructions the yogurt has to culture overnight (8 to 12 hours).

This morning...I had yogurt! Two beautiful quarts of homemade yogurt, plus enough starter (1 cup) to make my next batch! I just got done jarring it up into glass jars and putting it in the fridge where it needs to set for another 8 hours before eating (I did taste it though and it tastes delicious...just like the store-bought stuff)!

Now all I have to do is pick up another 1/2 gallon of milk and I'm on my way to making my next batch! I'm going to try using skim milk next to see if I can't come up with a 'fat-free' yogurt. 

The total work time involved in this process was between 5 and 10 minutes and the savings is substantial. On a regular basis we go through 3 to 4 containers of yogurt a week at around $3.00 a container, plus sour cream...another $2.50 to $3.00 (I discovered last night that the Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt truly does taste just like sour cream. I had heard that before, but had never tried it, and it's so much better for you...YUM!).

Anyway, based on what I just did, it should save us well over half of what we normally spend for these products, and the yogurt can be flavored up anyway you want it...vanilla, fresh fruit, whatever.

If anyone else out there tries it, please, write to me and share your experience with it!