How to Make Yogurt

Last updated on 7/14/09

When I first started to make yogurt, I purchased my Yogourmet yogurt maker from Lucy's Kitchen Shop, and Lucy is a great resource when starting out. But it is not necessary to own a yogurt maker - I have read about many techniques, from using a dehydrator to placing a jar in a cabinet with a lamp.

I now use an Excalibur dehydrator (also here) to make yogurt and it works beautifully. My favorite yogurt to make is crème frâiche.

And here is a yogurt maker that uses no energy to incubate your yogurt. This insulated container maintains a uniform temperature. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm very curious.

I learned about making yogurt from several sources, so rather than pose as a self-proclaimed expert, I have listed the websites I found helpful in this endeavor.

• Breaking the vicious cycle
  
• Pecanbread
  
• Cooking for celiac, colitis, crohns and ibs
  
• Eating SCD
  
• Weston Price
  
• Harold McGee has written an article about making yogurt that you may find interesting.
• 101 Cookbooks has a post on making yogurt.
  

Note:  Some of these links offer instructions that are geared towards creating lactose-free yogurt (which is cultured for between 24-28 hours), but you don't have to culture your yogurt for 24 hours. The longer you leave the yogurt culturing, the more sour it will be and the less lactose it will contain.

A word about yogurt starter...

I usually have some yogurt around to use as starter for a new batch of yogurt. I now avoid using my previous batches of yogurt to culture new yogurt because I found some batches went bad probably due to new bacterial strains taking hold after a while. So now I tend to use only fresh, new starter, and I make sure the yogurt container is very clean (a run in the dishwasher helps). I use Yogourmet's starter, which you can find in some food stores, and online, and of course at Lucy's Kitchen Shop. GIProHealth sells a dairy-free yogurt starter. I avoid using commercial yogurt to bake, cook and use as starter because it tends to have gums and other fun additives. I make sure that the yogurt starter only has certain bacterial strains: lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus (this last one is optional). I avoid the bifido strains (any word with a "bifido" prefix), because these are known to cause a problem if you have digestive issues.

A word about non-dairy yogurt...

You can also make yogurt using nut milks instead of dairy milks. For more assistance, see the Pecanbread website.