Homemade Yogurt

Making yogurt at home is easier than you might think and requires only two basic ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 liter of milk (whole or partially skimmed, for creamier yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons of natural yogurt (it will act as a starter culture, make sure it contains live lactic cultures)

Preparation

1. Sterilize the utensils you’ll be using, including the spoon and jars, to prevent contaminating the yogurt with unwanted bacteria.
2. Heat the milk in a pot until it reaches about 85 °C, almost boiling. This process kills any unwanted bacteria and alters the milk proteins to make the yogurt thicker.
3. Then, let the milk cool down until it reaches about 43 °C-46 °C, an optimal temperature for the growth of the yogurt lactic cultures.
4. At this point, take the two tablespoons of yogurt and mix them with a small amount of lukewarm milk to dilute them, then combine the mixture with the rest of the milk.
5. Pour the milk into sterilized jars. You can use a thermos, a yogurt incubator, or simply wrap the jars with blankets to keep them warm.
6. Let the jars rest in a warm place, ideally around 43 °C-46 °C, for eight to twelve hours. During this time, the lactic cultures will do their work and the yogurt will start to thicken.
7. Once the yogurt has reached the desired consistency, put it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to stop the fermentation process and cool it down.

Curiosity

Yogurt is a very ancient food and its origins are still uncertain. One theory suggests that it may have been discovered in the Middle East during the Neolithic period when milk carried in the stomachs of animals, which served as natural containers, was curdled due to the combined action of heat and naturally present lactic ferments.

The taste of homemade yogurt can vary based on the type of milk used and the starter culture. You can experiment by adding honey, fruit, or natural extracts to flavor your yogurt once it’s made.