We eat a lot of yogurt – currently close to two quarts a week.  We buy organic, whole milk (i.e. full-fat) plain yogurt at Trader Joe’s for $2.99 a quart.  Trader Joe’s is basically the only place where I can find full-fat plain yogurt.  Last week, I decided that it was finally time for me to start making our own yogurt.  It’s actually really easy to do and because there’s no volume loss (i.e. a quart of milk makes a quart of yogurt), it’s pretty inexpensive.

We buy expensive milk, at least by most standards.  We pay $3.25 for a half gallon of milk.  However, considering that we are getting whole milk from cows raised in a humane manner, who also don’t receive any pesticides or hormones, we know we are getting a very good deal.

Even with expensive milk though, I can still make 2 quarts of yogurt for $3.25 rather than buying it for $5.98.  That’s half-off!  And, even the TJ’s yogurt has pectin in it.  Our yogurt that we make is nothing but milk and bacteria.  Perfect!

I use the Fankhauser method for making yogurt.  It’s very simple.  His website covers the directions in great detail, with pictures.  If you’ve never made yogurt before, go to his site to get the full set of instructions.  The following instructions are just my cheat sheet for helping me to remember how to do it.

You can do it! Make your own yogurt too!

How to Make Yogurt

For 1 quart of yogurt

4 C milk
¼ C yogurt *

1. Heat milk to 185-195 F in a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring fairly constantly to keep it from burning on the bottom.  (This is about when the milk is starting to look foamy but hasn’t boiled yet.)

2. Put pan in clean, cool water and stir until cooled to 130 F.

3. Stir in yogurt.

4. Put in sterile jars** and cover with sterile lids.

5. Put in a cooler. Add 122 F water to just below the lid rims.  Close the cooler lid.

6. Let sit for at least 3 hours but longer is OK too.

*The ratio is one tablespoon of yogurt for every cup of milk so you can make as little or as much as you want!

**To prep jars: Put jars with about an inch of water in the pot, put the lid on the pot, and bring to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and keep lid on until ready to use.