Making homemade yogurt has been on my list for quite some time. I’ve been making cream cheese and sour cream for quite some time, but I have yet to make yogurt.

The process of making yogurt is very similar to cream cheese. I have seen many different recipes for yogurt. Most use yogurt to make yogurt. I didn’t want to do this because I want to know each and every ingredient in my yogurt. The reason most use yogurt to make yogurt is to get the enzymes (cultures) in the new batch. I use rennet for those enzymes. I picked up some rennet while I was in Denver. They had it at the beer making supply store. I would have never thought to look there, but after some phone calls that’s where we learned carried it. So I took a pregnant woman to the beer making store to get rennet.

Yogurt does take some time to make so some planning is required. It will take 10 – 12 hours to curdle. I start mine first thing in the morning or last thing at night so I’m not up in the middle of the night tending to it. And it will take a little time to strain. Although yogurt doesn’t take much time to strain compared to cream cheese, but if you strain it just a little longer you get Greek yogurt.

Yogurt

Ingredients

32 oz whole milk, not ultra pasteurized
48 oz heavy cream
2 oz buttermilk
3 drops rennet
1 Tbsp salt

Other things you will need

1 large non-reactive pot (Glass, stainless steel, and enameled are the most common nonreactive pans. Aluminum pans are reactive.)
A thermometer that will read 70ºF
Muslin cheesecloth, I just get muslin the cheapest from the fabric store
A large colander
A large bowl
A strong rubberband

Instructions

In the large non-reactive pot, mix whole milk and heavy whipping cream.
Bring up to 70ºF.
Remove from heat add buttermilk and stir. Add rennet, stir, cover and allow to sit for 10-12 hours at room temperature.
Remove lid, sprinkle salt over the surface of the mixture. Using a whisk, cut the gelled mass into small curds. The curds will look very different from the curds of the mozzarella. It won’t really look like curds at all.
Place the colander over the large bowl and place the muslin in the colander covering it.
Pour the mixture into the muslin lined colander. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Then pull up the sides of the muslin and tie together with the rubberband.
Place bowl, colander, and muslin filled with yogurt in the refrigerator. Allow to drain until it is the consistency you desire. I strained mine for just a few hours.

Notes

If you want a tangier yogurt, allow to sit for 1 hour instead of 30 minutes.

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When it’s all done you have plain yogurt. You can add fruit or vanilla extract to make whatever flavor you are looking for. I like to add strawberries and honey.