Learn how to make yogurt at home with just 2 simple ingredients and no special equipement.
Yogurt is one of the easiest probiotic foods to make. Probiotics are necessary to feed your microbiome which affects your immune system, your brain health, your organs, and your mood. It makes sense to eat probiotic-rich food every day to feed our microbiome.
Why we need daily probiotics
Probiotics improve health and digestion. According to the Organic Authority, the human body is host to billions of microbes that are essential to health.
“Our Standard American Diet, which often includes products from animals fed excessive amounts of antibiotics, and our own routine exposure to antibiotics (approximately 10-20 different types before we hit puberty!) create imbalances among friendly bacteria colonies. The damage is so significant that new research suggests the probiotic cultures may never fully recover, leading to a number of health issues from diabetes and obesity to more serious gastrose intestinal issues. And, says Wahlquist, many of these processed probiotic pills and foods marketed for digestive health aren’t actually offering us any real active probiotics. “Traditional methods preserve and prolong the good bacteria vital to our digestive health. Cooking and heating [cultured foods] kills the bacteria and prevents the diverse probiotic populations from entering our systems.” (Jill Ettenger,)
Eating yogurt or other probiotic-rich foods, like sauerkraut and kimchi, can improve your gut flora, balance blood sugar, boost your immune system, aid clear thinking, and help you lose weight. It’s easier to consume probiotic food when you make it yourself at home. Follow this step by step guide and learn to make yogurt at home.
Instructions
Learn how to make yogurt using just 2 simple ingredients. You don’t need any special equipment. Making your own saves money, too. You only need two ingredients — 1 quart of milk (raw milk is best) and 1 tablespoon of yogurt culture from a successful batch of yogurt OR one package of powdered yogurt culture.
You’ll only need to use the powdered yogurt culture the first time you make it. After that, you’ll use 1 tablespoon of yogurt from a successful batch that you made at home. Making yogurt is much like making sourdough or kombucha. You keep it going by making it at least once a week to feed the culture.
The 2 ingredients you need
Pour the milk into a clean glass quart jar, within 2 inches of the top. Add 1 package of powdered yogurt culture (buy it here on Amazon) or 1 tablespoon of yogurt with live cultures (look for organic yogurt at your grocer). Cover the jar with a lid and place it in a 2-quart bowl to which warm water has been added.
Place the bowl in the oven with the oven light on. Leave it for 20 hours, give or take. Remove your finished yogurt and refrigerate it. It will thicken as it chills. Once it’s chilled, it’s ready to eat. That’s it. No special equipment. No-fuss.
Homemade is different from store-bought
DIY yogurt may be thinner than store bought. The higher the protein and butterfat content of your milk is, the thicker the yogurt.
If you have your own dairy animals you’ll notice that the consistency of the yogurt changes as the lactation period moves on. Thicker and richer yogurt is made from the early spring milk, while as the summer progresses it will become thinner. Grocery store yogurt has stabilizers and gelatin added to make it thicker and more uniform. You can add gelatin to your milk before culturing if you prefer it thicker. I like it as is.
Eat it with fruit, jam, or eat it plain. You can use it as a sour cream substitute. Add it to salad dressing for a tangy, creamy topping. Use it in place of buttermilk in any recipe.
Making yogurt at home couldn’t be easier. Let me know how it works for you.
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