Home-made Yogurt

We love to eat Yogurt. We can go through at least 3 quarts of yogurt a week.

One of the ways that we have been able to enjoy our Yogurt without going off budget every month is by making our own.

I do not have one of those fancy yogurt making machines but I do have a slow cooker and that is exactly what I use to make our yogurt. There are a lot of different ways to make yogurt. Some people use powdered milk as a thickener and some only use milk and a starter. I like my yogurt with a little hint of sweetness, so I do mine just a little bit different than most.

The ingredients:

Half a gallon of whole milk

1 cup of store bought plain yogurt

1 packet of plain gelatin

1 can of condense milk

Step 1. Pour half a gallon of milk into your slow cooker and turn it on low for 2 hours or until the milk is heated to 190 degrees F. ( I've been known to do this step on the stove top when I am in a hurry. Just heat the milk in a pot until it has reached temperature)

Step 2. Once your milk has reached temperature, turn off your slow cooker and let it sit for 1 and 1/2 hours or until your milk has cooled down to 110 degrees F
Step 3. Once your milk has reached temperature remove about 2 cups of it and to that add your store bought yogurt, your packet of gelatin, and your can of condense milk and mix very well.
Step 4. Pour your yogurt, condense milk, gelatin and warm milk mixture back into the slow cooker. (Unplug the slow cooker) Stir everything together until well mixed.
Step 5. Put the lid back on your slow cooker and cover it up with 2 heavy towels

Step 6. Let it rest covered for 8 hours. After 8 hours uncover your slow cooker and put your yogurt in storage containers of your choice and put them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or until they have cooled down and thickened up even more.
We like to eat our yogurt as is or with home-made granola or topped with home-made jam.

Do you make your own yogurt? Do you do it like we do or is yours a little different? I would love to hear all about it.
Until then I'm off to eat some more yogurt.