How to Make Homemade Yogurt- Cheaper & Healthier

A lot of people turn to yogurt as a healthy snack. The probiotics help ensure that you have a healthy gut flora, which aid in digestion of nutrients. Having healthy bacteria has some evidence of reducing colon cancer. They also help to alleviate cramps/gas (although having way too much has its own negative effects).
However, a lot of yogurts you can buy at the store contain added sugars, artificial colors and flavors, and other unnecessary things. They also cost more than homemade yogurt.

6oz Chobani Greek Yogurt: On sale for $1
32oz (Quart) of Homemade Yogurt: As little as $2.00

For the freshest and most nutritious yogurt, why not make it yourself? It is not difficult at all and you'll be loving what you get.

You only need:

1. Basic kitchen items (pot/saucepan, spoon, container with lid).
2. Milk (equal to or slightly less than the amount of liquid the container can hold). Whole milk gives more body and flavor to the yogurt but you can use any milk. 
3. Powdered Milk, 1/2 scoop to 1 cup (to make the yogurt thicker,add more/less if desired)
4. A pinch of Probiotic powder, usually Lactobacillus bulgaricus or Streptococcus thermophilus is used, although other strains may work as well. You could find those at drug stores or online here

          -Or you can just use commercial yogurt instead of probiotic powder (6oz to 4 cups of milk).
                   

Step 1: Measure out how much milk you'll need. If you're going to use some yogurt as a starter, use a little less milk. Heat the milk to about 180°F, basically to the point where bubbles start to form but do not burst up to the surface like a simmering. This kills bacteria and denatures the milk proteins, meaning that the chemical bonds break down and allow the milk to coagulate/gel together. This makes the milk less runny. Some say to let the milk heat at this temperature for 30 minutes, but this length of time isn't necessary unless you're using unpasteurized milk.

Step 2: Let the milk cool down so that it is warm. Add the yogurt/probiotics and powdered milk and mix well, making sure that there's no clumps. 

Step 3: Pour the mixture into a container, cover, and let it sit in a warm room/area for at least 6-8 hours. The yogurt itself will thicken as you let it ferment for about 8 hours). It might take longer depending on how fast the bacteria works and environmental conditions. If the yogurt is not thick enough, give it a few more hours. If that still fails, consider adding more yogurt/probiotics to it. 

Done! 

It really isn't that hard to do so get at it! Thanks for reading and enjoy your yogurt!