How to Make Yogurt

Making yogurt is easy. Now that we have that out of the way, we can tell you why. First off, you need very little to get started. The only ingredients you need are milk and a little bit of live-culture yogurt as a starter, and you end up with a whole new batch of yogurt in the end. Learning this was great news for us because we go through a ton of yogurt. In a bowl topped with fruit and granola, yogurt is one of our absolute breakfast staples.

We can’t live without good yogurt, and when you’re making yogurt yourself, it’s really good. It’s often creamier than store-bought, and it’s the exact consistency you like it to be because you control the process and can tweak the steps from batch to batch to really dial in exactly what you want. So if you’re looking for a more Greek-style yogurt, just strain it a little longer. If you want Icelandic, start with a little bit of Icelandic yogurt (with a little funk) as your starter and also let it strain longer so that it thickens. If you want it softer and a little runnier, culture it a bit less. When making yogurt, you’re in control.

We make so many fermented foods, that we sometimes take making yogurt for granted. But if we had to rank our homemade ferments on just how often we make them, yogurt would be at the top of the list. We make it every week as part of our normal weekend routine. Turning a half-gallon of milk into yogurt usually gets us through the week. (That is unless we’re making labneh, raita, or another yogurt-intensive savory dish).

So give yogurt a shot, and it’s bound to become a part of your routine as well.