$1.50/per day eating approved, Homemade Yogurt. 2 ingredients, no fancy equipment needed.

September 10, 2022 by Michael Kirk - Efficiency Is Everything

Way easier than I ever expected. Grocery store yogurt would never make the $1.50 per day budget. This offers you a solution.

1. Boil milk
2. Let milk cool (If you want to be scientific 90F-105F, but I don’t think it matters if it goes below 90F. It should be bath water temp)
3. Add yogurt with an active culture(the cheapest 4 pack of walmart great value brand yogurt has it, look under the ingredients). If you add less yogurt, it will get thicker. If you add more yogurt it will be runny. I typically add 2 or 3 tablespoons per gallon of milk.
4. Wrap in a blanket or put it in an oven/microwave but don’t turn it on. The goal is to keep it at ~90F-105F. I sometimes get paranoid and turn on the oven for about 30 seconds to add a little bit of heat. Don’t forget to turn it off quickly, if it gets too hot, the yogurt will separate.
5. Place in your refrigerator when done.

I add 1 tbsp sugar per cup of yogurt. You can add vanilla or fruit, I don’t bother.

I like 9 hours of sitting time(step 4). It reminds me of Yoplait, liquidy and not sour. If you want it slightly firmer and more sour, you can wait longer like 24 hours.

You can use your new yogurt as the starter for next time. I froze a bunch in ice cube trays. Just let it defrost and warm it up closer to room temp before adding it to the 90F-105F milk.

Mrs. Efficiency gets pretty freaked out about dairy and the mere thought of eating bacteria cultures and even she enjoyed the yogurt. I also found myself replacing sour cream in recipes with thick yogurt.