My family LOVES yogurt! And since we’re not producing enough milk for our whole family yet, it’s a way to make store-bought milk more nutritious and delicious. Our little Lucy, and everyone else I know who can’t have dairy otherwise, can tolerate this yogurt just fine because it is cultured. It took me years to perfect, but we finally have smooth, creamy, and thick yogurt that is not too tart. I tried everything, and even had a special yogurt maker, but I’m going to show you how to do it really easily. And you probably already have the equipment for it!

Equipment:

Large stockpot (I use stainless)
Milk (I have used just about every store bought brand successfully. Don’t use ultra-pasteurized and I think Walmart brand might be ultra-pasteurized even though it isn’t labeled as such. We use whole milk, but any milkfat content will be ok.)
Plain yogurt starter. This is just a single serving container of plain yogurt you would buy at the store ready to eat. Fage (pronounced fah-yeh) is available in just about all the stores and works great, we use 4% or 5% milkfat. I’ve found that most of the other yogurts don’t have enough cultures in them to make yogurt with. Using a single serving size, 6 or 8 oz, is enough for a gallon.
Whisk
Thermometer
Ice chest/camping cooler that your pot will fit into
Warm water

Process:

Start with a large stock pot because you might as well make enough to last awhile. I make 1-2 gallons at a time but you could do less than a gallon if you have a smaller family than us.
Pour the milk into the pot and heat over low heat on the stove. Whisk occasionally to make sure it’s not burning on the bottom.
When it starts to rise and bubble remove from heat. This happens quickly and if you’re not watching it will boil over quickly. Don’t ask how I know….
Let cool, stirring occasionally to keep it from developing a film on the top of the milk. I usually just let it cool on it’s own, which can take a couple hours. Or you can put it in the sink with cold water around the pot to speed it up.
Check it regularly with the thermometer and when it has cooled to 100 degrees, or a little under, it is ready for you to add the yogurt starter. Just remember that yogurt bacteria cultures love to be at our body temperature and anything too hot will kill them, just like a very high fever can kill off our gut bacteria. Open the yogurt container, dump it into the milk, and whisk it together.
Fill your cooler halfway with warm water that is about 110-115 degrees (use your thermometer).
Place the pot, without a lid, into the cooler and add more warm water if the water level isn’t at least as high as the milk level in the pot.
Close the lid to the cooler and put it on the ground in the kitchen or in the garage and leave it alone for 24 hours. Don’t move it. Don’t jiggle it. Don’t open it. DON’T EVEN LOOK AT IT!!!! :)
After 24 hours, take the pot out of the cooler, put the lid onto the pot and put it into the fridge for around 6 hours or more. Letting it get cold before eating will make it be really thick like Greek yogurt.
After cooling, just start scooping out spoonfuls of yogurt to enjoy! You might have whey start to pool in the scooped out parts. You can dump it out into a jar and use it in place of water in recipes for added protein in your diet. Or some people even water their plants with it. You could strain the yogurt with cheese cloth if you want it super thick but I don’t bother.
We like to top with fresh berries, frozen berries cooked with some sugar and tapioca starch, honey or if you want to get fancy, lemon curd. Sounds like it could be weird, but lemon curd is amazing on yogurt. Of course granola on top is good for breakfast too!
Don’t forget to immediately save a container of yogurt, well hidden in the fridge, for your next starter. Again, don’t ask how I know you should do this. :)

Hey yogurt, if you're so cultured, how come I never see you at the opera? -Stephen Colbert