Best Homemade Thick Vanilla Yogurt Recipes

HOMEMADE VANILLA YOGURT

Steps:

• Heat up the oven by turning on for 3 to 4 minutes; turn the oven off.
• Bring milk to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract until blended. Turn off heat and let sit until warm but not cool.
• Place yogurt in a large container; pour in milk mixture. Cover and place in the oven until yogurt has set, 8 to 16 hours. Store in the refrigerator.

THICK, CREAMY HOMEMADE YOGURT

Steps:

• Bring the milk to 190 degrees over medium heat, remove from the heat and allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees, this takes from 30-45 minutes in my kitchen most of the time. Stir in the yogurt. Pour through a strainer into a pitcher and pour into jars.
• Place in the dehydrator for 10 hours at 105 degrees. Alternatively, the yogurt can be finished in a yogurt maker for 8 hours. (Process according to the manufacturer's directions.) At the end of the warming time, chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
• If your jars have a little bit of whey (or watery liquid) in the top, just stir it into the finished yogurt right before eating. Sweeten to taste with honey, maple syrup, fruit jams or jellies. I like to add a tiny splash of vanilla extract as well. Enjoy!
• * You really do not need more yogurt than a tablespoon per quart of milk. The more yogurt you add, the more tangy the resulting yogurt will be. Additional yogurt won't thicken the yogurt more, it will simply affect the flavor.

VANILLA YOGURT (HOMEMADE)

Steps:

• Set 1/2 yogurt starter out to warm to room temperature.
• Heat the milk to almost a boil.(I like to microwave in a glass bowl for 5 minutes on high then 2 minutes on medium). Cool the milk (to a "barely warm"/ babies bath temperature) (cool water bath works well). Add dry milk, vanilla and sweetener of your choice; stir well.
• Stir in yogurt starter (do not whip but mix very well!).
• "Cook" the yogurt using your preferred method and time (longer makes a firmer, more tart yogurt. I like to cook about 12 hours). Chill 4 hours before eating.

HOMEMADE THICK VANILLA YOGURT

Steps:

• Make sure all of your cooking implements are very clean before you start. You will be using a medium sized pot, a large pyrex (or other non-metal) bowl, and some measuring tools and stirrers. It also helps to have a thermometer. I usually pour boiling water over them.
• Stir the agave into the milk, and put it on the stove at medium heat.
• Slowly add the milk powder to the milk, stirring constantly so as to avoid scalding.
• Add the vanilla and stir well right before the milk reaches the boiling point.
• When the milk just begins to bubble, or alternately, when it hits 210 degrees F (just below boiling), remove it from the heat and transfer to a non-metal bowl (something with thick sides works best).
• Let the milk sit until it's just cool enough to hold your finger in for fifteen seconds (or until it hits 105 degrees F).
• Your 1/4 cup of yogurt (starter) should be at room temperature. Add enough of the milk to your starter to mix it into a thin liquid, and add this back to the milk, making sure it's stirred in very well.
• Put plastic wrap over the bowl, wrap it in a small towel, and place it somewhere warm where it won't be disturbed (I use a rice cooker on the warm setting).
• Let it sit for 6-12 hours, making sure not to peek or otherwise move the bowl. The time will vary depending on how warm it is where the yogurt is left to ferment, but as a rule, warmer spots will take less time and cooler spots will take more, but leaving the yogurt anywhere warmer than 110 degrees should be avoided, as it may kill the active cultures. For me, nine hours works best.
• When it has finished fermenting, the plastic will puff out and your yogurt will be sitting in a yellowish syrup. This is just the whey, and it is up to you whether or not you want to drain it off. Place the yogurt in the fridge and let it get cold before serving.
• Reduce the milk powder to 3 tbsp and omit the agave and vanilla for plain yogurt that can be used in recipes.

CREAMY HOMEMADE YOGURT

Steps:

• Rub an ice cube over the inside bottom of a heavy pot to prevent scorching (or rinse the inside of the pot with cold water). Add milk and cream, if using, and bring to a bare simmer, until bubbles form around the edges, 180 to 200 degrees. Stir the milk occasionally as it heats.
• Remove pot from heat and let cool until it feels pleasantly warm when you stick your pinkie in the milk for 10 seconds, 110 to 120 degrees. (If you think you'll need to use the pot for something else, transfer the milk to a glass or ceramic bowl, or else you can let it sit in the pot.) If you're in a hurry, you can fill your sink with ice water and let the pot of milk cool in the ice bath, stirring the milk frequently so it cools evenly.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of warm milk to a small bowl and whisk in yogurt until smooth. Stir yogurt-milk mixture back into remaining pot of warm milk. Cover pot with a large lid. Keep pot warm by wrapping it in a large towel, or setting it on a heating pad, or moving to a warm place, such as your oven with the oven light turned on. Or just set it on top of your refrigerator, which tends to be both warm and out of the way.
• Let yogurt sit for 6 to 12 hours, until the yogurt is thick and tangy; the longer it sits, the thicker and tangier it will become. (I usually let it sit for the full 12 hours.) Transfer the pot to the refrigerator and chill for at least another 4 hours; it will continue to thicken as it chills.

HOMEMADE THICK CREAMY YOGURT

Steps:

• Have ready a sterilized whisk, spoon and candy thermometer.
• Put milk into a heavy bottomed pot or microwavable dish.
• Sprinkle gelatine crystals over cold milk, stir and let sit 10 minutes.
• Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
• If using a pot, scald the milk over medium or medium-high heat, whisking often to prevent burning.
• If using a microwave, heat milk on high and whisk every few minutes until milk reaches a temperature of 95 degrees Celsius or 203 Fahrenheit.
• Remove from heat and let cool to 52 degrees Celsius or 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Use a sterilized spoon to add the yogurt from a newly opened container and whisk until smooth.
• Pour into sterilized containers with lids and incubate 4 to 6 hours. I do this by warming a comforter or sleeping bag in the dryer then using it to wrap the yogurt containers. Be creative.
• Refrigerate when set.
• Stir before using to mix in the separated whey.
• To flavour the yogurt, just add fruit, sweetener, jam, spices, flavoured extract, concentrated juice, or whatever you prefer.
• Keeps up to 3 weeks. Remember to use some of the last batch to make a new batch.