Yoghurt making is one of the easiest and quickly rewarding things to add to your kitchen repertoire. It saves a truckload of money as well you know you and your family are getting a top quality yoghurt with no added anything just milk and culture. Once you get into a rhythm you can have a constant supply of yoghurt. If you can get a hold of a traditional culture it’s possible to keep it going for the rest of your life, never having to buy commercial yoghurt again. If beginning with a store bought (try to find one with only milk and live culture no added milk solids) you may find it is only potent for a few generations of yoghurt. this is due to commercial yoghurt using isolated bacteria strains and not the complex colonies found in traditional yoghurts

I use an easiyo thermos type vessel but you can use a variety of methods to maintain a warm temperature to culture yoghurt.

Ingredients

1 Litre of whole Organic unhomogenised milk

Starter: 1 Tablespoon of previously made yoghurt or a good quality organic yoghurt (I use Paris Creek) equivalent of approx 5% of milk

Equipment

small saucepan
Thermometer that reads from 40 to 100 degrees

Method

Heat milk slowly, stirring often to avoid bottom scalding, to 86 Degrees. Then allow to cool to 46 degrees, the cooling process can be sped up by placing pot in a cool water bath
Take out 1/2 cup of warm milk and thoroughly mix with starter, add rest of milk, pop in to jar then into Thermos vessel and bathe in boiling water half way up yoghurt jar.....and leave. I do mine at night and refrigerate in the morning. The longer the fermentation the less lactose present in finished product.

If using a incubation chamber set at 46 degrees the yoghurt will coagulate in about 3 hours however incubation at 43 degrees for longer will produce a thicker yoghurt according to Sandor Katz The Art of Fermentation