I love a cup of yogurt for breakfast, lunch or even a snack. When I was on a search for a good raw yogurt, I had a very hard time finding one. So, I decided to make my own. I can’t believe how easy it is to make your own fresh organic raw yogurt. I will say this up front. This recipe uses raw milk and that might be difficult for some of you to find. Visit your local chapter of The Weston A. Price Foundation to find a local farmer in your area who can provide raw milk for you. Raw cow’s or goat’s milk works great for this recipe.
Place 2 tablespoons of organic plain yogurt (full fat) in a clean glass pint size mason jar. Once you make your yogurt, you can use 2 tablespoons of your fresh raw yogurt in your next batch.
Next you want to heat your raw milk to 105ºF-115ºF. This temperature is low enough that the nutrition and enzymes of the raw milk are not lost.
Once heated, remove from heat and stir in about 1/4 cup of milk into mason jar with yogurt. Stir well. Add remaining milk and stir until all combined. Place the lid on the mason jar tightly. Wrap mason jar in a thick towel and place in the oven (the oven is not turned on, it is used as an incubator) and turn the light on to offer a little heat. Leave in oven for 24 hours.
After the 24 hours your yogurt will look like this. Homemade yogurt is a lot thinner then store bought yogurt. This is a normal consistency. If you want it to be thicker you can strain your yogurt by simply draining the liquid out through cheesecloth or a fine mesh sifter/strainer. This liquid is the whey. Whey can be used as an acidic medium when soaking oats or grains.
Refrigerate your yogurt for 2-3 hours before serving and it will firm up slightly.
Now enjoy! Remember to save a few tablespoons for your next batch. If you want a quart of yogurt instead of a pint, just double the recipe.
- 2 cups raw milk or raw goat's milk
- 2 tbsp full fat organic yogurt (one that has live active yogurt cultures in it)
- See Post Above
Recipe adapted from The Healthy Home Economist.
We do this (similar recipe) with a gallon of Organic Whole Milk to get a gal. of yogurt (family of 5)….it comes out yummy!! Wouldn’t waste the money on individual small containers anymore since this is sooooo easy!!! Love seeing these do it yourself recipes!!
When using organic whole milk Michelle (because I know someone will ask), do you only heat it to 105-115 F or do you heat it up to 185 F ?
Heat to 180-190 F then let cool to 115 F before adding yogurt. We’re not a fan of reduced fat milks, we believe it’s healthier…and actually good for our kids since they’re not eating all the other processed fats most kids today consume… The reduced-fat milk yogurt comes out really watery and straining becomes almost necessary. The liquid is the whey though so if readers do choose to strain their yogurt, don’t throw away the whey…it’s a good source of protein that can later be added back into fruit smoothies or other dishes/baked goods….
I assumed that your recipe would heat to 185…thanks for sharing. I am sure others will love to try this if they are unable to get a raw source of milk. The whey can also be used to soak oats in as an acidic medium. Thanks for all you information Michelle.
Growing up, friends of ours had a cow, milked by hand, and they shared that delicious raw milk with us…I loved it! We’ve just started working/homesteading a small piece of property but that’s our next step…to buy a miniature milking cow so we can have our own raw milk again (and know exactly where it’s coming from :D)…for now, we’re local organic!!
Thanks Halle, this is too easy not to try. I bought organic yogurt yesterday as a starter and was going to look for a recipe to make it with raw milk. Then your post was here…you are my time saver again!
Michelle, doesn’t heating the raw milk to 180-190 actually pasteurize the milk, thereby killing off much of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes?
[email protected] matz Hey David, She is giving the example if someone wanted to use organic whole milk not raw milk…but yes you are right. Heating the milk to 180-190 actually does pasteurize the milk.
[email protected] Thank you. Am a neophyte at this, and still do a lot of tweaking to get a thicker yogurt using a combination of raw milk and half and half. Needless to say, some hits and misses in the process. Also, would you recommend straining first then refrigerating, or conversely?
[email protected] matz I would strain first and then refrigerate…and I strain mine for 3-4 hours and have very thick yogurt. It is delicious 🙂
[email protected] Many thanks, Halle. Two final questions if you don’t mind: Do you use raw milk exclusively, or combine with half and half? I use a heating pad to maintain the culturing temp at between 105-112 for 8-10 hours. Does this defeat the purpose of simply wrapping and placing in the oven for 24 hours?
[email protected] matz I use raw milk exclusively. Heating pad works or a towel works as well and placed in the oven. I have found that you need a good 24 hours to create a good yogurt. Hope this helps.
[email protected] Thank you so much for the tips.
What if my oven light was turned off for about 7 hours and then turned back on. Would the yogurt still be good?
It should be fine. If it hasn’t set up, you might need to let it sit in a warm place for a few more hours to have it set.
How long does this yogurt last in the refrigerator?? Also can you freeze some for a later recipe?
Thanks,
Laurie
I have not had any success making raw milk yogurt. I tried for about a month. Different ways too. I have some yogurt starters that I got from Cultures for Health and I want to try your method, it seems much easier. Can I use the starter culture instead of Organic plain yogurt? Also, can I add agar agar or gelitin to make it thicker? Thanks
Yoli2k Yes you can use yogurt starters. I would just strain the yogurt if you want a thicker yogurt. Use a strainer bag or cheesecloth and let the whey drain out. It will be plenty thick!
Hello, thanks so much for getting back to me. I wanted to ask if it is okay if I use this Grass Fed plain Yogurt? It has the cream on top. If so, do I mix it before taking the 2TBS out?
Thanks again
Yoli2k that should be fine and yes, mix it before you take 2 TBSP out. Good luck, it is going to work this time! 🙂
The only problem with that yogurt is that is really liquidly. Will that be okay? I have in the oven now with the light. I am nervous about it. I did warm the milk to 110 degrees.
Hi, oh boy, I just did 24 hours for the yogurt and I took it out and it didn’t look like yogurt, liquid on the bottom so I stirred it and it is still liquid. It looks like curds. I am draining it with cheese cloth and there is about 1 1/2 of liquid. Is it still yogurt? I am so sad if I didn’t make yogurt again. I sure hope you can help.
Yoli
I guess I’m not suppose make yogurt. It was like cottage cheese and it tasted awful. Thanks anyway!
Yoli
Just an FYI, I don’t bother with the individual jars anymore. I use 1 cup of yogurt to one gallon and just put the whole pot in the oven. I only do 8 hours or so but either way, I get the same yield as you when I strain it and I like a THICK yogurt. Trying my first go at ricotta!
Sounds great! Thanks for the tip!
Hello! I tried using this recipe and it turned out very liquidy. I left it to sit in the over with the light turned on for 25 hours now. What can I do? Thank you!
How long will the yogurt keep in the fridge?
Several days. I wouldn’t keep it much past 5 days.
I never comment, but wanted to thank you for this method. Although I make kombucha and sauerkraut, I’ve never tried making yoghurt because it always seemed a mission to keep it warm enough and possibly a hit-and-miss effort. Here in NZ we are fortunate enough to get raw milk directly from a farm dispensary close to home, so I tried your method with that milk. I didn’t even keep it in the oven all the time as I was rising some buns, and then also didn’t want to leave the light on overnight – nor did I leave it for 24 hours (I thought it might get too bitter if I did because it had thickened up plenty when I looked in the morning) – but it is very hot here at the moment so maybe didn’t need the oven light anyway. Mine turned out perfect. I haven’t even bothered to strain it as it is quite thick enough. I wonder if the people whose yoghurt didn’t thicken up perhaps used pasteurised milk and not raw milk?
Wow. Thank for posting absolutely nothing helpful at all, and inspiring me to set forth designing my own blog that actually helps families create heathy, whole food, organic sweeteners to aid in probiotic yogurt that children can actually enjoy eating. Kudos.
Smart1 does it make you feel better to be so mean? Your comment was just as unnecessary and useless as you thought her blog post was, which by the way her blog isn’t useless.
Thanks for the article Halle. Keep posting great and helpful information.
We’ve always been told to boil our raw milk to kill any germs. Is it ok if I do that, then let it cool to 110 and continue the yogurt-making process?
If you are going to boil it, it wouldn’t be raw anymore. You are perfectly safe with raw milk from a reliable source. This will not work with pasteurized milk.
If you use just a napkin instead of a lid your yogurt and after fermented do not touch it for one day in the refrigerator and it will be thicker. My yogurt is ready in just 5 hours covered with blanket. 24 hours is very long, doesn’t it taste soury?
Could I add raw cocoa powder to the yogurt BEFORE It ferments? I heard that fermenting chocolate is really good for, so I was wondering If adding some to the mix would add flavor and beneficial nutrients. Or will it negatively affect the mixture?
I’m not sure about this Mercy, but if you do try it please let us know how it turned out.