Making Yogurt

Crock pot yogurt! I love that stuff! we make a gallon at a time. It is a little runny but so is Stoney field farms so it won't look much different than what you are used to.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogu...

My husband and I have made our own yogurt with a method like the one found here http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/. If you are comparing the cost of organic milk to organic yogurt you will save about 50%. (In my local store I can buy 1/2 gallon of organic milk for about $4 and it cost the same for one quart of yogurt.) For a starter you just use yogurt from the store and then you can use your homemade yogurt to continue making it, but eventually you will run out of cultures and want to start with a store-bought starter again. You also need a candy thermometer. The process is easy, but time consuming. It depends on how much your family eats and how much time you have vs. how much money you want to save. We liked making our own because I could control the amount of sugar and flavoring that we put in (but I just buy plain now because we don't have time to make it). Homemade yogurt can also be a bit runnier than store bought, but not always.

Thanks for asking this question. My daughter and I love yogurt and like adding fresh fruit, nuts or granola.

It is cheaper (basically the price of milk) and you don't need starter - just a yogurt with active cultures. Easy too.

I make mine sometimes myself. A friend of mine from Turkey tought me years ago. I use a clean stainless steel pot, regular milk ( one quart). I heat it up until it is warm to the touch, then I add one natural yogurt and stir it in well. I cover it and wrap a thick towel around it and then sit it on a heating pad set on low. It stays there overnight or 12 hours and pot goes into the frigde untill everything is cool. The yogurt tastes great and can be strained to make it thicker. Saves tons of money.

SO EASY!!! You will never go back to store bought if you try making it yourself once. Even easier if you have a yogurt maker. Bought one from Williams Sonoma and it was worth every penny! Here's how I do it:

42 ounces (5.25 cups) of milk (we prefer whole but % milk is just as tasty) and 6 tbsp. organic non-fat dry milk to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool until temperature reaches 115 degrees F. Then whisk in 1/3 cup organic non-fat greek yogurt (or 1/3c yogurt from a previous batch). Divide into 7 jars and cook for 7 hours in your yogurt maker (8 hours for 2% or 9 hours for 1%). We make it plain and add fresh maple syrup, honey or agave nectar but it is simply wonderful plain too.
My DDs favorite food is yogurt so we go through a lot as a household. Don't forget to get some extra jars. I have one extra sets and it makes things a lot easier. Following this recipe, each jar costs about $.68. The yogurt maker and initial 7 jars pay for themselves in 7 batches! Plus you get the most delicious organic low-fat greek style yogurt whenever you want it! GET ONE, you will never regret it.