Yogurt has a positive effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and normalizes metabolic processes due to the presence of beneficial bacteria in its composition. Yogurt is absorbed much better than whole milk, so for older people and children this product is simply necessary in their diet.

Yoghurt bacteria

For the first time in history, yogurt was produced in Bulgaria. It was there that scientists were able to discover, describe and study the bacteria used to prepare this fermented milk product: Streptococcus thermophilus and Bulgarian bacillus (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, respectively).

The famous Russian biologist Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, while working on the problems of human aging, came across an interesting fact: the largest number of centenarians, at least 100 years old, lived in Bulgaria (4 centenarians per 1000 population). After analyzing all the data, Mechnikov came to the conclusion that it is yogurt, or rather its regular consumption in food, that is the reason for good health and long life.

Real yogurt, as it was originally, should contain only milk and a starter culture from the above bacteria. In modern production, other types of bacteria are used, but they are not so effective, and some even die in the product, creating unfavorable soil for the life of pathogenic flora. Therefore, to be sure of what you are eating, you can make yogurt at home, the main thing is to choose high-quality ingredients.

Benefits of homemade yogurt:

• The ability to change the fat content, calorie content and consistency of the finished yogurt;
• No preservatives, dyes, flavors and other artificial additives in the composition;
• Ability to add any filler (bran, fiber, nuts, etc.);
• You don’t have to add sugar or only in such quantities as you think is necessary;
• Confidence in the bacterial composition of the finished yogurt.

How to make yogurt at home

So, to prepare delicious and most importantly healthy yogurt you will need:

1. Milk. Better, of course, is rustic (boiling is required), but store-bought is also quite suitable. By the way, if you like, you can use goat’s or sheep’s milk. Give preference to UHT or pasteurized. There is no need to boil this milk first. Heat the milk to 38-45 °C. Temperature is very important, so it's best to have a thermometer handy. But you can also use the old method: drop a drop of milk on your wrist; it should not burn, but just be hot. It is better to underheat the milk than to overheat it, since at temperatures above 50 degrees all beneficial bacteria will simply die. To prevent the milk from burning, take a thick-walled stainless steel pan. Enameled cookware will not work.
2. Leaven. You can purchase it online. Nowadays, many companies offer high-quality classic dry sourdoughs. Some pharmacies also sell yogurt bacteria. Some housewives prefer to use store-bought yogurt without fillers as a starter (at the rate of 1 cup (125 ml) per 1 liter of milk). On the package with bacteria there are always instructions according to which the starter should be diluted.
3. Dishes, in which the yogurt will be prepared, should be boiled beforehand.
4. If you have such a device, then you are incredibly lucky. You can often pamper your loved ones with healthy and tasty yogurt without any hassles or complications. After all, the optimal temperature is maintained here throughout the entire period of milk fermentation, and this directly affects the quality of the final product. Another advantage of yogurt makers is ease of use. Yogurt is prepared in portions in jars with lids. Just pour the milk with the starter into jars, install it in the device, press the button, and after 8-10 hours you have ready-made delicious homemade yogurt on the table.

What should those who don’t have a yogurt maker do? You can turn on your ingenuity. Our goal is to place the milk mixed with the starter at a temperature of 42-45 degrees for approximately 6 -10 hours. To create such conditions, you can use a warm blanket and a radiator, a thermos.

Some housewives are very impatient, they strive to open it and see what is happening there. But in fact, this is a grave mistake. While the yogurt is being prepared, it should not be opened, stirred or shaken. We put it in a warm place and forgot for 10 hours.

The longer the yogurt sits, the more sour it will be, so follow your taste preferences.

To make the yogurt even in consistency and even more healthy, put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Now a few words about the “filling”, that is, additives. It is better to add fruits, sugar and other goodies after the yogurt is ready. And there is an explanation for this. Beneficial yogurt bacteria ferment (“eat”, “process”) milk sugar from lactose. But, if you add sugar and berries at the very beginning, the bacteria will happily attack the sugar and fruit. And this is not what we wanted.

When you put kiwi or orange in milk, you will notice how it immediately curdles. The same picture applies to other sour fruits.

Therefore, add the filler before eating or, as a last resort, before putting the yogurt in the refrigerator after fermentation.

Instead of sugar, it is better to use powdered sugar, syrup or honey.

If you like thicker yogurt, there are a few secrets to achieving the desired consistency:

• Add corn starch to the prepared yogurt at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 125-140 g of finished product;
• Pour in milk powder (a couple of spoons) before putting the yogurt to ferment;
• Add agar-agar or peptin to the prepared yogurt before the cooling process.

A healthy diet cannot do without natural yogurt. You rarely find it on sale, so it is best to prepare it at home. And most importantly, learn to do it correctly.

If you have dull skin, rashes, problems with it, or you’re just too lazy to prepare the first, second and third – enjoy homemade yogurt, getting maximum benefits and benefits for your body!

Pamper yourself with healthy goodies and!

And don’t think that you need a yogurt maker to make delicious natural yogurt. Everything is much simpler than you could imagine!

5 important rules:

1. Milk must be boiled in order to kill all pathogenic bacteria that may be contained in it. It is recommended to bring even pasteurized milk to a boil.

2. To make yogurt, do not use too hot milk, otherwise the beneficial bacteria will die. The ideal temperature is +38°C...+40°C, that is, slightly above warm.

3. Cutlery and all dishes in which you will prepare yogurt must be doused with boiling water.

4. The quality and consistency of homemade yogurt is affected by the fat content of milk, so choose the optimal 3.2-3.5%. Those who do not care about their figure and just want delicious natural yogurt can use milk with a fat content of 6%.

5. Do not shake or stir the fermented product so as not to destroy the structure, otherwise the yogurt will not ripen.

Classic yogurt in a thermos

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g of natural yogurt (carefully study the composition, the yogurt must be fresh)

How to prepare classic yogurt in a thermos:

1. Boil milk and cool to a temperature of 38-40°C.

2. Rinse the thermos with boiling water, pour out the water and leave for 1-2 minutes until steam comes out. Then cover with a lid.

3. Combine 100 ml of milk with yogurt and stir so that there are no lumps.

4. Add diluted milk with yogurt to the remaining milk and mix.

5. Pour the resulting mixture into a thermos, close the lid and leave for 6-8 hours.

6. Pour the finished yogurt into small jars and refrigerate for another 8 hours.

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt differs from classic yogurt not only in consistency, more reminiscent of creamy soft cheese, but also in the method of preparation. After traditional fermentation, this yogurt is suspended in a clean cloth or paper filter to get rid of excess whey, for which Greek yogurt is also called filtered.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g natural yoghurt

How to make Greek yogurt:

2. Dilute yogurt in a small amount of milk.

3. Combine the diluted yogurt with the remaining milk in a saucepan. Cover with a lid and wrap with a thick terry towel, or better yet, a blanket.

4. Leave in a warm place for 6-7 hours, then put in the refrigerator. Do not stir or shake the contents of the pan!

5. Line a colander with several layers of gauze and carefully pour the resulting yogurt.

6. Cover and leave for several hours until the excess whey is gone. As a result, you should have 350-450 g of real Greek yogurt.

Homemade yoghurt with sourdough

Yogurt made from pharmaceutical sourdough has a delicate creamy taste and a very pleasant consistency.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

1 bottle of starter (sold at any pharmacy)

How to make homemade yogurt with sourdough:

1. Boil milk and cool to 40°C.

2. Dissolve the dry starter in a few tablespoons of milk and pour into the rest of the milk. Pour into portioned glass jars.

3. Cover with cling film or close with lids, wrap in a terry towel, or better yet, a blanket.

4. Leave to ferment for 12-14 hours.

5. Cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours and the yogurt is ready to eat!

Natural yogurt in the oven

If you don’t have a thermos or a multicooker, and you always miss the temperature of the milk in the pan, then the recipe for making homemade yogurt in the oven is just for you.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g natural yogurt (you can use fresh sour cream with 20% fat content)

How to cook natural yogurt in the oven:

1. Boil milk and cool to room temperature.

2. Dilute yogurt/sour cream in 0.5 tbsp. a glass of milk.

3. Combine the resulting starter with the rest of the milk and mix gently.

4. Pour milk into portioned glass jars.

5. Preheat the oven to 50°C and turn off.

6. Place jars of milk on a baking sheet, cover each jar with foil, sealing tightly.

7. Place the baking sheet in the oven and close the door.

8. Every hour, turn on the oven at 50°C for 5-7 minutes. Yogurt preparation time is 6-8 hours.

9. Place the finished yogurt in the refrigerator overnight. Those with a sweet tooth can add 1-2 tbsp to each jar before pouring the milk. homemade jam.

• 1 liter of milk;
• 50–100 g skim milk powder (optional);
• 1 tablespoon sugar;
• 2 tablespoons prepared yogurt with live cultures or freeze-dried yogurt starter.

You can take any milk: cow, goat, soy, whole or skim.

Unsweetened yogurt without flavorings or additives and marked “Contains live cultures” on the packaging is suitable as a starter. Since beneficial bacteria die quickly, try to choose the freshest yogurt. Try several options until you find the one that tastes best to you.

You can also use freeze-dried yogurt starter. It is usually sold online and works even better than ready-made yogurt.

In a pinch, sweet flavored yogurt will do. Just remember that it will affect the final taste of your product.

How to make yogurt

It is best to do this in a water bath: this way the contents of the pan will not burn, and you will not have to stir it often. If you don't have a thermometer, 85 degrees is the temperature at which the milk starts to foam.

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UHT milk can only be heated to 40-45 degrees and skip the next step.

2. Cool the milk to 40–45 °C

The easiest way to do this is to put it in cold water: this way the temperature will drop quickly and evenly. If cooling at room temperature or in the refrigerator, be sure to stir the milk frequently.

You can determine whether the liquid has reached the desired temperature without a thermometer: with your finger. If the milk is hot, but no longer burns, then it’s time to start sourdough.

Simply remove the store-bought yogurt you'll be using from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature while the milk cools.

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4. Mix the starter with milk

To distribute the bacteria evenly, use a whisk or blender. If fibers remain in the mixture, you most likely heated the milk too much or too quickly.

At this stage, you can add milk powder: it will increase the nutritional value of the yogurt and make it thicker.

5. Grow bacteria

The starter mixture with milk will need to be kept for 6–8 hours at a temperature of 38–40 °C.

The most convenient way to do this is in a yogurt maker. Just pour the mixture into a container and place it in it.

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But an oven will do just fine. Heat it to the required temperature, turn it off and place the container with the yogurt mixture inside. Turn the oven on occasionally to maintain an even temperature. This method is quite tedious, since you need to constantly ensure that the oven does not overheat.

It is easier to prepare yogurt in a slow cooker. Pour boiling water over the bowl and pour the mixture of milk and sourdough into it. If you cook in jars, place them in a slow cooker and fill them with water almost to the brim. Use the "Yogurt" mode or turn on the heating for 6-8 hours. Please note that the heating temperature should not exceed 40 °C. If your model is higher, turn the heat on for 15-20 minutes and then turn it off for an hour to prevent the yogurt from overheating. Repeat the procedure 5-6 times.

In the microwave, the process is approximately the same: set the temperature to 40 °C and leave the mixture for 6-8 hours. If there is a Fermentation mode, use it.

If you don't have any of the above, place the container with the mixture on a sunny windowsill or in a large container of warm water.

Gradually, the consistency of the mixture will become similar to custard, a cheesy smell will appear, and whey will be released on top.

You can simply pour it out, use it in baking, or eat it with yogurt.

6. Check the readiness of the yogurt

After 6–8 hours, shake the container slightly: the finished yogurt under the whey should have a uniform consistency. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it will be.

7. Strain the yogurt through cheesecloth

This way the serum will come out of it and it will become thicker. Line a colander with gauze and place it in a large container, then transfer the yogurt into it, cover with a plate and put it in the refrigerator. In a couple of hours you will have Greek yogurt. And if you leave the mixture overnight, it becomes a very thick yogurt, similar in consistency to cream cheese.

What's next

You can eat homemade yogurt with jam, or maple syrup, fruit or berries.

Use part of the resulting product as a starter for the next portion. You can store yogurt in the refrigerator for no more than 5–7 days.

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Homemade yogurt

Natural yogurt consists of three components: whole milk, Bulgarian bacillus (Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and thermophilic lactic acid streptococcus (Streptococcus thermophilus).

These microorganisms are extremely useful: they normalize the intestinal flora, stop the growth of putrefactive and pathogenic bacteria, strengthen the immune system, weakened by poor ecology and low-quality products. They stimulate the absorption of essential amino acids and vitamins (including rare K and groups B, D), calcium, and iron.

Natural yogurt should not contain preservatives, stabilizers, flavors, dyes, added sugar or sweeteners. The shelf life of natural yogurt is no more than a month. The problem is that during industrial production and transportation, beneficial bacteria have very little chance of surviving. And if there is a tiny amount of them in yogurt, the effect tends to zero.

How to make natural yogurt at home?

If you want natural yogurt, the safest bet is to make your own. I asked Irina Rozhkova, senior researcher at the Central Laboratory of Microbiology of the All-Russian Research Institute of Dairy Industry, to give step-by-step instructions and describe the typical mistakes that we make when we make yogurt at home.

Step 1: Buy a yogurt starter

Denis Bykovskikh

Sourdough is sold in pharmacies. In Moscow, it can also be purchased at the All-Russian Research Institute of Dairy Industry. It is enough to prepare several liters of yogurt.

Not worth it: use store-bought yogurt as a starter, even without additives or preservatives. The fact is that due to the characteristics of the fermented milk product, foreign contaminating microflora (most often E. coli) inevitably forms in it. When fermented, such pathogenic microflora can increase, which leads to infections and food poisoning.

Step 2. Choose milk

Ideally, pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized milk with a short shelf life. Dairy experts trust, for example, the products of the Obninsk Dairy Plant, Valio and Ruzskoe Moloko.

Not worth it: make yogurt with sterilized milk. The European Union is already abandoning this technology: vitamins and other valuable substances are lost in such milk. In addition, a lot of salt and stabilizers are added to the sterilized drink.

Step 3. Dilute the starter

Bring a glass of milk (150-200 ml) to a boil and cool to +40-45 degrees. Add 5-7 ml of this milk to the bottle with the starter. Shake lightly. Mix the resulting liquid from the bottle with the remaining milk. Pour into a thermos or yogurt maker. Place in a warm place, for example near a radiator, or cover with a pillow. Ferment for eight to ten hours. Sourdough in liquid form can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks.

Not worth it: checking the temperature of milk with your finger is not hygienic. Place the container on your cheek - if the skin tolerates it, the temperature is ideal. Do not pour ingredients into a plastic container. Even when heated slightly, plastic can release carcinogenic phenol-formaldehyde resins into milk.

Step 4: Prepare the yogurt

Boil and cool to +40-45 degrees one liter of milk. Place a tablespoon of diluted starter into it. Pour into a glass jar, thermos or yogurt maker and ferment for five to six hours. This yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for five to seven days.

Not worth it: adding powdered milk for thickness - this will definitely not add any beneficial qualities to your homemade yogurt. Do not ignore sanitary safety rules - always treat dishes with boiling water.

The quality of modern products offered in stores and on the market raises doubts among consumers, especially when it comes to fermented milk products. After reviewing the composition, people are horrified. Therefore, they are interested in how to make yogurt at home.

Yogurt is a unique product that contains many useful substances that improve the functioning of the digestive system and protect the body from attacks by viruses and bacteria. Only natural products can boast of such qualities, which are impossible to purchase in a store. For this reason, housewives prepare yogurt at home.

A miracle technique called a yogurt maker helps you prepare a fermented milk product at home, characterized by unsurpassed taste and invaluable benefits. Even if you don’t have the device at hand, don’t despair, homemade yogurt can be prepared in a saucepan, thermos or slow cooker.

The Turks were the first to make yogurt. Over time, the recipe for the delicacy spread throughout the world and received a lot of changes designed to simplify the preparation procedure.

The quality of homemade yogurt depends on the starter culture, which is sold in an assortment. Often, for this purpose, cooks also use store-bought yogurt, which, after reacting with beneficial bacteria and natural milk, becomes healthy.

Classic yogurt recipe

Making yogurt at home is easy. You will need milk and sourdough, a saucepan, a warm blanket, and patience, since the milk fermentation procedure lasts up to fifteen hours. If fermentation is completed correctly, the resulting yogurt will have a thick and smooth consistency. For this purpose, the homemade product is kept in the refrigerator for at least four hours.

Ingredients:

• Dry starter – 1 sachet.

Preparation:

1. First of all, prepare the dishes. Pour boiling water over a small saucepan. Then heat the milk in a saucepan to 90 degrees, remove from the stove and cool to 40 degrees.
2. After cooling, add the starter to the milk. First dilute it with milk and mix. In the case of store-bought yogurt in an amount of 125 ml, initially dilute it with milk and pour it into the pan.
3. After mixing the starter with milk, wrap the dishes in a warm blanket or knitted scarf and leave in a warm place for 10 hours. Afterwards, place the yogurt in the refrigerator for four hours. During this time it will reach the required consistency.

Video recipe

It’s possible that nothing will work out on the first try. If this happens, don't be upset. Many housewives, in the process of getting acquainted with the technology of preparing classic homemade yogurt, make mistakes, the most common of which is failure to comply with the temperature regime, which determines the taste and consistency.

I recommend monitoring the temperature using a kitchen thermometer. To avoid such situations, make sure that the dishes are well wrapped and retain heat. If you want to get a healthy product, use pasteurized milk, which contains more vitamins than its analogue, which is intended for long-term storage.

Recipe for making yogurt in a yogurt maker

Previously, housewives fermented milk in saucepans; now a yogurt maker is used. Cooks who bought the device have long appreciated the advantages of technology that automatically maintains a temperature that promotes the development of lactic acid bacteria.

A yogurt maker helps you make homemade kefir, cottage cheese, sour cream and yogurt effortlessly. Any of the listed goods is sold in the store in a beautiful jar or bag with a bright label, if not for one thing. Store-bought fermented milk products bring almost no benefit to the body.

If you decide to switch your family to eating homemade yogurt, start with sourdough starter, which is sold at the pharmacy. Warmed sterilized milk is best suited for making yogurt. I recommend boiling pasteurized milk. The density of the product is determined by the fat content of the milk raw material. If you follow a fermented milk diet, use powdered milk to get thick yogurt.

Ingredients:

• Milk – 1.15 liters.
• Liquid starter “Narine” – 200 ml.

Preparation:

1. Make a starter. To do this, heat 150 ml of milk to 40 degrees, combine with liquid starter and stir. Soak the starter in the yogurt maker for at least twelve hours, and then for another two hours in the refrigerator.
2. Start making yogurt. Warm a liter of milk a little, mix with two spoons of starter, stir and pour into jars. It remains to turn on the device for six hours.
3. Place a lid on each jar and place the packaged yogurt in the refrigerator for two hours. Afterward, eat the treat quietly or use it as a salad dressing.

Video cooking

Change the taste of homemade dessert using natural additives. Canned fruits, nuts, jam, honey, candied fruits, chocolate and a variety of syrups are suitable. If you mix homemade yogurt with cereal, you get a complete breakfast.

If you plan to use fresh fruit, add it to the finished product, otherwise you will end up with sweet kefir instead of yogurt. I advise you to stir the additives or pour them in layers. It all depends on the desired result. A yogurt maker will help you create various masterpieces, because its capabilities are limited by the chef’s imagination.

How to cook yogurt in a slow cooker - 2 recipes

Yogurt is easy to make at home. Previously, this required titanic work, but the advent of the multicooker has simplified the situation. The multifunctional device is suitable for preparing a variety of dishes and delicacies.

Classic recipe in a slow cooker

First of all, stock up on groceries. Homemade yogurt is made from milk and ferment, represented by store-bought yogurt. Cream is often used instead of milk. I'll share two step-by-step recipes. I'll start with the classic version.

Ingredients:

• Pasteurized milk – 1 liter.
• Store-bought yogurt – 1 pack.

Preparation:

1. Pour milk into a saucepan and heat to 40 degrees. Mix warm milk with yogurt, and beat the resulting mixture using a mixer.
2. Pour the mixture into sterilized jars, cover with film and place in the multicooker bowl, having previously covered the bottom with a towel. Pour warm water into the slow cooker to cover the jars up to the neck level.
3. After closing the lid, activate the heating mode by setting the timer for twenty minutes. Then turn off the device and leave the jars inside the device for an hour.
4. Afterwards, reactivate the heating mode for 15 minutes and turn off the equipment for an hour.

Second recipe

Ingredients:

• Milk – 500 ml.
• Cream – 500 ml.
• Yogurt – 1 package.
• Sugar – 3 tbsp. spoons.

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine the recipe ingredients and stir. Pour the resulting mixture into small jars and place them in a slow cooker.
2. Pour warm water into the appliance bowl, close the multicooker with a lid and activate the heating mode for 60 minutes. Then turn off the device and leave the yogurt in the container.
3. After two hours, remove the dessert from the slow cooker and send it to a cold place to brew and ripen.

If you previously cooked cabbage rolls or boiled pork in a slow cooker, now it is possible to make a tasty and healthy delicacy.

Preparing yogurt in a thermos

It is no secret that the children's body is very susceptible to additives, dyes and artificial fillers. Sometimes even seemingly harmless fermented milk products cause an allergic reaction in a child. This fact forces parents to look for a solution to the problem.

In most cases, mothers concerned about the health of their children go to the supermarket and buy a yogurt maker. They believe that only this device will provide children with quality treats. But you can make homemade yogurt in a thermos. Yes, you heard right. The thermos is suitable not only for brewing tea and making coffee.

Ingredients:

• Pasteurized milk – 1 liter.
• Dry starter – 1 bottle.

Preparation:

1. Pour milk into a saucepan, boil and simmer over low heat for several minutes. As a result, it will get the color of baked milk. Cool to 40 degrees and remove the film, which will provide homemade yogurt with a uniform consistency.
2. Dilute the starter directly in the bottle, adding a little prepared milk. Once the starter has dissolved, mix with the main amount of milk.
3. The next step involves preparing a thermos, which I recommend pouring boiling water over several times. Pour the previously prepared mixture into a thermos, close the lid and leave for six hours. During this period, I do not recommend moving the thermos, otherwise the processes occurring in it will be disrupted.
4. Transfer the homemade fermented milk product to another container and place it in the refrigerator for several hours. Low temperature will have a positive effect on taste characteristics. To make the yogurt more sour, keep it in a thermos for a few hours longer.

Benefits and beneficial properties of homemade yogurt

The modern variety of yoghurts offered by shops and supermarkets is amazing. But finding a truly healthy and healthy dessert is problematic if you don’t prepare the delicacy at home.

1. Homemade yogurt is natural and contains many live active bacteria. There are no dyes, preservatives or harmful additives.
2. Calorie content is easily controlled by using raw materials of varying fat content. I advise you to experiment with taste, adding fruits, berries, nuts.
3. I recommend using homemade yogurt as a dressing for fruit and vegetable salads. It is also considered a base for sauces.
4. The only drawback of homemade yogurt is its short shelf life, which amounts to several days. This is not surprising, because there are no preservatives in the product.

To make quality yogurt you need good milk, a starter culture and sterile containers. I do not recommend preparing delicacies in plastic containers, as this material will contain harmful resins. Aluminum cookware is also not suitable for this purpose.