How to Make Your Own Yogurt

I make my own yogurt at home regularly. It is easy, and takes about an hours work spread out over a 16 hour time span.

This what you’ll need:
• 6 large size yogurt containers with lids (Or glass mason jars if you really want to be healthy!)
• A large soup pot
• A kitchen thermometer- Candy thermometers are best since they handle the required temperature range.
• A freshly bought yogurt (high fat, with very little ingredients listed ex: milk and live cultures
• 3 liters of milk
• A kitchen sink less than half full of icy cold water
• A large shallow (3 inches deep), flat bottomed roasting pan. You will sit the 6 yogurt containers in this.

1. Sterilize your yogurt containers and lids. Boil water in a kettle. Use that water to pour into each yogurt container and onto each lid. Protect your hands! The containers get hot! Do not put these plastic containers IN boiling water this is too much heat. Just pour some boiling water in each container, say 1/4 full and swish(carefully!!) or rotate  it around till you are sure each part of the interior surface has been touched once by this hot water. Discard the water, or use for the next container while hot. Clean all 6 containers this way. Note! I am using the least expensive possible way to do this. You could use glass mason jars and sterilize them like you would for jellies and such. For me Plastic yogurt containers are already available. Chose your preferred containers. I acknowledge, plastic may (especially with the boiling water) leach some toxins. Glass is healthier. For the plastic, I use a very light touch with the boiling water, and I am sterilizing for less than a minute each.
NOTE: Plastic gets very very hot and soft if you leave the hot water in too long. Do this quickly and with oven mits or waterproof/ heat retardant protective gloves.
Let the containers and lids dry upside-down, so no water is left by the time you need them.

2. Prepare your kitchen sink to be an ‘ice bath’. Fill it half full with very cold water from the tap, and if you have ice already made, empty three or four ice trays worth of ice cubes in the sink as well.

3. Take your fresh store bought yogurt out of the fridge if it was in the fridge, and measure out 3 heaping tablespoons of yogurt, put this aside to reach room temperature.