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Homemade Mason Jar Yogurt

Using 2 simple ingredients this yogurt is made using mason jars and a pot of water.
Active Time1 hour
Incubation Time10 hours
Yield: 6 people
Author: Stephanie

Materials

  • 2 quarts raw milk you can also use pasteurized whole milk from the grocery store
  • 4 TBSP plain yogurt with live active cultures I use store bought for my first batch and then use my homemade after that.

Instructions

  • Fill a large stock pot with water about halfway. Fill two quart size glass mason jars with milk leaving about 2 inches from the top. I like to use raw skim milk, but you can use whole raw milk or even whole milk from the store.
  • Place the mason jars in the large pot with water so the water is about 3/4 of the way up the mason jars.Turn your stovetop on medium heat. Heat the milk until it reaches 180°
  • After it reaches 180°, carefully remove the jars from the pot and let the milk come back down to 110° naturally. This can take up to an hour depending on how warm your house is. An easy way to do this is putting the milk in the fridge for a few minutes. However it is really easy to forget about it and then it gets too cold. For this reason, I usually just leave it on my counter. It could take an hour or longer when leaving it on the counter, but you won't forget about it.
  • Next add in 2 tablespoons of yogurt with active live cultures into each jar and stir gently. Make sure you are using plain yogurt. Using a plastic mason jar lid, cap each jar.
  • Place the jars in a warm spot that will hold at roughly 110°. You can use a yogurt incubator, dehydrator, or in the oven with the oven light on. I prefer to use my dehydrator with the yogurt setting, but before I had my dehydrator I used my oven and had great results!
  • Leave them in whatever warm spot you prefer for 8-10 hours undisturbed to let the yogurt set up! The longer it sits the tangier it gets. Chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating. This will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks to be safe, but I have had them last for a lot longer.
  • I always make sure to save 4 TBSP of my homemade yogurt before the 2 week mark for the next batch as my yogurt starter. 
  • Homemade yogurt is a little thinner then store bought. For a thicker yogurt, you can strain it through cheese cloth to remove some of the whey that rises to the top.

Notes

  1. I always use my homemade yogurt to start new batches. However, after about 4 uses of your homemade yogurt, your cultures get "tired". At that point, I will buy a small plain yogurt from the store to start a new batch of homemade.