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Anyone who likes yogurt may want to try and make it from home using powdered milk, which is an easy thing to do, if you follow certain steps along the way.
Learning how to make more foods from scratch is a popular pastime these days, and yogurt is no exception. But, yogurt making can sound sort of complicated and if you want to try using powdered milk instead of regular milk, you may be scratching your head over the possibility of this.
You can make yogurt from powdered milk by following these steps:
- Gather all your ingredients
- Gather all your tools
- Follow the appropriate recipe
- Store the final product in the right containers and location
Finding ways to eat more healthy and be more resourceful with our money and time is an area most of us are trying to prioritize these days. But coming up with the right recipe for certain foods can be tough, especially if we don’t know if the ingredients we have on hand are going to be sufficient in creating something that is tasty, nutritious, and relatively easy. Making homemade yogurt while using powdered milk is no exception to this, but it is not hard to make, if you follow a specific list of steps to help guide you along the way.
I am an avid cook and fan of eating healthy foods and being more resourceful in my own attempts to create some of my favorite staples, like yogurt. I’ve come up with an excellent way to make homemade yogurt using powdered milk, an ingredient many of us have in our pantry. Dig in and let me show you how!
Can You Make Yogurt From Powdered Milk?
Powdered milk has long been used as a staple in cooking and for consumption in areas where fresh milk may not be available, or is too expensive for someone’s budget.
By drying milk out through an evaporation process, milk can be made into powdered milk, and thus have a long shelf life. Powdered milk is also more cost-effective than regular milk, and also is more efficient than fresh milk, which tends to only last for a week or so, and must be refrigerated.
Contrary to some beliefs, powdered milk still holds the same nutritional value as regular milk does.
Though many of us may have at least one box (or container) of powdered milk in our pantry, not everyone has considered using it as a way to make certain foods, such as yogurt.
But, powdered milk actually works extremely well for the yogurt-making process, assuming you follow some easy, but specific, steps.
1. Gather All Your Ingredients
Before starting any recipe, it’s a good idea to gather all the ingredients you will be using. In the case of making homemade yogurt, this is critical, because certain items will be fundamental to making the finished product not only taste good but also be healthy and edible.
If you aren’t sure if you have all the appropriate ingredients and tools to make it not only edible, but actually have a consistency of yogurt, you may be hesitating to try your hand at homemade yogurt making.
For this recipe to be a success, you really only need three ingredients: water, powdered milk, and some store-bought yogurt (preferably plain) that has active yogurt cultures within it.
It’s imperative you read the store-bought yogurt label and make sure what you purchase does indeed have active yogurt cultures.
This should be specifically marked on the yogurt container. The active yogurt cultures are necessary to make your homemade yogurt.
When it comes to powdered milk, you can use whatever you have in the pantry, though some would suggest that nonfat powdered milk will work a bit better than one with fat included, as the curds of the yogurt will be smaller and less apparent if the milk is nonfat or skim.
2. Gather All Your Tools
Though this recipe is pretty straightforward, it still is important you make sure you have the ingredients you are going to need before you begin.
One of the hardest things about creating anything in the kitchen is when you realize that there is a specific kitchen tool or item that you don’t have at your disposal, but is necessary for your dish or recipe to be a success.
In the case of homemade yogurt, you will need to have a stirring spoon, a saucepan, a measuring cup, a measuring spoon, and a digital food thermometer for checking the temperature of your water and milk mixture.
You will also want a handful of mason jars or other types of containers to hold the yogurt.
Depending on how much yogurt you plan to make will determine how large of a saucepan you need, as well as how many containers you should have to place the yogurt into once it’s done.
You may want to experiment with a few different size containers, depending if you want to store your yogurt in a large quantity, or would like to have it broken down into portion controls and individual servings that are easier to grab for on-the-go mealtimes.
3. Follow the Appropriate Recipe
Now that you’ve gathered your ingredients and your tools, you are ready to try your hand at making your first batch of homemade yogurt!
Let’s start out making enough yogurt to fill a 1 quart size jar or container. You can easily double or triple this recipe as you wish.
First, place 3 ¾ cups of water into a saucepan. Add 1 ⅔ cups of the powdered milk and stir the two together.
Let the mixture heat until the food thermometer reads 180 degrees when inserted into the mixture.
After it reaches this temperature, remove the saucepan from the stove and let the mixture cool to 115 degrees. Then add a few tablespoons of the active store-bought yogurt.
Make sure you let the mixture fully cool to 115 degrees before you add the yogurt. Otherwise, the heat will kill the bacteria.
After the mixture is fully mixed together, pour it into the containers you have available. You can fill them as high as you wish, depending on how long you wish to store them.
4. Store the Final Product in the Right Containers and Location
I will emphasize again the importance of having good containers for this process.
Mason jars work great for this whole process, as they are air-tight, easy to store and come in a multitude of sizes.
You can also use plastic containers, but just make sure their lids are well-sealed.
Once you’ve put your yogurt mixture into the chosen containers, you will want to let it sit in a warm spot for six to eight hours so that the yogurt can ferment and gain consistency.
Once the fermentation process is complete, you should place the yogurt in a refrigerator for several hours to allow it to chill. After that, you are ready to enjoy!
Try experimenting with your homemade yogurt. You can add nuts, honey, some fresh berries, or a little sugar or sweetener to the mixture. Some people like the crunchiness of granola and others enjoy eating their homemade yogurt perfectly plain.
