I’m thinking about making yoghurt at home and thought I’d ask for any tips or tricks from those who do make their own yoghurt.
I’ve made it in the past but that was (gosh!) about 50 years ago. I made it by adding natural yogurt to milk and putting it in pint bottles in the airing cupboard, if memory serves. I seem to remember it was of drinking consistency rather than like a set yoghurt.
So what do you do? Do you use a yoghurt maker? Are they ‘worth it’?
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Yes I make my own but been too busy this trip. I use a yoghurt maker (also handy for kefir,) can also make cheese as well.
I use the lakeland yoghurt maker. Plenty of other sellers using the same machine.
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Oh yes! I’ve been making my own yogurt for a long time now, and I’m experimenting with different methods. It’s healthy, it tastes much better than anything bought, it’s eco-friendly (French yogurt containers are a total waste), and the result is different every time—which I love. It’s just a bacterial culture.
You can choose whatever milk you like (I use BleuBlanCoeur semi-skimmed milk from SuperU—it’s the best because the cows are fed omega-3). In a stainless steel or glass container, combine one liter of milk with one glass-jarred yogurt (or the leftover yogurt from the previous batch), mix well, and pop it in the oven at the lowest setting (about 40°C) for a few hours (I turn it off after four hours but leave the oven on because the interior light is enough to maintain the temperature). NO YOGURT MAKER NEEDED. Right now, my sunroom is serving as my oven 
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I sometimes add a couple of tablespoons of dried milk to the liquid milk before heating it, you get a wonderful consistency.
Edited to add if you strain your yoghurt (stick it in a pillowcase and hang it on the tap in the sink) you get labné which you can tart up with a bit of salt and olive oil and garlic, or zaatar, or sumac, and eat on toast. Or with eggs or whatever.
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Ahh yes but with a timer you can do those long fermentation types and the included strainer allows you to make a thicker Greek, or in my case Turkish yoghurt.
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Hi Juliet…when you say ‘add a jar of yoghurt ‘ ..can you be more specific please?
I used to make yoghurt yonks ago with some mucus like starter an Icelandic friend gave me and I remember it being a very simple process.
Any live bio yoghurt will work. Then once you’ve made your yoghurt keep a bit back to start the next lot. Same principle as sourdough.
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I have the same maker as @Corona .
It’s foolproof. I usually use the strainer to make it into Greek yogurt.
You can buy dried cultures but I use the remains of the last batch or a small pot of organic yogurt.
It doesn’t make a huge amount but you can make a batch in a day and then strain and/or refrigerate for the following day.
Hence why I bought 2 
(1 for France 1 for UK)
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Yes, we do this and add all sorts for flavour but never came across zaatar?
Lidl sells small fine muslin drawstring bags that are perfect for this.
Adding milk powder to milk definitely improves the result.
No yoghurt maker needed. Just a screw lid pot, with some polystyrene insulation wrapped around it stood above a jar of recently boiled water and left overnight.
Many thanks!
My rice cooker has a yoghurt setting, I haven’t tried it yet. Will report back 
No need for an expensive yoghurt maker
EDIT Two mason jars and a sheet of polystyrene is all you need.
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Up to now I’ve made mine in a glass souffle dish I wrap up in a dishcloth and put in the oven with the light on. Makes itself overnight, could prob make itself just sitting on a kitchen surface but a cat would get it.
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the “reposer” or rising option on a bread machine would also work.
in this weather though room temperature is peobably enough to make anything rise or ferment.
I scoop out my yogurt by digging a hole in it, which, over the course of a few hours, fills with whey (yum, and it has so many uses!) The remaining yogurt thickens over time until it becomes extremely firm!
I prefer to start with whole-milk yogurt sold in a glass pot, because yogurt in plastic pots—even organic ones—smells like plastic !
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….last question. What are you favourite things to do with the whey?
My wife makes paneer and we have the whey sitting around waiting for something yummy to make.
If I don’t drink it right away (the heat wave is a good excuse 
), I add oatmeal to it for breakfast, or use it in pancakes instead of milk…
It’s dinnertime— so I took my latest pots out of the fridge to take a picture!
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Merci encore !