Grocery prices are continuing to climb and so are my kids’ appetites. I have three young kids, and they all love yogurt. They love it all: Yogurt parfaits, frozen yogurt, yogurt popsicles, yogurt and berries… and the list just goes on and on!

All of that yogurt was making a dent in our grocery bill, so I did some research and found out I could make my own!

The first batch requires a small amount of store-bought yogurt (just one cup) to use as a base, but after making that first batch, a base can come from the homemade yogurt that will already be on hand.

What you’ll need:

• One cup plain or vanilla yogurt
• One gallon whole milk

Here's how to do it:

1. Slowly warm a gallon of whole milk (16 cups) on the stove top until it reaches 200 degrees, stirring often to prevent burning. Note: I usually make mine a half batch at a time so I only warm 8 cups.
2. After the milk reaches 200 degrees, remove from the burner and set aside until it cools down to 110 degrees.
3. Take the starter yogurt out of the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature.
4. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees, then turn it off.
5. Once the milk is cooled to 110 degrees, take out a cup of the warm milk and mix with 6 Tbs of the starter yogurt for a full batch (or 3 Tbs for half batch) and mix well.
6. Add the milk in with the rest of the warm milk and mix again.
7. Separate it into single-serve containers (I use mason jars) and put them on a cookie sheet uncovered in the warmed oven for 6 to 8 hours.

After making that initial starter batch you can use your own yogurt as the starter for the next two batches you make. Then start over with a fresh yogurt. For best results use pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized milk.

This is a guest post by Sarah from Green Bay, WI
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