Raw Milk Yogurt

Yogurt, as well all know, is a healthy food rich in probiotics. It is made by the bacterial fermentation of milk derived from cows, sheep and goats. Even soy milk is used to prepare yogurt. Nowadays, numerous yogurt brands are available in most of the stores. But, homemade fresh yogurt is preferred by many, as most of the store-bought versions are loaded with preservatives as well as sugar.

How to Make Raw Milk Yogurt

As the name implies, this yogurt is made from fresh, raw milk and not the pasteurized ones. It is said that raw milk contains so many nutrients that are lost through over heating that is done in ultra pasteurizing. So, made with raw milk, raw yogurt is also said to be highly nutritious and is said to retain some of the raw milk benefits. You may go for raw goat milk or cow milk for making this yogurt.

• Collect ingredients like raw milk, glass jars, good quality plain yogurt with live cultures and a thermometer. As raw milk yogurt has a runny consistency, you may use a small amount of gelatin or instant milk powder to make it more thick. It will be better to sterilize each and every equipment and utensil with hot water.
• Take a pot and heat a quart of raw milk over low heat, till it reaches a temperature of 110 °F. If you fail to get raw milk, you may go for pasteurized, non-homogenized milk. In such a case, you have to heat the milk to around 130 to 150 degrees and allow it cool to 110 °F, before proceeding with the next step in preparing this homemade yogurt.
• As the milk is heated to the above mentioned temperature, you have to remove it from the heat. At this stage, you may add gelatin or milk powder, so as to make the raw milk yogurt thick. In this case, you need either two tablespoons of milk powder or two teaspoon of gelatin.
• If you want the yogurt to be sweet, you may add some honey too. For one quart of milk, you have to use two tablespoons of honey (can be replaced with maple syrup).
• Adding the sweetening and thickening agents is optional. If you want to skip them, you may proceed to the next step, that is adding the yogurt starter or plain yogurt with live culture to the milk. For one quart of milk, you have to gently whisk in two tablespoons of yogurt. Once done, add the milk to the warm glass jar and close the lid.
• The next step is culturing that is done by keeping the yogurt warm for around eight to ten hours. For this purpose, you may use a raw milk yogurt maker. Another method is to place the glass jar in a pot half filled with warm water (with a temperature of 110 °F). You may also place this pot along with the glass jar in direct sunlight, so as to fasten the process.
• Once your yogurt gets firm, you can refrigerate it, as cooling makes it firmer. You may use this yogurt, after two to three hours of refrigeration.

This was one of the easiest methods to prepare yogurt from raw milk. You may also prepare raw milk yogurt in a crock pot. One of the important points to note is that, as you are using raw milk that is not pasteurized, make sure that the milk is collected from healthy animals that are raised in places with good sanitary conditions.