Organic yogurt has many health benefits. It boots your immune system, reduces certain risks of cancer and osteoporosis and helps fight yeast infections. Making your own organic yogurt is easy, fun and cheap. It is easier to make it with a yogurt maker, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You still can make a delicious and healthy treat at home.

You need: 4 cups of organic milk, 2 teaspoons of dry milk and half a cup of organic plain yogurt with active cultures.

Heat 4 cups of organic milk (all fat contents are acceptable) with 2 teaspoons of dry milk to about 170-180F (76-82C). Make sure it doesn’t boil. Let it cool down, so it reaches 105-115F degrees. Add half a cup of organic plain yogurt and mix gently. Do not whip, but make sure it dissolves well.

Pour the mixture into a container or containers, glass or plastic. Make sure the lids are closed tight. Fill your cooler with very hot tap water (110-120F). Place your containers inside. In 3-4 hours yogurt will be ready. You need to refrigerate it immediately.

To be honest, using a cooler was too much of a hassle for me, and we invested in a very basic yogurt maker – Salton Yogurt Maker.

I paid less than $25 for it on Amazon and I think it was worth every penny.

By the way, when your yogurt is ready, make sure to save half a cup for the next time and use it within 5-7 days. The rest of the yogurt will be OK for up to 2 weeks. If you don’t like plain yogurt, you may flavor it with honey, syrup, stevia, jelly, fresh fruits or whatever else you may find appealing.

Important things to remember:

Watch temperatures. You have to be exact or you may ruin your yogurt.

Don’t use old yogurt as a starter (I did it once and it didn’t work).

If for some reason it doesn’t work, analyze what you might have done wrong and try again.

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