How to Make Your Own Sugar Free Yogurt

Yogurt begins without the addition of sugar or sweeteners because these interfere with the incubation, or culturing, process. Milk has enough natural sugar to feed the cultures that cause protein to coagulate and thicken into yogurt. You can use any type of milk to make yogurt, too -- whole, skim and lactose-free all work. During yogurt incubation, active cultures convert lactose into galactose and glucose, the only fuels it can use, and cause casein, or milk protein to thicken. After you incubate it, however, you can add sweeteners like stevia to sweeten your yogurt and keep it sugar-free.

Things You'll Need

Whole, 2-percent, skim or lactose-free milk
Heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven
Instant-read thermometer

Store-bought yogurt
Kitchen towels

Instructions

Heat the oven to warm. Pour whole, 2-percent, skim or lactose-free milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the milk in 1-gallon or 1/2-gallon amounts.
Heat the milk to 200 degrees Fahrenheit on the stove using medium heat, stirring constantly. Take the saucepan off the stove when the milk reaches 200 F and stir until it lowers to 115 F.
Transfer 1 cup of warm milk to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of store-bought plain, unflavored yogurt for every 1/2 gallon of milk used. Stir the mixed yogurt and milk back into the pot of warm milk.
Cover the saucepan, if that's what you're using, with a kitchen towel and place the lid on it. Wrap the entire pan in a few thick towels and place it in the oven. If you're using a Dutch oven, simply cover it with a lid and place it in the oven without using any towels to help insulate it.
Prop the oven door 2 or 3 inches with a folded towel and let the yogurt incubate for 4 to 6 hours. Take the pan out of the oven after 4 hours, for thin yogurt, or 6 hours, for thick yogurt.
Let the yogurt cool to room temperature in the pan. Add sugar-free sweetener to taste and mix.
Transfer the yogurt to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Homemade yogurt keeps about 3 days.

Previous:Topping for Whole Smoked Salmon

Next: Things to Cook With Lettuce & Tomato