How Yogurt is Made: A Step-by Step Guide

Making yogurt is actually a pretty straightforward recipe – in fact you can make it at home.

While there’s a basic recipe, different manufacturers, even different countries, each make it in their own way. For example, Greek and Icelandic yogurts strain their yogurts more to give them a thicker consistency. Here’s the general process of how yogurt is made step by step:  

The Yogurt-Making Process

1. Prepare the Milk

It all starts with fresh milk. You can make yogurt at home with whole milk, but some manufacturers will first separate it into cream and skim milk. They then thicken the milk by either evaporating it or adding gelatin or milk powder.

Once the milk is thick, they pasteurize it to ensure its safety and homogenize it to make sure it says creamy.

2. Ferment the Yogurt

After the separation and thickening process, good bacteria are added to the milk. These bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles, are starters or “cultures” for yogurt. The milk is then kept warm at a specific temperature so the bacteria can work, that is, the bacteria change milk’s natural sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. This thickens the milk more and gives it yogurt’s familiar tangy flavor.

Once the milk becomes yogurt, that’s when manufactures – or even you at home – can add in sweeteners, fruit or other add-ins.

3. Sweeten & Garnish to Eat

Want to try making yogurt at home? The Kitchn has a step-by-step slideshow and video to help!