Homemade Yogurt Recipe (Mesta)

A creamy and rich Homemade Yogurt Recipe that's easy to follow and a perfect way to use up milk that's about to expire. Use this yogurt as a base to make a Shawarma Sauce, Yogurt Soup, or a Healthy Yogurt Drink!

In our family, we go through a lot of yogurt. I find it's cheaper and more convenient to make my own homemade yogurt recipe instead of constantly running to the store for more.

This two-ingredient yogurt recipe couldn't be simpler, or more delicious! To keep yogurt stocked in the fridge, I've had to perfect the yogurt making process that my mom and her mom used over the years.

Now, I'd like to show you how to master it too!

Assyrian Yogurt Recipe

To make the perfect yogurt, you only need a few tablespoons of yogurt and approximately half of a gallon of whole milk.

The measurements don't have to be exact, but the method does. If you have an electric heating pad, plug it in and set it to the lowest setting.

Cover the pad with a dishtowel and place a ceramic casserole dish on top of it. Meanwhile, heat the milk until it reaches 180°, then turn the burner off.

Allow the yogurt to cool until it reaches 105-109°, or as my mom used to say: "until you can dip your little finger in and can tolerate it to the count of ten."

Ladle approximately one cup of the warm milk into the yogurt and mix until the yogurt is completely diluted.

Pour the diluted yogurt into the warm milk and mix until incorporated. Then carefully pour the milk/yogurt mixture into the warmed casserole dish.

Place the lid on the dish and cover it with a towel. Do not disturb for eight hours.

Once it's ready, there will be some whey that rises to the surface. Place a few folded paper towels over the yogurt to soak up the extra liquid.

Periodically replace the paper towels as they get soaked. Store the yogurt in the fridge and use as needed.

Finally, pat yourself on the back! You've just made your first batch of yogurt. Your friends will be highly impressed when you tell them you make yogurt from scratch, but you'll know it's a piece of cake!

What Can You Make with Yogurt?

Assyrians use yogurt in many of their recipes. Yogurt Soup, Purslane Dip, Jajik, and Booshala are just a few examples. 

For this reason, most Assyrian mothers always have plenty of homemade yogurt on hand.

My mom was no exception. My mom's yogurt was legendary! She stored the homemade yogurt in those large, clear ice-cream tubs (you know, the kind with the red plastic handle).

I know my Assyrian readers know what I'm talking about!

My mom added citric acid into her yogurt in order to make it slightly sour. The slightly sour-tasting yogurt was better suited for the Assyrian recipes mom would use the yogurt in.

If you would like to achieve the same sour taste, just mix in ¼ tsp. of citric acid in step 5 of the recipe card below.

Tools Needed for Homemade Yogurt

1. To make homemade yogurt, I recommend a few gadgets to make your job easier. The first is a heating pad. Although the traditional way of making homemade yogurt was to cover it with your thickest and heaviest blankets, I prefer using a heating pad instead. I adjust the temperature of the heating pad to the lowest setting to keep the milk at a consistently warm temperature. I also place a towel between the pad and the yogurt. I do this to further reduce the temperature of the pad so that the milk doesn't get too warm.
2. Another gadget that is useful in this homemade yogurt recipe is a digital thermometer. Mom used her little finger to test the temperature of the milk. The idea was to dip the tip of your finger in the milk and if you could barely stand it for ten seconds, it was ready for the next step. However, if you don't want to scald your finger, a digital cooking thermometer is helpful. The thermometer takes the guesswork out of the equation and gives you consistent results.
3. Finally, I have learned that a pyrex container is perfect for not only making the yogurt but also for storing it. It just might top mom's large, plastic ice cream buckets that took up way too much space in the fridge.

Related Recipes

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Tasty, Two-Ingredient, Homemade Yogurt

Delicious and easy, two-ingredient homemade yogurt.

5 from 4 votes

Print Rate

Course: Appetizers, Side Dish, Snacks

Cuisine: Assyrian, Middle Eastern

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 200kcal

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ gallon milk
• ▢ 2 T. yogurt

Instructions

• To make the perfect yogurt, you only need a few tablespoons of yogurt and approximately half a gallon of whole milk.
• The measurements don't have to be exact, but the method does. If you have an electric heating pad, plug it in and set it to the lowest setting. Cover the pad with a dishtowel and place a ceramic casserole dish on top of it. Meanwhile, heat the milk until it reaches 180°, then turn the burner off.
• Allow the yogurt to cool until it reaches 105-109°, or as my mom used to say, until you can dip your little finger in and can tolerate it to the count of ten.
• Ladle approximately one cup of the warm milk into the yogurt and mix until the yogurt is completely diluted.
• Pour the diluted yogurt into the warm milk and mix until incorporated. Then carefully pour the milk/yogurt mixture into the warmed casserole dish.
• Place the lid on the dish and cover with a towel. Do not disturb for eight hours.
• Once it's ready, there will be some whey that rises to the surface. Place a few folded paper towels over the yogurt to soak up the extra liquid. Periodically replace the paper towels as they get soaked. Store the yogurt in the fridge and use as needed.
• Finally, pat yourself on the back! You've just made your first batch of yogurt. Your friends will be highly impressed when you tell them you make yogurt from scratch, but you'll know it's a piece of cake!

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 142mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 17g

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