The master guide to making yogurt at home — including all the different things you can make by changing the culture, temperature, milk, time, and straining.
Yogurt, skyr, kefir, sour cream and crème fraîche are different foods, but they are all made using variations on the same basic idea: add a culture to milk or cream and give it the right temperature and time. This master method shows you how to change the culture, temperature, milk and straining method to make each one.
Cultured dairy refers to milk or cream that has been transformed by beneficial bacteria. These cultures ferment lactose into lactic acid, thickening the dairy, developing flavor, and naturally preserving it.
This page brings together my tested methods and agricultural perspective on making cultured dairy at home—linking to detailed recipes while explaining the shared techniques that make them all work.
Technically, these are different types of cultured dairy rather than all types of yogurt, but “yogurt” is the familiar starting point for understanding the method.
At Tony Fitzgerald Photography, cultured dairy is part of The Master Pantry—a collection of foundational recipes that give you flexibility, control, and better results in everyday cooking and baking. Once you understand the basic principles behind culturing milk, you can adapt them to suit your taste, your schedule, and the ingredients available to you.
Cultured dairy is one of our four Master Recipes, along with Master bread dough, Master ice cream, and Master cookies. They all share a common theme: simple ingredients, sound technique, and better results.
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Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Table of contents
Yogurt and other Cultured Dairy Products
Yogurt is a creamy dairy product produced by fermenting milk using a special culture. Examples of cultured dairy products include:
- Skyr – Skyr is thick, mild, and high in protein—closer to fresh cheese than yogurt.
- Kefir – Kefir is lightly effervescent, tangy, and rich in diverse cultures, made with kefir grains.
- Sour cream – Homemade sour cream is subtle, creamy, and nothing like commercial versions thickened with gums.
- Cream Cheese – Authentic homemade cream cheese, to serve with bagels or use to make an exceptional cheesecake.
- Yogurt – A variety of yogurts made from various cultures. (Matsoni Yogurt)
- Crème fraîche – Authentic French cultured cream, an ingredients that elevates homemade ice cream.
Each has its own texture and flavor profile, but they all rely on the same basic process: introducing the right cultures under the right conditions and letting time do the work.
Why Make Yogurt and other Cultured Dairy at Home?
We wanted to make real yogurt (or yoghurt as it is spelled in Europe) so that we could choose exactly what was in it. The yogurt would be made from high quality milk with a yogurt starter culture – that’s it, no sugar or additives.
The brand of milk in this recipe was chosen with care. Organic milk from sustainable dairies helps to create a recipe that is as responsible as it is delicious. Sustainable dairy farming focuses on environmental stewardship and animal welfare through practices like regenerative agriculture and organic farming.
- Choice of Milk – Use your favorite brand of milk. We use Horizon Organic Milk – it’s organic, tastes great, and it’s produced sustainably. and choose who whole, lowfat or nonfat milk.
- No additives – no added sugar, corn syrup, thickeners or preservatives.
- Authentic culture – Cultures for Health.has a variety of different cultures available – each with a different taste.
- Convenience – the starter culture comes in powdered form in tiny packets and conveniently stores for months in the refrigerator.
- Probiotics – Ensures that it actually contains probiotics.
- Buttermilk substitute – It’s a perfect substitute for buttermilk, so you don’t have to go to the added expense of having buttermilk on hand for the few recipes that call for it. Buttermilk is used in pancakes and baking because it reacts with the baking soda to create rise, but kefir provides the same affect.
- Saves money – milk and starter is less expensive than buying kefir or yogurt already made.
- Control – You have control over the fermentation time . Longer fermentation time gives the product a more tangy flavor.
- Complete protein – Since kefir is a complete protein source it can be used instead of meat and save money.
Mesophilic vs. Thermophilic Culture
Cultures fall into two categories, mesophilic and thermophilic, based on the different temperature requirements. Making yogurt in an Instant Pot is perfect for this. It has a special yogurt setting that easily scalds the milk. There is another setting that allows you to select the temperature and it will hold it there for hours.
There are a variety of different cultures. They can be grouped into two categories – mesophilic and thermophilic. It is important to know what category your culture is in because they thrive at different temperatures.
- Mesophilic, which translates to “medium-loving”. This indicates that it thrives at medium temperatures (around 68-100 degrees F) and is destroyed at a higher temperature (around 113 degrees F). The Instant Pot Ultra has a yogurt setting that can be adjusted to low, where it will maintain a constant temperature of 91 degrees. This will usually work for culturing a mesophilic culture.
- Thermophilic, which translates to “heat-loving”. This indicates that it thrives at higher temperatures (around 105-115 degrees F) and is destroyed at a higher temperature (around 130 degrees F). The Instant Pot Ultra has a yogurt setting that can be adjusted to medium. The medium setting will maintain a constant temperature of 115 degrees F, which will culture a thermophilic culture. Most yogurt cultures are thermophilic.
The Master Method
Making yogurt at home can be a bit tricky. With some yogurt, you need to scald the milk. Also, there are many different kinds of yogurt. To culture it, the temperature needs to remain constant for a number of hours. This temperature varies for different kinds of yogurts.
Although skyr, kefir, and sour cream are different, they share a master technique:
- Start with high-quality milk or cream
- Bring it to a temperature that will kill bacteria and then let it cool to the fermentation temperature
- Add a live culture (starter or grains)
- Hold at the correct temperature
- Allow time for fermentation
- Chill, strain, or use as-is depending on the style
Once you understand this framework, learning a new cultured dairy recipe becomes intuitive.
Making Yogurt and Other Cultured Milk Products in an Instant Pot
The most import thing is controlling the temperature. An Instant Pot makes this very easy. There is a setting for scalding the milk to kill any bacteria before adding the culture. Then there is a setting that is perfect for either culture and will hold that temperature for hours.
Because this is a cultured product, it is important that everything is clean. The Instant Pot is made of stainless steel and glass, so it is easy to sterilize before starting. Remove the sealing ring on the Instant Pot lid. Thoroughly wash the sealing ring, the inner pot and the lid with very hot water and put the sealing ring back on.
Start with milk that is not near its expiration date. Boiling the milk may not be required, but it will produce a thicker product. Use the boil setting on the yogurt setting to bring the temperature of the milk above 180 degrees F and then let it cool to below the optimum temperature before adding the starter culture. This will kill any unwanted bacteria, and also help produce a thicker product. The temperature and time combination for pasteurization, according to the USDA, “a minimum for milk is 161 degrees F for at least 15 seconds.”
The milk and starter culture must be kept at a constant temperature where the culture will thrive. If it is a mesophilic variety, it needs to be kept between 68 and 100 degrees F. The low setting on the Instant Pot is 91 degrees F, so this setting will work. If it is thermophilic, it needs to be kept between 105-115 degrees F. The medium setting on the Instant Pot will maintain a constant temperature of 115 degrees F.
Also, making it in an Instant Pot is not just easier, it is a great way to use less energy. This helps us eat less meat, and also saves money.
Ingredients
The key is using the very best ingredients.
Milk
Milk quality affects fermentation, texture, and flavor—especially in simple recipes where nothing is hidden. So it is very important to start with a high quality product. We use Horizon Organics , either nonfat milk or whole milk. Horizon milk is high quality, organic, and produced sustainably using regenerative agriculture methods. Plus, we think it tastes better. The more we buy products that are produced this way, the more farmers will produce them.
Culture
The culture is a real yogurt starter culture from Cultures for Health. They have a variety of different yogurt cultures to choose from. Most of the varieties they carry are thermophilic cultures, but they also have some mesophilic cultures from Scandinavia (Viili, Filmjolk, Matsoni and Piima). The starter culture comes in powdered form in tiny packets and conveniently stores for months in the refrigerator.
It is possible to make successive batches of yogurt from a few tablespoons of a previous batch, but we usually start with fresh starter culture to make sure the culture is strong and the milk is kept clean.
No Affiliates Statement
We call this our “no affiliates” statement because we accept no advertising, have no affiliates and accept no payment. We are not paid to mention brands – we just love buying the best, sharing that information and saving the planet at the same time. The effort put into writing and photographing the blog is solely based on our dedication to the cause.
Sustainability
Every ingredient we choose has an impact. The good news is that small, thoughtful decisions in the kitchen can support more sustainable farming practices and better food systems overall.
Before I started developed and posting recipes, I worked in agriculture — as a farmer, an inspector, an assistant to the county farm advisor, and as an advisor to growers. I saw firsthand how important it is to produce food sustainably. My experience working in agriculture taught me how much these choices matter—from animal health to water use to long-term sustainability. This recipe reflects those values. In the ingredients section, you’ll find simple insights into using quality ingredients, so you can make informed choices without overcomplicating the process.
The ingredients in this recipe reflect that perspective. They’re chosen with care, with attention to how they’re produced and how they contribute to a more sustainable future. This is especially important in dairy products. Dairy production varies widely in its environmental impact. Look for milk from producers who prioritize pasture-based systems or responsible herd management—practices that support both animal welfare and healthier ecosystems.
RECIPE
Equipment
CHOOSING BRANDS:
For certain products, the choice of brand will make a big difference in the outcome of the recipe and in your carbon footprint. So, for those products, we have listed the brand. We are not paid to mention a brand and have no affiliates.
Ingredients
- 1 quarts Horizon milk or up to 4 quarts.
- 1 package Yogurt starter culture from Cultures for Health
Instructions
- Remove the sealing ring and thoroughly wash the sealing ring, inner pot and the lid with very hot water, and put the sealing ring back on. This is a cultured product so it is important that everything is clean.
- Add 1-4 quarts of milk to the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Scalding the milk will make the yogurt thicker. If you have decided to scald the milk first, place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock. Check that the valve is in the sealed position. Select the "yogurt" setting and adjust it to “high” where the display reads "Boil". When the program has finished press cancel until it reads off.
- Release the valve, open the pot and remove the inner pot.
- Cover the pot with plastic wrap and allow the temperature of the milk to drop. Allow the temperature to drop below 91° F before adding the starter culture for a mesophilic yogurt and 107° F before adding the yogurt starter culture for a thermophilic yogurt. This could take a while, but you could place the bowl on ice to speed it up.
- Remove the plastic wrap, add the starter culture and whisk it in for a few seconds.
- Return the inner pot to the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock. The valve can be in either the sealed or unsealed position. Select the "yogurt" setting. If your starter culture is mesophilic, change the setting to “low” and the time to 24 hours and push start. If your starter culture is thermophilic, set it on medium and the time to 8 hours and push start.
- Check the thickness of the yogurt a few hours before the time when it’s supposed to be ready, since the time required can vary. It may take longer to become the thickness you want. Culturing it longer will also make the yogurt more tart. When it has thickened and pulls away from the side of the bowl, transfer it to a glass container and store it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for 2-3 weeks.
- The yogurt can also be strained using a fine mesh strainer to remove some of the water (whey) which will make it thicker.
Nutrition
WHY THIS RECIPE IS A GAME CHANGER:
This recipe is a game-changer — made with the finest sustainable ingredients, simplified using a modern method, and measured in grams, it is easy and reliable.
Yogurt cheese
Straining the yogurt through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth will give you a product that is similar to cream cheese. It can be substituted for cream cheese on bagels and sandwiches.
Other Recipes that start with this Master Cultured Dairy at Home Recipe
True to The Master Pantry philosophy, this recipe combines the best seasonal ingredients and quality brands with homemade methods to maximize both flavor and sustainability. It was inspired by our travels and works well as a holiday recipe.
Photos by Tony Fitzgerald Photography
Recipes created by Lisa LeCoump — Food Photographer, Agricultural Expert, and Home Baker. Sharing master recipes, chef secrets, and sustainable baking for every kitchen. Featured on various publications.