Milk Fat Adjustment Calculator
Enter your base milk, its fat percentage, the cream you have and the fat percentage you want - for yogurt, kefir or ice cream bases that need richer milk.
Results
- Total volume
- 1,056 ml
- Total fat in the batch
- 53 g
Heavy cream at 36% is the usual choice for a rich homemade yogurt; half-and-half works for a gentler lift but needs far more volume to reach the same target.
How the Pearson square works
The Pearson square solves a two-ingredient blend: cream ml = milk ml x (target - milk fat) / (cream fat - target). It conserves both volume and fat, so the finished batch lands exactly on the target percentage by construction. It only works when the target sits strictly between the two ingredient percentages - you cannot blend 3.25% milk and 36% cream down to 2%.
With the enriched milk mixed, the yogurt starter ratio calculator sizes the culture and the yogurt fermentation time calculator plans the incubation.
Frequently asked questions
How much cream makes 5% yogurt milk?
For 1 L of 3.25% whole milk, add about 56 ml of 36% heavy cream to reach 5%, giving roughly 1.06 L of enriched milk. That fat level is what gives Greek-style homemade yogurt its creamy body before any straining.
Can I thin milk down instead of enriching it?
Not with this pair of ingredients: blending a higher-fat milk with water or skim follows the same Pearson square, but the target must still sit between the two inputs. Enter the higher-fat milk as the 'cream' side and water as 0% fat, and the same math gives the dilution volume.
Do the fat percentages refer to weight or volume?
Dairy fat percentages are by weight, and this calculator treats milk and cream as about 1 g per ml - close enough in the kitchen for both. For lab-precision standardization the densities differ slightly, but homemade yogurt never notices the difference.