Dace
Revolution in Progress
I am lucky in that my oven sets at 100 degrees. I only made it once.... should do it again!
uh oh my yogurt flopped...
- Thread starter bornthrifty
- Start date
ducks4you
Almost Self-Reliant
You got me with this thread, because I used to own and use a yogurt maker. It had 5 8-oz. glasses with lids and you plugged it in. It shut itself off when complete. I started with a teaspoon of plain yogurt in each glass, and I'd save some starter to make more before I 'd run out. NOW, I want to try this again, since I still eat a lot of yogurt that I have to buy. I went surfing and found this:
http://chetday.com/howtomakeyogurt.htm
There are various methods on this site. I LIKE the idea of a crock pot. (I try to do practically EVERYTHING with my crock pots, anyway.)
http://chetday.com/howtomakeyogurt.htm
There are various methods on this site. I LIKE the idea of a crock pot. (I try to do practically EVERYTHING with my crock pots, anyway.)
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
I make it in the crockpot, but my keep warm setting is a little too hot, so I do it like this. This is an amalgamation of several folk's methods.
I warm my milk up to slightly hotter than bathwater. Barely starting to steam. While it's heating, I put hot water from my tap in my crock to preheat it. You want the water almost, but not quite too hot for your skin.
I take 2 blankets (comforters) & put them under the bottom of the pot, leaving plenty to go over the top & on the sides.
When the milk is warm, pour the water out of the crock & run a paper towel around the sides & bottom, to get rid of most of the water.
Pour in the milk. Mix in about 1/4 cup plain yogurt with a fork or whisk. Put on the top. Put the crock back in the heating element, which is NOT plugged in. It's just for better insulation.
Wrap the blankets around the crock & tuck them in gently.
Leave for 6-12 hours. I tend more toward the 12 side, or overnight. As free said, it gets more & more sour as time goes on, so test it the first couple of times until you know about how long you like to leave it.
Once its well set, I scoop it into a wire strainer or colander lined with a clean thin cloth, muslin or t-shirt material works great. (Got that tip from free
) Set the colander in a bowl so you don't have whey everywhere.
Let it drain for about 1 hour in the fridge & there's thicker, non-powdered milk yogurt. A large spoon easily scrapes the yogurt from the cloth if you kinda stretch it a little.
I warm my milk up to slightly hotter than bathwater. Barely starting to steam. While it's heating, I put hot water from my tap in my crock to preheat it. You want the water almost, but not quite too hot for your skin.
I take 2 blankets (comforters) & put them under the bottom of the pot, leaving plenty to go over the top & on the sides.
When the milk is warm, pour the water out of the crock & run a paper towel around the sides & bottom, to get rid of most of the water.
Pour in the milk. Mix in about 1/4 cup plain yogurt with a fork or whisk. Put on the top. Put the crock back in the heating element, which is NOT plugged in. It's just for better insulation.
Wrap the blankets around the crock & tuck them in gently.
Leave for 6-12 hours. I tend more toward the 12 side, or overnight. As free said, it gets more & more sour as time goes on, so test it the first couple of times until you know about how long you like to leave it.
Once its well set, I scoop it into a wire strainer or colander lined with a clean thin cloth, muslin or t-shirt material works great. (Got that tip from free
) Set the colander in a bowl so you don't have whey everywhere.Let it drain for about 1 hour in the fridge & there's thicker, non-powdered milk yogurt. A large spoon easily scrapes the yogurt from the cloth if you kinda stretch it a little.
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
I don't have access to raw milk but will use organic milk. I normally buy the organic yogurt. An ex-boyfriend used to make a gallon at a time so I have seen it done.
I'll probably use Stoneyfield for my culture. Is Greek yogurt good as a culture or is the thickness just from straining it?
I'll probably use Stoneyfield for my culture. Is Greek yogurt good as a culture or is the thickness just from straining it?
miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
When you're looking for a good yogurt starter, the least amount of ingredients the better, and it must contain live bacterial culture which could come under different names that I can't think of right now. AFAIK, greek should be fine.
You most likely cannot start again with the same milk. I have tried this in the past, and it just curdles as you heat it to bring it back to temperature. For the same reason it isn't good to use in sauces and such, it just makes a curdled mess. However it would be great for any kind of baking. Milk freezes just fine, so if you have more than you think you need for baking at the moment you could freeze the rest until the next baking day. This "almost yoghurt" milk might separate a bit in the thawing, but that shouldn't affect the final result - just mix it in well.bornthrifty said:
