Yogurt Culture

[Emerald]

I read up quite a bit on making yogurt before I tried it and while you can get away with using some of the first batch to make another(about 3 times was the limit) most of the information that I have read said that the culture will weaken over time and that is why you should start with new every 3 to 4 batches. (something about bacteria contamination, won't kill ya but the live yogurt critters don't like it!)
But I have done What ORChick does- take my fresh yogurt and froze about a dozen cubes of it. ( I also do this with cultured buttermilk and make more of my own at home)
My favorite store brand to use if you can find it is Blue Bunny whole fat organic plain yogurt. Very rich and buttery tasting. I haven't had to cash to buy the cultures online yet.
And I multi-purpose my American Harvester dehydrator- I ended up buying a few boxes of the trays that had removable centers way back when I first got it and so my dehydrator can hold 6 or 7 pint mason jars inside the rings(4 of them) and when I put the lid on it holds the temp at about 100 F and makes the thickest yogurt ever.
But if someone had the same one they could make a ring of heavy poster paper and sit it on the bottom heater and just add the jars and the lid and it should work fine too.

 

[jbowyer01]

I multi-purpose my American Harvester dehydrator- I ended up buying a few boxes of the trays that had removable centers way back when I first got it and so my dehydrator can hold 6 or 7 pint mason jars inside the rings(4 of them) and when I put the lid on it holds the temp at about 100 F and makes the thickest yogurt ever.
But if someone had the same one they could make a ring of heavy poster paper and sit it on the bottom heater and just add the jars and the lid and it should work fine too.

Emerald did you figure this out or was it in you dehydrator book? I only ask because Im trying my first batch this weekend and was going to use the crockpot method but my dehydrator would be perfect.

 

[Emerald]

I multi-purpose my American Harvester dehydrator- I ended up buying a few boxes of the trays that had removable centers way back when I first got it and so my dehydrator can hold 6 or 7 pint mason jars inside the rings(4 of them) and when I put the lid on it holds the temp at about 100 F and makes the thickest yogurt ever.
But if someone had the same one they could make a ring of heavy poster paper and sit it on the bottom heater and just add the jars and the lid and it should work fine too.

Emerald did you figure this out or was it in you dehydrator book? I only ask because Im trying my first batch this weekend and was going to use the crockpot method but my dehydrator would be perfect.

I can't remember if I just thought about it or if it was suggested by others online somewhere- I do know that I passed it along on another forum that I am a member of and several of the folks there have used their dehydrators the same way-- and by using the mason jars with sterilized lids and rings(I just boil them and re-used them till they get bent or scratched) the yogurt seems to last much longer in the fridge(well if it doesn't get ate up that is) and it actually seems to have a bit of a seal on it.
I did use a solid tray for the bottom layer on mine as it keeps the jars level and then add the trays with the middle taken out next and the I just pop the top lid on with a thermometer clipped in the top air hole to monitor the temps. One of the other ladies used the solid tray on the bottom and then put the heavy poster paper(card board was too hard to bend she said) ring on the tray and put the jars in and put the lid on and she said that it kept the temp wonderfully.
Others have the Excalibur type dehydrators and said that they just set the jars in and shut the door. But you might have to experiment with that. I saw one of the cheapo ones at a yard sale that had a big "dome" over the stacked trays that I'd bet would have done great for yogurt.
I used to do yogurt in my oven as I had an old one with a pilot flame but my new one just doesn't hold the heat like the old one..

 

[jbowyer01]

Well this will be a new adventure for me. I think I'll try both techniques and see how it turns out. Sorry for hijacking the thread.