I haven't made yogurt since the late 70's when I had a dannon yogurt maker and used to make yogurt in the dorms so I wouldn't have to eat dorm crap.....
I'd like to make it in larger quantities, not individual serving containers now. The yogurt maker was so nice since it kept the temps constant. Is there anything out there now like the dannon maker - but larger bowl style?
And I remember my yogurt being kinda thin - we're all used to thicker stuff these days (unflavored, whole milk, organic). Any advice on that?
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Well, I have several different recipes I use...some are thicker than others. Also, if you aren't opposed to gelatin, you can add that after the incubation time if you want it to be thicker. One of my friends does that and it works well. I believe tapioca flour would do the same??
What I use is two 1 qt thermos-brand thermoses. I use the wide mouth kind (made for soup) and they work wonderfully. They hold the temp very constant. All I do is pour the mixed up recipe at the correct temp into the thermoses and let them incubate for about 6-8 hours (although I have done longer without too much tartness.).
I'm *really* enjoying making yogurt and would love to talk more about it.
Jeni
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There are 1qt yougurt makers now, we have one (made by Salton) and I like it. I took out the plastic qt. insert and use 1 qt. glass mason jars instead.
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Hmm....I'm subscribing so I can hopefully get more recipes. I got a Donvier yogurt maker for my birthday...it makes it in 8 individual containers, which is fine by me......we use whole, organic milk and yogurt starter....and incubate for about 16 hours for a nice, thick consistency. I also just got a yogurt cheese maker/accessory from Aileen in a swap and I use the homemade yogurt to make yogurt cheese and spread from it. I have also found that just putting the homemade yogurt in the strainer (cheese maker) for about 2 hours drains enough liquid out to make the yogurt nice and thick!
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you can use a heating pad for an incubator~if you do a search in the Simplifying forum there was a thread there. This is what I copied from it for myself.
OK - here's what you do:
First, you need starter. I get a small container of plain yogurt for this - I know you can get yogurt starter but I've never used it. I've frozen the yogurt in globs (2-3 tablespoons) in small bowls then popped them out and put them in a freezer bag. I then thaw them in the fridge overnight before I make the yogurt.
For the milk, I make up a quart of milk from powdered and add an additional 1/2 cup of powder to the quart to make it thicker. Heat this in a pot (non aluminum) to 180 degrees (use a candy thermometer), stirring frequently then set the pot aside to cool to 115 degrees. Once the milk cools, mix in a little bit of the milk into the yogurt starter then whisk this into the warm milk and mix really well. Pour into a container or containers (I usually just scald some canning jars) then set them up for incubation. I do what is suggested in the Tightwad Gazette for incubation after using a yogurt maker and not liking the results and now I never have a failed batch of yogurt: Get a couple of towels, a heating pad and a large soup pot and set them up - put a towel down on the table/counter/washing machine (LOL - I do mine in the laundry room off the kitchen) with a heating pad under it. Set the yogurt containers on the towel, cover with a towel and then cover the whole thing with a soup pot. Set the heating pad on low and incubate this whole thing for 8 hours then refrigerate when you're done. You can double this or triple this, depending on how much your family will eat but don't use this made yogurt as starter if its over 5 days old but you CAN use this yogurt as starter if it's less old.
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I've added 1 Tablespoon of agar-agar to the milk when it is hot & dissolved it in. It made the yogurt so much thicker & creamier than ever before. My 5 yr oldtwins chose it over the store-bought fruit yogurts!!!
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Linda, what didn't you like about using a yogurt maker? I'd love to hear more, please.
And why do you use powdered milk instead of fresh? I understand the extra powder to make it more concentrated/thicker - but would love to know why not fresh milk plus powder.
At the moment a yogurt maker just sounds 'easier' to me....I am usually not a gadget cook so I can probably be dissuaded with a wee bit of ammunition/opinions.
You can find agar agar at any health food store and most likely any asian grocery store. It is a seaweed product commonly used to thicken stuff up.
My questions, too. I'm thinking about getting a yogurt maker. and dumping in organic milk from the bottle. I read that it works. I don't know, though.
No heating pads here, and I use the giant soup pot every other day, it seems. I read about the Salton- there's this s150+ post evaluations of it on amazon....
Linda, most linda Linda, does your husband totally appreciate you in every way?
I don't use powdered milk...most people do that for thicker yogurt. I don't mind runny yogurt. I don't like powdered milk because it is a processed food. I like my raw goats milk~it is a live food. (a funny aside~I actually like the tatse of powdered milk~so strange!)
I haven't used a yogurt maker, because I won't buy an appliance if it is plastic and I can avoid it. (excepting my food processor) But I like the idea of replacing the inner sleeve with a mason jar. Yogurt makers are wonderful...if you really think you'll get use out of it, I would get one. Really, since you won't be purchasing all those yogurt containers anymore...in the long run even if you purchase a plastic yogurt maker you'll still bemaking a difference. Additionall, these days, consumer electronics are made so horribly~they are made to be disposable, so I try not to buy them. (enough said on that~lol!)
You really don't need a gaget...the heating pad works great if you have one. I know the yogurt maker sounds easier to me to. It gets you over the mental hurdle of doing something new.
You can use fresh milk plus powdered, that works great too You can google for yogurt recipes online...I found some good, easy ones when I google for recipe goats milk yogurt
I made red currant jelly last month when they were in abundance, and we've been mixing some into our yogurt~heavenly I have some strawberries in my stawberrry pot that are just ripe...I think they 'need' some yogurt drizzled on them.
Man, I used to be VEGAN~lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cathleenc
Linda, what didn't you like about using a yogurt maker? I'd love to hear more, please.
And why do you use powdered milk instead of fresh? I understand the extra powder to make it more concentrated/thicker - but would love to know why not fresh milk plus powder.
At the moment a yogurt maker just sounds 'easier' to me....I am usually not a gadget cook so I can probably be dissuaded with a wee bit of ammunition/opinions.
You can find agar agar at any health food store and most likely any asian grocery store. It is a seaweed product commonly used to thicken stuff up.
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