Home made yogurt

[David Cottrell]

For Yogurt I need a large pot, some milk, some good yogurt from the store and a big warm blanket. Oh yes, one little finger. For real.

Warm the milk slowly, stirring all the time to the point where I can just hold my little finger in the hot milk for a slow count to ten - about ten seconds I guess - without exceeding the pain limit. Other than that use a thermoneter to read about 180 degrees F until you are used to correlating with the finger. Don't scald the milk! Mix in the room temperature yogurt - about a cup for a gallon of milk - and then wrap the pot very well in the blanket; top, bottom, sides. Let that sit about twelve hours, strain through cheese cloth and walla! Yogurt!!

To make a good Lebanese dip strain it (in the refrigerator) through a cheese cloth lined colandar, but the dip recipe is another story.

I don't have much for kitchen gadgets.

[gawillow]

I have a yogurt machine that belonged to my grandmother, and it still works. I make a quart of yogurt a week. No powdered milk, and it gets quite thick. Boil the milk, then bring it off the heat to cool down before adding starter.

[xmascarol1]

Because yogurt is a culture and you're inoculating the milk with the culture, you really only need about 1/4 cup of yogurt for a quart of milk. It's about the same as when you make creme fraiche. Just enough to get the culture of bacteria going and the right temperature.

[periwinkle]

I've been wanting to make my own yogurt for awhile now....can I use soy milk?

[Maverick2272]

Yes, here is a link for that:
Soy yogurt-- Ellen's Kitchen
And one that explains more of the science behind it:
Soy yogurt
Apparently, depending on what you do with the soy you can end up with soy milk, soy yogurt, or tofu.
I think it would be neat to make my own tofu...

[amy5708]

Originally Posted by milkdemcows

Heating milk up to 180-190 range slightly changes the structure of the milk protein (or something along those lines), making the finished product thicker/firmer than it would be otherwise. And incubation is just to let the bacteria work at maximal efficiency; lower temp just has them work slower (low enough, e.g. the fridge, they stop though).

Heating to 180 kills off any competing bacteria found in the milk. By killing any existing bacteria, the beneficial bacteria will be able to thrive, creating the thicker yogurt.

I have had the best results with nuking canning jars in the micro and boiling my lids; sterilizing them. Not necessary, but I have had home made yogurt last a couple of months when produced in the cleanest possible environment.

Heat skim milk to 180. Add 1 c. instant milk powder (cheaper than condensed milk). When temp is 110-120, add yogurt (one 8oz container for 3 1/2 Q milk)
and whisk. Place in sterilized jars, top with lids, and place in small insulated cooler. Fill Cooler with hot water for 120 degrees, and let sit for 4-6 hours.

We make parfaits; layer yogurt, berries (frozen that are thawed), and granola. Kids loooove them!
enjoy, Amy

[David Cottrell]

Quote from Amy, "Heat skim milk to 180. Add 1 c. instant milk powder (cheaper than condensed milk). When temp is 110-120, add yogurt (one 8oz container for 3 1/2 Q milk)"

Thanks, when I was writing about using my little finger as my thermometer I confused myself - yes, cool the milk to about 110-150 degrees F - That's where the little finger can operate! No way stick one's finger into 180 degree hot milk!

[LadyCook61]

Originally Posted by Jikoni

Yakuta's homemade yorgurt always works for me you can find it here.Yogurt Problem

I will try this. never made yogurt before , I do buy it.

[cookinmonster]

So does fresh, home made yogurt taste a lot better than what you buy in the store?

I had it once in an Afghani restuarant, but it seemed like a really slow weekend, so possibly it wasn't as fresh as it could have been.

[amy5708]

Actually, mine tastes nothing like store-bought, as I add a lot of milk powder to thicken, and I don't put sugar in it.

If you add fruit or splenda, nuts or granola, you can make it taste wonderful.