I feel like a pioneer woman
Yes, I did it. Thanks to everyone's great encouragement and to blog reader, Shawna, for helping me find a source for whole milk from a local dairy, I actually attempted to make yogurt!
Problem is, the "yogurt" turned out more like soup.
Here's what I did:
I used whole milk from a local dairy and Yo-Baby yogurt (could this have been the reason it didn't work right? Does it have to be completely plain yogurt?).
I heated the milk up on the stove until bubbles formed around the edge and steam rose from the center.
I transferred this milk to a bowl and waited until I could stick my finger in it for 20 seconds.
I transferred a small amount of the warm milk into a separate bowl and mixed it with two Tablespoons yogurt).
I then transferred this mixture back into the original bowl and milk and stirred it well.
I then covered this bowl with a towel and put it in the oven for about 6 hours. It appeared like it had curdled a small bit, but was definitely still very soupy.
Any suggestions or ideas from you experienced yogurt makers?
Problem is, the "yogurt" turned out more like soup.
Here's what I did:
I used whole milk from a local dairy and Yo-Baby yogurt (could this have been the reason it didn't work right? Does it have to be completely plain yogurt?).
I heated the milk up on the stove until bubbles formed around the edge and steam rose from the center.
I transferred this milk to a bowl and waited until I could stick my finger in it for 20 seconds.
I transferred a small amount of the warm milk into a separate bowl and mixed it with two Tablespoons yogurt).
I then transferred this mixture back into the original bowl and milk and stirred it well.
I then covered this bowl with a towel and put it in the oven for about 6 hours. It appeared like it had curdled a small bit, but was definitely still very soupy.
Any suggestions or ideas from you experienced yogurt makers?
posted by Crystal Paine at 1:51 PM
17 Comments:
I've honestly never made my own yogurt...but you might look on vegcooking.com...sometimes there are helpful hints there.
way to go finding milk from local dairies. It's better tasting and better for you.
Make sure the yougurt you use for the culture says it's Active Live Culture. That may have been the problem. We used plain yougurt when my sister in law made it.
Isn't the raw milk wonderful!! My brother in law & sister in law have the only raw cow milk dairy in Texas and we love drinking it when there...now if they were only closer and we could afford it!! We're planning on buying our own milk cow...hopefully this year. I can't wait to make my own butter, yougurt and cheese!
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Just what the other reader said, make sure it has live active cultures. I think plain works better
My husband is a dairy farmer here in upstate NY. We love drinking our own fresh raw milk!!! We call the stuff from the store "water with food coloring in it." ;) For anyone else looking for raw milk, here's a wonderful resource!Real Milk.com
http://www.realmilk.com/where1.html
Crystal-
Yes it does have to be plain yogurt. I have had success with any brand. Even Aldi sells it. The other thing, you need to use only metal utensils. I hope that helps. Also, it usually takes mine 8 hrs to get good and firm like store bought. Did Iwigs sell you raw milk? It was my understanding that he was not doing that anymore. Maybe this will spur me on to make some of my own. It has been 6 months now.
one other thing I thought of, don't throw out your first try. You can make smoothies with it, or pancakes. There is still some very healthy stuff in it, even if it didn't set up like you wanted it to.
Crystal,
If you'd like I can email you the recipe I use. It's really pretty easy to make yogurt. There are just a few "absolutes" to make it come out right.:)
Miss Andrea,
Could you also send me the recipe you use? My email address is trryscott3 @ aol.com (without the spaces). Thanks so much!
Leah,
Sure, I can do that:) It may be tomorrow, though, as I should be taking advantage of my Mom not being home and working to finish up a secret sewing project!
We always used to make frozen yogurt with the thin yogurt!
Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement! This was a fun experience and I am definitely not going to give up on my first try!
Thank you to those of you who sent recipes. If anyone else has recipes to send, be sure to email me, I'm game! I love to try out new things.
Someone sent me a link to Live Active Culture and where I can purchase them online. Does anyone here purchase theirs online? If so, let me know where you purchase it and what kind you get. I think I am going to try using plain Dannon Yogurt next time for the culture and see how that works.
Shawna, I made pancakes with the "yogurt soup." :)
Martha, how do you make frozen yogurt with the thin yogurt? I'd love the recipe.
Miss Andrea, I'd love your recipe!
We always bought Western family yogurt, it actually worked better than Yoplait!
Well, it has been awhile, if the yogurt was sour I sweetened it and then added fruit to it and froze it in the ice cream maker. Raspberries was a favorite! It was really easy and alot better for you than ice cream
Another thing I noticed was make sure you only use Stainless steel pans and stainless steel spoons. It looked as if you were using a non-stick pan and a wooden spoon. It can mess up your yogurt or cheese or whatever.
Could your oven have not been warm enough? The mixture needs to stay right around 100 degrees - not too hot and not too cool. (I can't remember the exact degrees, and I have a sleeping baby in my lap, or I'd go look. :-) ) I haven't been able to make yogurt at our current house yet because I can't keep the mixture at the right temp on a consistent basis.
The book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron has a great explanation for how to make yogurt.
Better late than never, perhaps-- I was reading old posts and came across this. I make yogurt every week, and I do it the easy way-- with a yogurt maker (from Amazon.com).
The most yummy starter is Brown Cow Cream Top yogurt (you don't want anything low fat or non fat-- it's yucky), but you can also try Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt, or Stonyfield Plain.
With a yogurt maker, all you have to do is put a teaspoon or so of yogurt in each little cup, pour in milk to the top, then mix gently. Put the cups into the yogurt maker, plug it in and leave it all night. In the morning, you'll have perfect yogurt. Chill and eat!
Homemade yogurt is wonderful, and so easy with a maker. I've never had a batch come out badly except for the time I forgot to put in the spoonful of starter! You save so much by making it this way that the yogurt maker pays for itself in no time;-).
Hi there: I have had good success using more culture than you described here. I don't heat my milk so high. I like to keep the good bacteria in tact. I only heat to 115. Have you tried anymore attempts since this post?
If you are not opposed to it powdered milk can be used as a stabilizer as well.
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