# Yogurt question



## Megabeth (Aug 7, 2008)

I made yogurt last night! It's something I've been wanting to try and it turned out ... OK. The method I used was to put the warmed milk & culture into the over overnight. It turned out a little runny.

I think that temperature might be my problem. I have a gas oven with electronic controls, and it doesn't go low enough. My recipe said to put the mix in a 100 degree oven, but my lowest setting is 175.

So my question is: If I can't use the oven, what is the second-easiest method for making yogurt? Does the Thermos work? My kids happily slurped up the yogurt soup for breakfast this morning, but I'd like to make something a little more "real" next time.

Once I master yogurt, maybe I'll be brave enough to try sourdough starter! :bouncy:


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Yeah, your temp was too high. You can set the jar or covered bowel on a heating pad set on med/low and cover it with a heavy towel.


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## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

What I have done to thicken yogurt is add 1/4 to 1/3 cup powdered nonfat milk. Saw it on a couple websites so it isn't just my own wacky idea. It made a world of difference. you do need to work on your temp too of course. 

BTW sourdough is a lot of fun and not hard at all. I've even captured wild yeasts though you must be careful with that. Don't buy a starter if you don't really want to. All you need is some water, sugar, yeast, flour and time. 


Good luck with your kitchen experiments.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I use a cooler. I fill it with hot water and place the jars into the hot water up to their neck. A good cooler will keep the temp for hours.


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## Megabeth (Aug 7, 2008)

Steff B. -- with the cooler, do you just use "hot" water, or a specific temp?

I think I need a good thermometer for my oven, then I could heat it to 175 and watch it cool down to 100. My kitchen is so tiny I don't have room for anything else on my counter if I can help it. Stupid oven!!


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## Maggie (May 12, 2002)

I use a heating pad set on low. Set the jars on the pad, cover with a towel and an overturned pot to keep the heat in, and incubate for 8 hours. I make yogurt this way twice a week and it turns out great. I do use whole milk which thickens better than a lower fat milk. This way I don't have to add any other ingredients besides the starter . If you don't have room in the kitchen, try a spot in the bedroom or maybe a coffee table or on the top of a closed washing machine.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

my new oven can be set as low as 80 deg F. I'm really looking forward to all the things this will let me do.

I made my yogurt in my dehydrator. I added 4 TBS powdered milk while heating, but nothing else. With controlled temps, mine sets up nice in about 3.5 hours. I've read that temps over 135 will kill the culture, and under 120 it grows very slow.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I use water out of my tap. It is around 120 Degrees. I do go back and check it. If it gets colder than 110 I add more hot water and let some cooler water out of the drain.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Here is a picture of what I use. It's nice to discover a new use for an existing tool. 










This is from two gallons of milk - 9 quarts and one pint. I keep the pint as starter for the next batch. 

I don't tolerate milk well and had to cut back on cheese so now I eat two cups of yogurt a day to get my calcium. 

With the savers coupons at the local store, I can get the store brand milk for under $2.50 a gallon. So with $5 in cost I end up with 8 quarts and 1 pint of yogurt ( I end up with more but that is what you should get from two gallons of milk)

Yogurt cost about .50 for a container, and I think they are down to 6 oz now, but I'll assume 8 for comparison. That would be 32 cups at .50 = $16 of yogurt for $5. 

I prefer it plain, but a tablespoon of homemade jam in one cup works great, and I don't think the cost of that is significant - so I'm saving about $10. Or figured another way, my yogurt cost me 16 cents per 8 oz cup. 

But even if it cost near the same, I'd do it because I like mine so much better, and I know for sure what is in it.

Cathy


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Hello,
We use an electromatic thermo-cult. We put a fourth of a cup of fresh cultured yogurt in every quart of milk. We pasturize the milk first, by heating it up until it reaches 160 degrees (F). Then we cool it to between 105 - 110. We then put it in in yogurt maker. It's electric, and works wonders. It can make an entire gallon of yogurt at a time! If we 'cook' it for 12 hours, about half of the milk is lactic acid. If we make it for 24 hours, almost all the lactose is lactic acid. It's tangy, then, though!


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

HOw interesting. WE Made our first yogurt last night too! I followed the Fankhauser method (though not a lot different then others I'd imagine), using whole milk from the store and a cup or two of store bought yogurt (with live active cultures of course). 

We used a cooler filled with 50C water (or as close as I could manage). After a four hours it gelled it gelled! (I was so proud), so I put in a little more hot water to try and bring the temp up again, and left it overnight. 

Our results turned out okay - a little less firm than we're accustom too, but we're only familiar with the store bought perfect batches that come in little plastic cups! We may try firm up our homemade yogurt in later batches, or we may just decide to get used to the more loose yogurt which may be how the real stuff supposed to be anyway. We have a quart hanging in cheesecloth right now in the spare fridge to become labneh. 

The cooler/mason jar method worked well - and it's just your standard plastic coleman cooler on wheels. (There are better coolers I'm sure!). I worried about the cooler keeping a constant temp because we use wood heat only to warm our home, no thermostat for a constant temp, thus by morning the house will have cooled off significantly this time of year. Despite my concern, our first attempt turned out. 

Try again, Megabeth, without the oven. I'll bet you'll have more success - though yes, ours was a little runnier than we were used to.

Goodl uck Nice to hear of other newbies out there. Our aim too, is to graduate to the next step so we can one day make our own cheese. What's the sourdough starter all about? (Here's the link to Fankhousers) 

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_course/Cheese_course.htm

It's a good read for beginners I think.

LF


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

@LFRJ
I guess all homemade stuff is runnier, because if you look at the ingredients list most yogurts contain pectin, which stiffens it up.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Heritagefarm said:


> I guess all homemade stuff is runnier, because if you look at the ingredients list most yogurts contain pectin, which stiffens it up.


Thank Heritagefarm, that's kinda what I thought. I did want to mention that ours came out a little more...hmmm.. how to describe it - "curdley"? Just not as perfectly smooth and consistent as the stuff from the store. Mix in some blueberries and you'll hardly know the diff (though still a tad bit more runny). Anything we did or shouldn't do to improve the consistency next time?

(Megabeth, thanks for allowing us to latch on to your thread here. Appreciate the oppty since ironically, we gave it a whirl the same evening as you.)


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Actually, I LOVE being able to pour the yogurt out of the jar!


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

Our oven has a pilot light, so I don't even turn it on. I put my yogurt in the oven overnight and it is set by morning. Are you sure you need to even turn it on?


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## Megabeth (Aug 7, 2008)

Thanks for all the responses. I thought you all might be tired to death of newbie questions that get asked over and over again! 

I'm still looking for a heating pad. It scares me to leave something plugged in overnight but I'll try to get used to it... my kids can eat their weight in yogurt each day, but the store bought kind has just too much sugar, and I hate the waste of plastic in all those little cups. 

I will check back here for more ideas and I will let you know how Version2 comes out!!


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Dannon all natural yogurt has no sugar. But yes, all that garbage is good to get away from.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

I make a huge batch and then put it in colman insulated drink juggs... I fount them at goodwill.
I put mine by the wood stove...but putting near a heater would be fine...the big thing is, DON'T MOVE THEM AT ALL for like 5 hours...then check them. Note that the longer it incubates the more sour your product will be. It is kinda runny, but my kids use it on their oats etc so that's ok. They also make smoothies with it. If you want a thicker product, line a strainer w cheese cloth or coffee filters and let your yougurt set over night, all the whey will have drained out and it will be less runny. If you put a tub under it, you can catch the whey and use it in bread, smoothies etc... or give it to the chickens.


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## shellybean40 (Jan 28, 2010)

If you want it to be thicker, you could always strain it a little with some cheesecloth. That is how they make Greek yogurt, which is thicker and richer because they drain some of the whey off. I am actually making some yogurt "cheese" in my fridge right now. Yum!


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I've made a great yogurt cheese cake pie from mine. The recipe is in the recipe section.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

How do you make the cheese?


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