apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I do have a yogurt maker, so of course I use that. Instead of using yogurt from a previous batch as a starter, I use a powdered starter from the health food store. I understand that you need to use a fairly fresh yogurt, as it does lose some of its effectiveness (cultures, I suppose) over time.

And I just heat my milk up in a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, my instructions say to 170, so I use the temperature probe, then I mix in the powdered milk and starter right in there, it comes out perfectly every time! And no more pesky guilt about non-recyclable containers!

I have been making my own yogurt for awhile now. I used the tips in a NYT article about yogurt making. I heat the yogurt until 190 degrees and let it cool to 120. I haven't worried about the starter yogurt (either left over from the last batch or plain yogurt from the store) warming up first and haven't had any problems. Also, I have just put the jars in the oven with the oven light on which provides just a little heat. I am quite certain it isn't 100 degrees in the oven. I make the yogurt at night and let it sit until I get up (normally done making it around 10:00 and take it out around 6:30). Initially, I would get up and take it out earlier and then I realized it didn't seem to make a difference. This method works great for me.

can you make flavored yogurt this way? I really like vanilla yogurt for my granola parfaits in the morning and I already make homemade granola that is not very sweet.

I tried this method with the crockpot over the weekend:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

Tasty but a little runny - we'll have to insulate better next time as we keep our apartment cool in winter. It also made a LOT.

Instead of using the oven you could try your crockpot on the keep warm setting or a timer. I'm going to have to experiment, but even my runny trial has me converted.

We were on parellel paths last summer, girl! This year I'm getting chickens!!!

But I wanted to add that I wrapped my jar with a heating pad on low and it worked really well (I need to find the link on my blog about it).

Also wanted to tell Domestic that I've done most of my flavoring after making the yogurt, it didn't work as well when I did it before. I like to add a little agave to it.

How does it taste compared to storebought yogurt?

I've been doing this for about 20 years now - a college friend from Afghanistan explained how to do it one day. Soooooo easy, but I still get weird looks from people when I tell them I made it. I think people are afraid of culturing dairy products at home for some reason.

@Domestic - you should really add sweetener/flavoring/fruit/etc. after making the yogurt like Goddess stated above. I also drain a little of the whey out so it's thicker & doesn't get as runny when you add items.

I make it in my LeCreuset dutch oven & wrap the pot in a big bath towel and set it inside my oven (unheated) until it's done. I don't bother doing anything else - the residual heat from the pot helps keep it at a good growing temperature for hours. I also add a little nonfat dry milk powder at the beginning to make it a bit thicker as well. As far as temperature goes, I use the "pinky test" to know when to add the yogurt to the scalded milk... it's just above body temp. And, the longer you let it sit, the more tangy the yogurt. As long as you clean everything well before starting, you really shouldn't have any problems.

Also you can use a cardboard box and a heating pad, then close it (and maybe put something on top to keep it closed). The pad will automatically shut itself off after a time, but the warmth stays in the box.

The longer you let it sit, the stronger (more tangy) it will get.

I think keeping the yogurt hot while it's culturing is key to getting it to set up well. I only let mine cool to 120 or 115, and I wrap it in a wool army blanket with a VERY hot water bottle and put the whole thing in my camping cooler. After eight hours, it is completely set, and I don't have to drain whey at all unless I am using skim milk.

The longer the yogurt sits, the tarter it will be. Using lower-fat milk will also produce tangier (sourer?) yogurt. Eight hours with whole milk makes the mildest yogurt for me, much like store-bought. 12 hours and I will probably just thin it with water and use it as a buttermilk substitute. I don't like too much tang in my yogurt.

Oh, and if you want it to taste like flavored yogurt from the store, stir in some jam or jelly or preserves. Easy!

I do almost exactly what askh does, and it works perfectly. I have a glass dish with a lid that I pour the hot milk into, I think it holds a little more than the big containers of yogurt you'd buy in the grocery store. Wrap it in a towel, stick it in the oven with the light on, let set until done. Easy!

The one thing is, you really have to be careful when heating the milk. When I first started making yogurt, I came across some site that recommended simmering the milk for 20 minutes -- BAD idea! Take the milk off the heat as soon as it gets in the 180-190 range or it will be sour and will leak an immense amount of whey.

i bought 1L canning jars that i put the starter in and add the heated milk to (but now i want to try nuking!)

i have a gas oven so i can just throw my jar into the oven (with foil top or lid, though i don't know if that's necessary) and pull it out in the morning or after work. the pilot light keeps the oven warm enough. sometimes i turn the oven on for a minute or 2 while the milk's heating.

also, you can freeze yogurt in ice cube trays to use as starter later! not sure of the shelf life.