Post by jackdag on Aug 7, 2011 4:52:10 GMT -8
This is one of the simplest. You can "double" this recipe. You can use a microwave*, but there is no reason you can't do it on top of the stove. Just be careful not to scorch the milk.
Start with 3 1/2 C. of milk in safe bowl, a 4 C. Pyrex measuring cup is perfect for this.
2) Add some powdered milk* : Stir in 1/2-1 C. powdered milk (cow, goat or soy) if you're using goat milk or soymilk ("please see the note below about making soy milk yogurt), and 1/4-1/2
C. if you're using cow milk.
You will probably want to purchase a culture that produces a thicker curd as opposed to just using purchased yogurt (such as Dannon) to make your yogurt.
3) Heat the milk: Place the milk a pan and bring it to a boil. Stir the milk occasionally and keep an eye on it, but just before it begins to boil, do not stir it, or it will boil over (as I well know).
Remove the milk carefully .
Let it cool some before you place a thermometer in it, or it will still boil over (as. again, I well know).
Heating the milk is done for a few reasons:
1. To sterilize/pasteurize the milk so that the yogurt bacteria/culture as a hospitable place to grow in. It is not desirable to also incubate possible "bad" or contaminating bacteria that might be present in the unsterilized milk.
2. Boiling the milk helps to a smooth thick yogurt.
3. Boiling the milk also helps stop the whey from separating out quite as much. (The "water" you sometimes find on the top of your yogurt is whey.)
4) Let the milk cool to about 118° - 115°.
5) Add the culture.
• Place a couple of heaping Tbs. of plain "live culture" yogurt from the grocery store (i.e., Dannon. or read the carton's label to see if it's "live culture") other starter culture, in a quart mason jar and stir it until it is smooth.
Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour a little of the warm milk into the jar. screw the lid on tight and shake well. Now add the rest of the warm milk, replace the lid and shake well.
OR • I use a DVI yogurt culture with Acidophilus (ABY-2C) . When I use this. I use 1/16 tsp. per 1/2 gallon of milk (2 quarts).
Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour the warm milk into the jar, added the DVI culture and shake well.
6) Now it is time to incubate. This is not as complicated as it sounds, and can be done many ways. The key is to hold the milk at 110°-115° undisturbed for 6-8 hours (depending on the culture used).
See below for various incubation methods. If your yogurt isn't thick enough in 10 hours, it isn't going to get any thicker: it's just going to get sourer.
If it didn't get thick at all something happened to the starter, either it wasn't live to begin with, or somehow it got killed. Don't be discouraged- try again another day. Even if your yogurt didn't "yo" (or "gurt") you can still use the milk in cooking.
Various methods of incubation:
1) Use a commercial yogurt maker.
2) Cooler/water method: Use a small cooler with the lid removed, a larger cooler that will hold a quart jar, or a large pot (6 qt.). Place the cooler or pot in a place where it will be undisturbed.
Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Now fill the cooler with water that is 1200. Place a couple of fluffy towels over the cooler or pot and leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours.
To check and see if the yogurt is done, tip the jar slightly and see if the milk flows or stays put. Remember that the yogurt will thicken even more as it cools in the fridge.
If you see clear whey when you tilt the jar, the yogurt is as done as its going to get, but you don't necessarily have to see the whey for the yogurt to be done. (have I confused you yet?)
3) Cooler/heating pad method (I figured this out one day and it works really well):
Use a larger cooler.
Place the cooler in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler.
Place a heating pad over the jar (loosely).
Set the pad on high (my pad needs to be set on high, yours may differ) and place the lid on the cooler.
Leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. Please note, that since all heating pads are different, yours may not be best set on high.
The first time you use this method, put a thermometer in the cooler to see what the pad is heating the inside of the cooler up to.
You want it to be at least 110 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. You may need to turn your pad to medium.
Start with 3 1/2 C. of milk in safe bowl, a 4 C. Pyrex measuring cup is perfect for this.
2) Add some powdered milk* : Stir in 1/2-1 C. powdered milk (cow, goat or soy) if you're using goat milk or soymilk ("please see the note below about making soy milk yogurt), and 1/4-1/2
C. if you're using cow milk.
You will probably want to purchase a culture that produces a thicker curd as opposed to just using purchased yogurt (such as Dannon) to make your yogurt.
3) Heat the milk: Place the milk a pan and bring it to a boil. Stir the milk occasionally and keep an eye on it, but just before it begins to boil, do not stir it, or it will boil over (as I well know).
Remove the milk carefully .
Let it cool some before you place a thermometer in it, or it will still boil over (as. again, I well know).
Heating the milk is done for a few reasons:
1. To sterilize/pasteurize the milk so that the yogurt bacteria/culture as a hospitable place to grow in. It is not desirable to also incubate possible "bad" or contaminating bacteria that might be present in the unsterilized milk.
2. Boiling the milk helps to a smooth thick yogurt.
3. Boiling the milk also helps stop the whey from separating out quite as much. (The "water" you sometimes find on the top of your yogurt is whey.)
4) Let the milk cool to about 118° - 115°.
5) Add the culture.
• Place a couple of heaping Tbs. of plain "live culture" yogurt from the grocery store (i.e., Dannon. or read the carton's label to see if it's "live culture") other starter culture, in a quart mason jar and stir it until it is smooth.
Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour a little of the warm milk into the jar. screw the lid on tight and shake well. Now add the rest of the warm milk, replace the lid and shake well.
OR • I use a DVI yogurt culture with Acidophilus (ABY-2C) . When I use this. I use 1/16 tsp. per 1/2 gallon of milk (2 quarts).
Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour the warm milk into the jar, added the DVI culture and shake well.
6) Now it is time to incubate. This is not as complicated as it sounds, and can be done many ways. The key is to hold the milk at 110°-115° undisturbed for 6-8 hours (depending on the culture used).
See below for various incubation methods. If your yogurt isn't thick enough in 10 hours, it isn't going to get any thicker: it's just going to get sourer.
If it didn't get thick at all something happened to the starter, either it wasn't live to begin with, or somehow it got killed. Don't be discouraged- try again another day. Even if your yogurt didn't "yo" (or "gurt") you can still use the milk in cooking.
Various methods of incubation:
1) Use a commercial yogurt maker.
2) Cooler/water method: Use a small cooler with the lid removed, a larger cooler that will hold a quart jar, or a large pot (6 qt.). Place the cooler or pot in a place where it will be undisturbed.
Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Now fill the cooler with water that is 1200. Place a couple of fluffy towels over the cooler or pot and leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours.
To check and see if the yogurt is done, tip the jar slightly and see if the milk flows or stays put. Remember that the yogurt will thicken even more as it cools in the fridge.
If you see clear whey when you tilt the jar, the yogurt is as done as its going to get, but you don't necessarily have to see the whey for the yogurt to be done. (have I confused you yet?)
3) Cooler/heating pad method (I figured this out one day and it works really well):
Use a larger cooler.
Place the cooler in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler.
Place a heating pad over the jar (loosely).
Set the pad on high (my pad needs to be set on high, yours may differ) and place the lid on the cooler.
Leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. Please note, that since all heating pads are different, yours may not be best set on high.
The first time you use this method, put a thermometer in the cooler to see what the pad is heating the inside of the cooler up to.
You want it to be at least 110 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. You may need to turn your pad to medium.
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