Easy homemade yogourt

yogurt making

(funny, the comment system flagged this as spam the first time around because i used an ellipsis.)



that's the price of specialization, innit? one of the axioms of the modern view of economics is that specialization is good. you don't need to learn how to make your own yogurt because someone else knows how, and this frees you up to do other things.



i can see the logic of that to some extent: i mean, i'm sure glad i can use computers and subways and what-have-you without knowing how to make them.



there is this nagging sense that one's losing a kind of "whole-humanness" by depending on all sorts of things one has no control or real understanding of. but it's hard to get a good perspective on how much one can legitimately be concerned with such things, since we've always lived in dependence upon others.

More posts like these, please!

I'm glad you liked it. Check in next week for my homemade soap.


Ruben.

kick butt awesome.. I don't know where I can find yogoumet but I'll be looking.. thanks

yes, more posts like this! looking forward to the soap.

I've just started experimenting with yogurt myself! I've put a step-by-step w/ photos on my site at
http://www.sparrowpost.net/yogurt.html

Glad to have company in my homemade yogurt revival!

maybe why we've lost the knowledge is because "The hardest part is finding five hours to kill at home"

if you have great satisfaction making things for yourself, wouldn't you have much more joy making things for others?

if so, try it. and they say practice makes perfect, so the more you make your soaps and yogourts, you'll start to experiment and learn little tips and secrets. soon enough, everyone you know craves your little widgets. well, you can't let this go to waste! so you'll start a company, package your goods, and sell for money.

of course, not everyones motivated by money but this is a captilalistic world. everyone works and worries over jobs bc we need money to buy things and live comfortably. unfortunately, this leaves little time to make things, let alone learn how to.

even if everyone knew how to make X. odds are that if your X is more sustainable, healthier, more effecient, etc. ppl will buy it. sure, you could share your secrets with everyone, but this isn't north korea. the free market rules here so ppl find their niches, keep their secrets, and capitalize on them.

I used to make yogurt all the time when I was in college. The pilot light in my gas stove kept the inside at just around 110 degrees (perfect temp for those bacteria). I would usually just take a container full of skim milk, mix in a cup or so of fat-free powdered milk and a couple tablespoons of yogurt left over from the last batch.

One thing to consider is what my then-fiancee pointed out to me. Yogurt gets more and more sour the older the strain is (I'd been gradually adjusting to it so I hadn't noticed), so remember to not recycle things for too long, and to replentish your starter with fresh cultures.

You might also want to look into an even healthier fermented milk product called kefir.

And Mike, you can buy yogourmet starter in most grocery stores (even most of the big chains). Or just pick up some good plain yogurt with live cultures (Nancy's and Cascade Fresh are good brands).

Instead of using the oven, you could try Alton Brown's Good Eats method using a heating pad. I've tried this several times, and it works great. Hopefully it uses less energy than the oven as well.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_19495,00.html

Out of curiosity I checked out the recipe given on the cheese link in your article. Yikes! Too complicated. I have been making yoghurt on a weekly basis since 1975. I make a quart at a time which lasts the two of us almost a week (a gallon would be way too much, the moisture in homemade yoghurt tends to separate out over time.)

Also, for a starter I would not rely on plain yoghurt from a manufacturer. Some time around 1990 the manufacturers formed a yoghurt association. The association determined what the minimum amount of live culture should be. When I moved back to the states from Italy, I found out the hard way that Dannon (and the several other manufacturers I tried) did not use enough live culture to start a new batch of yoghurt at home. So, I used a dry culture I bought at a health food store to get my yoghurt going again. Every week I make the new batch with a tablespoon or two from the last batch of yoghurt. It's been several years since I've renewed my yoghurt with dry culture.

The recipe I use:

Simplified sterilization:
1) fill clean canning jar with hot tap water.
2) boil a quart of water.
3) pour off 3/4 ths of the water and refill jar with boiling water.

Cook milk:
4) put 1 and 2/3 cups dry milk in pan for cooking.
5) add 3 and 3/4 cups cold water, stir to get out lumps.
6) heat milk to 180 degrees F (use a candy thermometer.)
7) let cool to 120 degrees F.

Make yoghurt:
8) empty sterilized jar, refill with cooked milk but not all the way to top.
9) add 1-2 heaping tablespoons of plain yoghurt (or follow recipe on dry-culture envelope.)
10) mix to get out lumps, add remaining cooked milk to top.
11) cover with lid.
12) wrap jar in two towels and place in corner of countertop overnight (important: do not move or otherwise shake jar during this period.)

minor point: Yoghurt did not originate with Arabs 8000 years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogurt
First advent of yogurt was by the Bulgars 4,500 years ago in mesopatamia before they migrated to the areas around the black sea. Modern decendents of bulgars are usually refered to today as Turks.

I knew a family that had figured out how to make yoghurt while driving cross country using waste heat from their exhaust to prepare enough for eveyone in the van. Boil the whole milk on gas stove. Put warm milk in quart jars with starter. Shake. Wrap in towel and put in storage area (warm spot in trunk may work) just over the muffler, under a crown of reflecting foil. Six to eight hours of driving later they'd take it out and it would be done. The vibration of travel mixed it perfectly. Good warm on cereal by the way. To avoid wasteful experiments, I'd suggest getting a cheap digital thermometer from Radio Shack, and insert the thermister wire end into jar nestled in the towel. See what the resulting heat flux is like to adjust placement and wrapping.

"we need money to buy things and live comfortably. unfortunately, this leaves little time to make things, let alone learn how to."

Actually, in many cases, learning to do for yourself rather than pay for the convenience of having someone else do it for you can be very economical. This is nowhere more true than with food. I once calculated my "hourly wage" for making my own whole-wheat bread by dividing my savings per loaf by my hours of hands-on time. It turned out the hourly wage of making bread was higher than what I made at my job, and had much better enjoyment value. Of course, the hourly wage in savings is not money earned, but it does give you an accurate way to evaluate your time spent saving money versus time spent making money.

Yogurt-making similarly demonstrates one of the many ways that making smart economic decisions can be ecologically beneficial and personally enriching. Great post!

BTW, any low-heat source can be used to make yogurt, so the oven isn't always necessary. A quart jar of yogurt in a Crock-Pot full of water on low works well, and you don't have to stay around while it's making. The same jar can be placed on a heating pad, wrapped in a towel or other insulator. Some people make yogurt in a thermos, which eliminates the need for a heat source, and my mother once discovered that the waste heat on the top of her refrigerator made yogurt very well!

Great post! I love reading about stuff I can DO rather than stuff I can BUY.

Do you have a website? I'd love to hear how you make hand lotion.

yeah yeah great post. I learnt a lot (eg yoghurt making) by growing up on a hobby farm. It's right to say that the natural habits of the war-time adults & their ancestors are intrinsically much more sustainable. Similarly I've been making more things lately.

I make my own deodorant & feel pride in my homemade fresh armpits, tee hee. best to use a *glass* bottle with (plastic) spray nozzle (u might buy a natural spray deodorant & reuse the bottle). put a slug of vodka in bottle, add a couple of drops each of natural essential oils (not fragrant oils) such as lemon, lavender, sage, tea tree, eucalyptus and shake lots until well & truly mixed, then add a touch of vinegar, shake well again (let settle for some hrs if you want & then shake well again to be sure it's well mixed). Then top up with (filtered) water & shake.

Next I wanna make Kim chi, that delicious korean chilli marinated cabbage with incredible health properties, yum yum.

to make yoghurt, any good yoghurt you buy from a health food store should be an adequate starter culture. I don't recall older yoghurt making a more tart/sour yoghurt, but if i remember correctly, a longer culturing time (depending also on yr temperature) can make it more tart. So experiment.

I flirted with the idea of making tempeh, but you have to buy special culture for that.

I have been making my own yogurt for about a year and a half, maybe 2. I too started with Yougormet (sp?) which I have found I can purchase at any of the local co-ops or Whole Foods Market. For those having issues finding it, I have seen it on sale on the internet as well. I got my hands on a Salton 1 qt yogurt machine (really just a plug in incubator) at a thrift store for $3. It maintains the perfect temp. And I have also been starting from raw milk (non homogonized non pastuerized for the wholest yogurt I could make). My fav is mix in a little cocount and some Stevia (I have a sweet tooth) after it's cooled down. And you can leave your yogurt processing longer if you don't have a day to kill at home. I do mine while at work during the day or while sleeping.

I’m with Evelyn on this one. It’s liberating to learn how to do things that are basic to survival, such as preparing your on food. Buying things lacks soul, which can never be quantified.

Wow, thank you for all your comments. I am very glad too see how interested you are in making things.

For Evelyn, no I do not have a website. My hand lotion recipe is from The Soapmaker's Companion, by Susan Miller Cavitch, which should be available in your library. Soapmakers also have a crazy online community, so any question you might have can probably be answered on a forum.

The ingenuity shown in finding warm environments for yogourt making is very exciting. I found that my crock pot was too warm, but maybe I should test again. I just read that yogourt can culture up to about 125 degrees F., so the crock pot may be okay. It shouldn't be too hard to add an extra thermostat to a crock pot for super-fine temperature control.

I have heard about the top of the fridge trick as well, including putting sterilized milk in a bowl on top of the fridge and letting it get cultured by airborne bacteria. This is probably more reliable with fridges that have the radiator grill on the back, thus releasing a bunch of heat in a useful spot.

Gas stove pilot lights are great for warmth. My mother uses hers to help seeds germinate. I have heard, however, that a pilot light burns fully half of the gas used by gas stoves. So, blow out all the pilot lights on your stove and use a match or a barbecue lighter to start the flame when you are cooking.

I like the heater mat and the camping cooler ideas as well, I just don't own one. I tend to try to figure out ways to not buy new things. Why buy a sifter when I already own a sieve? At the same time, I feel like my big pot of water in the oven is wasteful of energy, so I am looking for a better way. All these comments will encourage me try again.

As far as being home while the yogourt cooks, it is only really necessary for the first couple of hours to fine tune the temperature. My house burned down when I was a kid though, so I tend to be excessively paranoid about unattended heat sources.

I wanted to mention a bit about my use of powdered milk as well. I have never seen any recipes using powdered milk before. Most call for fresh milk, which you then sterilize by boiling. I skip the whole boiling step, in fact, I have never even boiled my jar, I just wash it with soap and water. As I understand it, you do not want any undesirable bacteria to compete with the yogourt- making bacteria, or you may not make yogourt. I figure the milk drying process has severely hindered any bacteria, so I just add water and starter and warm. This may not be risk-free. Perhaps a biologist could weigh in on the safety of this method. I have never had a bad batch, though, and I have eaten a lot of tasty yogourt.

Speaking of tasty yogourt, I did not mention Lasse, a beverage made with cardamom, a little icing sugar and a teaspoon of rosewater. Blend it up and drink it down. So delicious.

Thanks again for your interest,

Ruben.

Hi,
I make yogurt, too. I'll tell you a secret I learned--you don't need waste heat or any heat at all once you warm up the milk initially. This is how I do it. I bring a gallon of milk to a near boil (pick your favorite organic, grass fed, skim, etc)in pan big enough to fit it. Stir with a wooden spoon until frothy. It's ready. Let it cool for 45 minutes then add your favorite live culture yogurt (at least 8 ounces--I like more). Place a lid over and let sit over night--it really doesn't need any more heat than room temperature (really, I promise!). Save some electricity. Save the heating pad for some sore part of your body. Thanks for the post. I look forward to hearing about soap.

Thanks Ruben! Just checked my library and there is a grand total of 7 books on soap-making, published between 1883 and 1947 (3 in English, 3 in French, 1 in Italian), but not the one you mentioned. However, I will suggest it for purchase or ILL it.

You can use soy milk/yogurt if you'd prefer to make a plant-based yogurt. I've dont it successfully using just the soymilk and some soy yogurt in a gas oven using jsut the heat from the pilot light (it's a little thinner than the store bought stuff, I understand that you can add thickeners, if you want).

I made some yogurt this summer and used a few spoonfulls Breyer's yogurt as a starter. I says it has live cultures in it on the side. It work just fine. But I still think trying yogourmet is worth a shot.

I've made yogurt for years. It takes exactly 10 minutes to heat the milk and set up the equipment. You do not need to sterilize your jars, as you would with canning food. The dishwasher cleans very well or use hot water and dish soap to wash your jars and lids. Any jar works - leftover salsa jars or ball pint jars. I buy my restart culture from www.lehamns.com and also purchased their yogurt maker which is a half gallon thermos, not any requiring heat, and comes with a thermometer and glass pot watcher - makes noise at 180 degrees. This makes it easy to leave the yogurt maker on a table or away from electric outlets. All you have to do is retain 1/4 cup of milk, from 1/2 gallon of milk, in a small dish to soften the packaged culture, heat a 1/2 gallon of milk to 180 degrees (it steams a lot at 180 degrees, stir while heating so your pan doesn't get sticky, let the milk cool to below 120 degrees (45 minutes in the summer at my house or 30 minutes in the winter - shower time), and pour the culture and milk in the yogurt maker thermos. You don't have to pay attention to yogurt maker for 4-5 hours - do your shopping or whatever. Save 2 tablespoons for your next batch in a small jar with a lid. 1 pint jars are great and 1/2 gallon of milk fills 4 jars. If you wanted to, you could heat the milk in a solar cooker in the summer and not use fossil fuels to make yogurt when the weather is nice. You can also use an Asian stainless steel thermos cooker - asian version of slow cooker - no fuel needed.

Check out a great book on making many, many things yourself (with resources in the back for materials, etc., too). _Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living_ by Annie Berthold-Bond. I love it--any criticisms?

Mike Warren: you're right in saying that Dannon and Yoplait (and perhaps some other big manufacturers) don't use enough live culture. I'm lactose intolerant, but I can eat all organic yogurts (stonyfield farms, Nancy's, etc), and some more local ones (Cascade Fresh, Yami, and some generics in the Seattle area). I used Trader Joe's organic as a starter when I make yogurt, tho I usually use my yogurt maker (takes longer and makes less, but requires much less maintence).

How timely! I just got a yogurt maker for a gift and made my first batch yesterday. Yummy, although I feel quite wimpy for using a yogurt maker when I read about all the ingenious warming methods you all have used. Any more recipes for flavoring homemade yogurt?

We are allergic to dairy... any recipies for soy yogurt???

Don't waste energy! There's no need to leave the oven light on. It's also unnecessary to use the oven. I've made good yoghurt at room temperature.

Good to see someone else using powdered milk.
I've been making yoghurt with it for years, I use a wide mouthed thermos to keep mine warm.

I make my powdered milk up with cold water and then add just enough boiling water to bring it to blood heat (1/2 the amount of the cold water). I figure cold water won't have milk-liking bateria in (and it works).
The longest active part of my process is boiling the kettle. I generally leave it overnight. If I forget and leave it longer I just get thicker yoghurt (up to say 24 hrs).
I scald the flask with boiling water to pre-heat it and sterilise it.
I use one of the "BA-Live" bio yoghurts by preference as a starter - Loseley is the best (I'm in the UK)


Lovely stuff and I eat it every morning

this is to long

Lovely informative article! I've tried making yogurt once before and it didn't turn out, but I'm going to give it another go; hopefully your directions will help this next batch be a success. :)

Hello all,
I just make it yesterday and it came out very good. I have some questions though.

Does it matter if you add more than the required amount of culture yogurt? Is there a minimum?

When boiling the milk, some instructions say to scald which is 150 deg. Other instructions say heat to 195 deg. Is there a difference in the result with either temperature?

Is it better or will the result be different if the temperture rises quickly as opposed to slowly and more cooking before reaching the desired temperature?

During the incubation period, there are numerous opinions on the temperature. What is the max and min temp? For thicker yogurt is a certain temperature better?

I used a cooler to keep the temperature which went down about 8 deg in 3 hours. Is a constant temperature important?

Now it's done and I would like to add straberry preserves. Can I add the preserves to ALL the yogurt I made or to avoid contamination and spoilage, just what I plan to use right away?

Can I do this mixing in a bowl and return it back to the mason jar or will it be contaminated?

Do I need to sterilize the mixing bowl and spoon at this stage?

Can I put the finished product in a tupperware container or is there too much bacteria?

thanks for you help!

Ken

Hi There!

I have made homemade yougurt a few times. And I have always done it with powdered milk.

Here is the recipe (lifted from Dana Carpender's 500 low-carb recipes)
1 Tablespoon plain yogurt
1 1/2 to 2 cups dry milk

1)fill 1 qt tupperware container half-full of water

2) put in plain yogurt starter , and add the powdered milk and whisk until the lumps are gone.

3) fill the containter with water, whisk one more time, cover and put in warm place

notes: using 2 cups of powdered milk will give you richer, creamier yogurt with more protein

also, i usually remove 1/4 cup of water prior to mixing in yogurt and replace it with cream to make whole milk yogurt.

Here is what I have been using to incubate: I fill my old rice cooker with water and set to 'warm'. the temp probe in the water never passed 111. It for the most part stayed around 107.

Also, If you like buttermilk, you can make it as well with the same recipe: just use buttermilk as your starter instead of yogurt.