Does anyone know how to make homemade yogurt. I was told it was easy and cheap. With a family of 8 we go through a lot of yogurt.
Debbi from Brownstown MI
IMPORTANT NOTE: liquid acidophilus & bifidus is MUCH better than the powdered kind! And the price is about the same. If you can't find any starter, use a few tablespoons of PLAIN yogurt (the kind with LIVE CULTURES!) to start your yogurt
You will never have the thick creamy kind they sell in the store (because they add thickeners) To get the thickest yogurt, you will need to use WHOLE MILK. (not skim or 2%!) If your yogurt is not as thick as you'd like, use it for smoothies, or for the Indian recipe below.
As an option you can add powdered milk to your recipe. The good bacteria like the natural milk sugar in the powered milk & this makes them culture better & faster, PLUS the powdered milk can help to naturally thicken the yogurt.
If you don't have a "yogurt maker" to keep the yogurt temperature just right. After mixing the milk with the culture, put the mixture on top of your water heater. This is just the right temperature for the culture to "grow" & turn the milk to yogurt.
IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE ALL utensils, pans, lids & containers are CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. In fact, they should be sterilized by putting them through the dishwasher & using HOT water to wash them with, You want to grow GOOD bacteria, NOT bad bacteria! Never use plastic. Only use stainless steel, glass or ceramic when making yogurt. AFTER the yogurt is done BEING cultured & it's going into the fridge, THEN & only then CAN you use plastic to store it in.
---------> RECIPES <---------
<p class="art">MANGO DRINK:
Take mango puree (available at East Indian specialty stores) or Take a bag of frozen or a fresh mango, peal, remove seed & blend mango in a blender until smooth. You can also add a bit of honey or sugar if you like (about half to one teaspoon)
Mix equal portions of mango puree & home made yogurt together & pour over ICE in a tall clear glass with straw.
This is just the tastiest drink you will ever have! They serve it in Indian Restaurants in Seattle. and we JUST LOVE IT!
*** another option: instead of using mango puree, use frozen concentrated orange juice. Or even better, use pineapple, orange, papaya, or any another frozen blend. Add frozen concentrate to yogurt, & you will need no sugar. YUMMY!
* you can also add a bit of real vanilla to any of these yogurt recipes
SWEET CINNAMON SPICE YOGURT
This is a way to sweeten any plain yogurt without using sugar or honey:
Simply add to taste a bit of cinnamon & a handful of raisons to plain yogurt. Let sit overnight in the fridge until the raisins plump up.
Stir well & eat. You may need to add a bit more plain yogurt if it's to sweet or more raising & wait longer of it's not sweet enough once you get the recipe right, it's SIMPLY HEAVEN! .... AND no sugar!!!
By Cyinda
HOMEMADE YOGURT (Plain, yet UTTERLY delicious)
Yield: 1 quart
Preheat your oven to 275°F. Sprinkle gelatin
over the cold water and heat to dissolve
(see tips at end of post). Meanwhile, in a
wide-mouth mason jar, combine the remaining
ingredients (except water) with an immersion
blender (right in the jar) pulse to smooth
slurry. Add the reserved gelatin and water,
until jar is full. Cover the jar with lid
and ring; lightly shake. Turn OVEN OFF, with
oven light; culture yogurt in the oven,
Per Serving: 57 Calories; 2g Fat (32.0% calories
from fat); 4g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary
Fiber; 9mg Cholesterol; 60mg Sodium. Exchanges:
0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other
Carbohydrates.
Tips & Techniques
Dissolving Gelatin: Sprinkle over 1/4 cup COLD
water, in a small heatproof bowl (don't stir or
it will clump). Let it soften for 3 minutes
(aka: Bloom & Dissolve). MICROWAVE uncovered at
100% power (for 10 seconds, at a time) watch so
it doesn't boil, discarding if it does (warming
a total 30-45 seconds).
Mason Jar: An immersion blender fits nicely
through a wide-mouth jar. For a narrow-mouth jar,
use a hand mixer, fitted with just one beater.
Yogurt Start: Begin with a commercial yogurt for
Creamier Yogurt: This is a spoon-able style
yogurt. For a creamier yogurt, use 1/4 tsp less
gelatin next time.
Sweetener: Add 1 Tbsp corn syrup (I add 1 tsp
Splenda instead, but you could try Stevia®).
Vanilla Extract: If you'd like a vanilla flavoring,
add 1 tsp. Vanilla. (Cooks brand has pure extract
vanilla powdered, which won't darken the yogurt).
Culturing: I culture overnight, setting the timer
and posting a note to REMIND myself! You can
culture easily for 10-12 hours, without any danger
of spoiling (the lactic acid attacks the perishable
protein during fermentation) yet a distinct
possibility beyond
(02/02/2007)
By Peggy
I don't know how cheap or easy it is now, I do know that my Mom made yogurt all the time when we were kids. She had a yogurt maker, that held something like 6 glass jars and lids, it would heat up the yogurt enough to get the little active cultures perking, then she would put it in the fridge. I do remember that she always save some of the last batch to make the first one.
If you go through a lot of yogurt, then you would know that buying it on sale and in bulk is good, there usually is a good few weeks on the exp. date on yogurts, go further back in the case and you'll usually find even longer dates. AND you can buy plain or vanilla and throw in your own jams and such. I remember not really liking the taste of plain yogurt when growing up, but nothing tasted better than yogurt with honey drizzled over it, the honey would sort firm up, it was awesome!
Either or, good for you for eating it, that's good stuff for you! As long as you are getting the lower sugar ones, I looked at a small 6 oz. Yoplait last night, 27 grams of sugar! (02/02/2007)
By Michawn
I have a very old family recipe. I use whole milk, four liters. Put milk into large pot and bring milk to a boil slowly. Once milk is boiling take pot off heat and put a tablespoon of plain yogurt into warm milk. I wrap pot into beach towel and let milk cool off. It will takes a few hours. Now the milk will have changed to yogurt. good luck. (02/02/2007)
By Cucumberlady
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Pour 2 cups of water into a blender container, and spin the yogurt until dissolved. add in powdered milk until completely blended. Fill with remaining water, and blend it around for a few seconds Pour into 2 or 3 canning jars with lids and set in a warm place for 12 to 15 hours. I use a heating pad with a plastic cooler bag over the top of the jars, overnight. Refrigerate, until chilled before serving.
(02/02/2007)
By Terry
EASY-AS YOGURT, no thermometer needed
Mix sugar with a little hot water to dissolve, then top up to 1 liter with cold water, add milk powder and whisk to blend. Gently stir in yogurt and incubate. Time for this will vary - it takes 6 hours in my electric yogurt maker but can take up to 12 hours in the hot water cupboard. Refrigerate when yogurt is set (tip the container slightly and it will jiggle rather than pour)
I use an electric yogurt maker, but putting it in a warm place undisturbed (hot water cupboard, oven, warmed cooler chest) works well too. This makes thick, yummy yogurt that's not too sweet. If you want it even thicker, replace some non-fat milk powder with full fat milk powder, or simply add more than 1 cup of non-fat powder. You can use honey to sweeten or sweetener, or add vanilla. My children don't like the fruit in bought yogurt, but are happy to eat large quantities of this, particularly when it's mixed with a few tsp of lemon honey (also called lemon curd or lemon cheese).
Reserve half a cup of yogurt for your next batch, or you can freeze commercial yogurt into ice cubes and use two cubes per batch.
Tips for the beginner; if your yogurt fails to set, you can add more 'starter' to it and try again, if it gets a thick gritty layer on the top or the bottom, it has had too much heat and has curdled. It tastes okay but the texture is peculiar, although it's fine for baking with.(b)(/b) (02/04/2007)
By Kate, NZ
I just saw a cool yogurt maker machine in the Home Hardware flyer (I'm in canada) for 11 dollars. I'm sure they are also available in the U.S although maybe another store. (02/04/2007)
By Kelly
If you use Long Life UHT milk you can skip the first step and simply heat it to 110F, as it is already sterile. I then incubate it in a wide mouthed vacuum flask which I have preheated with boiling water. After 7 hours it's done. (07/28/2007)
By Rob
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