Making Your Own Yoghurt

[veggiechicken]

You might end up with a cream "cheese" with drained yogurt but not a cottage cheese.
Overnight draining, I'd think!

[bazzaboy]

You could try adding Calcium Chloride to your milk instead... You can buy it from anywhere that sells cheesemaking supplies.

Thanks, Ananke, I'll try that, sounds like you get the desired result without dying, lol - to be recommended! I'll let you know how it goes.... Thank you. bb.

[veggiechicken]

Here's an interesting method - using a slow cooker https://www.daringgourmet.com/easy-h...-greek-yogurt/ I'm sure I have a slow cooker somewhere!

[4Shoes]

I use much the same ingredients.... - Big Jug Blue Milk, Starter Yeo Valley Plain , with heating and cooling in a big pan.

Then in the bottom of your Kilner wee jars, put a dollop of your favourite Jam, Honey, or even "Coffee Syrups"
Add the milk mix and into the Dehydrator over night.

Lovely warm for breakfast, and then equally as nice next day very cold from fridge.

[muck lover]

I use large amounts of plain yoghurt. We eat it for breakfast every day and currently using several kilograms per week.
I tried making it from a starter and it turned into yoghurt with a nice enough flavour. But the texture was almost slimy which put me off making it again.

[4Shoes]

I use large amounts of plain yoghurt. We eat it for breakfast every day and currently using several kilograms per week.
I tried making it from a starter and it turned into yoghurt with a nice enough flavour. But the texture was almost slimy which put me off making it again.

With the dehydrator it is thick. Keeps it a correct temperature so the bio's can do their stuff

I suspect you could make a Hay Oven. or simply us Polystyrene packing to create an insulated box for the pot.

[Bren In Pots]

I've used a yoghurt maker since the 70's same recipe every time, but now I use a 1ltr maker rather than the individual pot one, that's still in the cupboard.

Heat 1 3/4 pint milk to sterilised point 84c on thermometer
Cool to blood heat, I've found it doesn't matter if its cooler.
add a couple of tablespoons starter ( preferably left from previous batch)
stir very gently
leave overnight in yoghurt maker

I make yoghurt every week and I've noticed after a couple of months the starter does seem to not works so well, you can freeze starter in ice cube trays.

hope this helps

Last summer my Lakeland 1ltr yog maker broke so I'm back to using the one I bought in the 70's glad I hung on to it rather than take to the charity shop.
Still using the same recipe its not often I end up with runny yog but if I do I use it for scones or rice pudding.

[Ananke]

. But the texture was almost slimy which put me off making it again.

I've had this happen twice over the years, I'm not really sure what caused it as I pretty much follow the same steps each time, the only thing I can think of that might change is the room temperature during incubation.

From what I've read, slimy texture is caused by the bacteria forming long chains but there was no definitive answer as to what caused this to happen.

[bazzaboy]

Here's an interesting method - using a slow cooker https://www.daringgourmet.com/easy-h...-greek-yogurt/

That is a good one, VC, will give it a try (but use EasiYo rather than the blanket technique!) I massively improved my first attempt by straining it (part of this recipe), significantly reduces the volume of yogurt too but I've ended up with a reasonable approximation of "Greek yogurt" and the recipe gives tips on using the whey, also on making a version of Lebanese Labneh which must be worth a try. Be cautious if printing off the recipe as it initially registers as being 100 pages long - which seems a touch lengthy for a yogurt recipe - in fact most of it is reader's comments saying how wonderful it is, it's just Page 11 you need! Thanks VC. bb

[bazzaboy]

Hmmm, 2nd attempt, following the online recipe, not as successful as the first hit and miss approach…. Post straining, the texture is not so creamy (Greek-like) and the whey was much cloudier both suggesting the 'set' (overnight) was not so effective. It's edible but not as good IMHO as Fage Total Greek Yog or Muller Fruit Corners… I remain a bit suspicious of the instruction to add the live yogurt starter once the milk has cooled to 110-115F - I recall days living in Phoenix Arizona and shade temperatures of 110-115F were pretty warm and must be a bit of a shock for a starter culture at UK room temperature mid 60s F. The other aspect I noticed was the assertion that the slow-cooker warming stage "will take 2-3 hours" rather depends on the individual slow-cooker…

The economics of this exercise are interesting (particularly if you count 'labour'). Basic materials about £1.50, time taken must be an hour including shopping, prep, fiddling about, checking, straining, apportioning, cooling, washing up etc so at the minimum £7.50, (Jamie, Hugh and Gordon would probably cost that a bit higher). So we're up to £9.00 for 3 healthy portions - and we haven't got any honey or fruit costed in yet. Or extras like electricity, capital equipment, depreciation… But even £9.00 would buy 2-3 cartons of Total which would give 15-20 portions or 20 Fruit Corners including the fruit. In fact even without the labour costs etc the both Total and Fruit Corners are cheaper per portion (and they're by no means the cheapest yogurt) than basic material costs…

I can recall from schooldays the story of Adam Smith and the pin-makers (pin-maker makes pins by cutting the wire, sharpening one end, blunting the other, putting in a box. If you get 4 pin-makers each specialising in one of those 4 tasks you end up over the same time period with more than 4 times the number of pins!) Basic division of labour…. Does this signal the end of yogurt making?, the end of crafts? And probably the end of vegetable gardening?

Answer: Probably not! I will have a third attempt with some modifications….

[Snoop Puss]

^How do you arrive at your costs? It doesn't cost me that much in raw materials and I don't add the cost of the time buying them because they get bought when other food gets bought. And as for the cost of the EasiYo pot, well, that's not cheap, admittedly. But you can usually find it half price somewhere and it lasts for ages. My Mum has one that she's had for donkey's years.

Here it's not easy to buy fresh milk. Generally I use UHT whole milk, and a small pot of plain yogurt, both at room temperature, mix them together in an EasiYo tub and then follow the EasiYo instructions re. boiling water and leave overnight. Never had a failure. I sometimes strain it to make labneh, but it's usually pretty thick already once it's been chilled. When I can get fresh milk, I just use it at room temperature.

Edited to add: the business about heating milk and then allowing it to cool is because it kills off any other bacteria that might grow. They're not necessarily bad for you, but potentially they can outcompete your yogurt bacillus. So heating and cooling supposedly gives you more consistent success. So far, however, I've had no problems using fresh milk as is at room temperature. Apparently, heating also affects milk proteins, which in turn has a negative impact on yogurt texture. Fresh milk makes a nicer yogurt texture-wise than UHT in my view. But I don't often have the choice.

[redkoatz]

I know this is old, but I'm having no success with this. I had a yoghurt maker which I'm trying to make Greek yoghurt with. As a starter I used onken as I know it has live bacteria.
I used 2 heaped spoonfuls of this, I took fresh pasteurized milk, heated it carefully to the correct temperature, cooled it off to the correct temperature, transferred it to the yoghurt machine, (which had been sterilized) and left it there overnight.

Really, the only yoghurt present is probably the original yoghurt I added, very disappointed.

I have purchased a cheese cloth and a new blender ready for another go.

I don't want to have to purchase bacteria starter packs as it defeats the purpose somewhat.

Please tell me what I need to make Greek yoghurt.

Thanks

[4Shoes]

I know this is old, but I'm having no success with this. I had a yoghurt maker which I'm trying to make Greek yoghurt with. As a starter I used onken as I know it has live bacteria.
I used 2 heaped spoonfuls of this, I took fresh pasteurized milk, heated it carefully to the correct temperature, cooled it off to the correct temperature, transferred it to the yoghurt machine, (which had been sterilized) and left it there overnight.

Really, the only yoghurt present is probably the original yoghurt I added, very disappointed.

I have purchased a cheese cloth and a new blender ready for another go.

I don't want to have to purchase bacteria starter packs as it defeats the purpose somewhat.

Please tell me what I need to make Greek yoghurt.

Thanks

1. Put Milk in Pan - I use Blue Milk (Green Equally Well)
2. Heat to Required Temperature
3. Cool off to lower Temperature
4. Add Starter Yoghurt and mix
5. Put into Yoghurt Machine
(5. I Put into Sterilized Jars and then into dehydrator over night)

6 For Greek Yoghurt - Strain.

For starter I use Yeo Valley Organic Natural Probiotic Yogurt. Then each time just save some from last pot for next starter.

[Bren In Pots]

It reads like you're doing the right thing to make yoghurt all I can think of is to leave the heated milk to get cooler. I've found so long as its blood heat or lower yoghurt seems to form.

[Snoop Puss]

I add a whole small pot of yogurt, not just two tablespoons. As the bacilli need to multiply, it may take quite a bit longer if you're starting with less.

Also, what kind of yogurt maker are you using? I found the ones that heat from the bottom not to be entirely satisfactory as the mixture got too hot on occasions. If the ambient temperature is very warm, the mixture might get overly hot for successful yogurt making.