Friday, June 13, 2008

DIY Yogurt


Speaking of making foods yourself, I made yogurt for the first time. We buy all of our milk raw from a local person with a few goats. It's really great goat's milk, miles better than what you can get in the store (very little of that goaty flavor, for one thing). And since the kids love yogurt, I thought I'd try my hand at making some from the goat's milk. I used the directions on this site: http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/ and it worked out very well. I think I'll let the next batch go about half an hour longer though, just for a little more thickness.

The great thing is, my mom had this yogurt maker from sometime in the 1970s, and she brought it up to me and it works great! It's easier than leaving the yogurt on a hot pad or other warming methods, because it keeps it at a constant temperature that's just right. And since strawberry season it upon us, it's just the perfect time to get my yogurt-making underway.

2 comments:

Christi said...

That looks great, Robin! Thanks for posting the make-your-own-yogurt link. That looks like something I'd like to try.

Reepsy said...

Robin,

Thanks for the link to my yogurt website. Two things I have learned recently, and am planning to add to the website, are:

1. If you hold the 185F on the milk for 30 minutes, you will get a much thicker yogurt, and more active cultures coming through to the final product. It denatures the milk proteins, which may or may not be desirable, enabling them to cling onto more of the whey.

Simply going another half hour on incubation as you mentioned, will get it thicker, but will also make it tangier.

2. I am looking to try a product called a YogoTherm Incubator. Google it and check it out. Basically, it is a triple wall thermos, that can hold a steady 110F for seven hours. In other words, no electricity. I will be endorsing it on my site if it works out. I don't like that it is another big hunk of plastic with no other purpose, but the manufacturer says it lasts at least 15 years. You'll save a lot of energy dollars not running a heating pad or other electrical device for seven hours at a clip, for a decade and a half.

Food for thought,

Michael