Making my own yogurt
 

I go through a LOT of yogurt, & would really like to start making my own - does anyone have any tips???

I'd probably start by buying (new or used) a yogurt maker. I know you can make it without a yogurt maker, but I don't know the specifics. I do know that you can grow yogurt either from culture (a grainy or powdery substance that you can buy) or from other yogurt. If you grow it from another kind, I'd go with a yogurt that has several cultures (listed on the back). I think the two that are found in most commercial products are acidophilus and bifidus.

Let us know how it goes. I'm kind of interested in doing this myself.

Buying a 2qt. yogurt maker is the easiest and most reliable way to make it. If you have a microwave, it is pretty easy to do. It takes me about 30 minutes from start to finish (and then 12 hours of incubation time).
Your yogurt maker will come with a recipe book. I make a higher protein yogurt by adding non-fat dried milk to mine.
My recipe is:
Heat 6 cups of milk in the microwave for 10 minutes. Add milk powder (one packet), stir and heat for 4.5 more minutes. The temperature needs to be above 190 degrees, but not boiling.

Remove the milk from the microwave and cool it to 110 degrees (I put the bowl in a sink full of ice water). Once the milk has cooled sufficiently, stir in your "starter". I use Fage yogurt (2 tbs.) every 4th batch. The other 3 batches are made with 2 tbs. of the previous batch of yogurt.

Once the yogurt culture is well blended with the milk, pour it into the yogurt maker, plug it in and let it incubate for 6-12 hours. I like firm yogurt, so I usually go the full 12 hours. Refrigerate, and eat :)

Homemade yogurt is infinitely better than even the best store-bought yogurt! Tart, tangy, creamy - absolutely delightful!

I like the Yogourmet yogurt maker. But, I have had good luck with the Salton ones, which are much less expensive.

This is my favorite site and really helped when I got started making yogurt: http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/monthl...tabletalk.html

Thanks guys! I cannot afford a yogurt maker right now, so I am going to try the oven incubation method. I'm going to try to do my first batch this weekend, when I have a bit of time, & will let you know how it goes.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed - I go through a LOT of yogurt, & even though milk is not cheap either, I think this will reduce my grocery budget.

Does anybody know, is it possible to make yogurt from reconstituted powdered milk, or do you have to start w/ milk that you buy liquid?

Yes, you can use powdered milk. Some people add some extra powder, so that the yogurt will be thicker.

Do you have a crockpot? I've had success with that method.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008...-crockpot.html

Ooh, brilliant - I am definitely going to try the crockpot method! Thank you!!

I have a gas stove and use my oven to make yogurt. It works great and couldn't be easier :)

I make it quite regularly now. i do 24 hour yogurt. the long culturing time is to produce more beneficial bacteria. but you don't want to go longer than 24 hours.
no yogurt maker, i use a crock pot, however, the crock pot heater itself gets to hot, so after bringing the milk to a boil for ~2mins, i let it cool to 110 degrees, transfer to the crock and set back in the oven with the oven light turned on and leave it sit 24 hours. the oven light keeps it the perfect temperature.
i use yogurt as the starter, just a heaping tablespoon or 2 and whisk it in as i transfer the milk to the crock pot.
Theory has it that you can keep using the same batch of yogurt as starter indefinitely, but i've read that you don't want to do this to prevent undesirable strains of bacteria from taking over. So i just use fresh starter yogurt each batch. dannon has live and active cultures, and i like fage too.

I also like the yogurt dripped, which can easily be done with a coffee filter lined colander set over another bowl. for a thicker creamier yogurt.

good luck! it's sort of an art, you have to develop your own style and method i think. :)

Just reporting back - I tried the crockpot method for the first time yesterday. I used 2% milk. The yogurt is very good, but thinner than store-bought, so I think next time I'll either add some powdered milk or gelatin. But the crockpot way was super easy!

I'm glad it worked for you.:)

Thanks for the inspiration! Youngest son (14 y.o.) developed lactose intolerance this past December, and I've been trying to develop a recipe for yogurt using Lactaid milk (which he can drink w/o a reaction). I found Yogourmet starter at the natural food store, and used that to make a quart - he had a mild reaction to the milk powder in the starter. So, I'm trying a spoonful of the finished yogurt to start the next batch - hopefully, the lactose will be sufficiently diffused in the next quart so he can eat it without any reaction.

I have been having fun making yogurt for the rest of us, too - I strain it through a coffee filter, and it is better than Greek yogurt! Yogurt is a daily part of the dog's food, too, so we normally go through a couple quarts a week. Hopefully it will save some money, too. I use the dehydrator to "process" the containers, it keeps the temps steady.

Cyndi, how do you make it with a gas stove?

I use the oven with the pilot light for the culture growing phase. It can take as little as three hours.

Are you sure you son isn't full out allergic to milk? Yogurt doesn't have lactose in it. The bacteria in the starter "eats" the lactose during the fermentation process. I'm lactose intolerant myself and I've never had a reaction to yogurt.