Stonyfield VS Fage?
 

I think that I get a thicker yogurt from the Fage. When I go to dump my yogurt out of the yogurt maker container, it is one solid mass. I didn't get that with the Stonyfield. I want to try another Greek yogurt for a starter and it is called Okios, I think the spelling is right. Has anyone used this brand yet? A 7 oz Fage costs me $1.99 and I think the cost of the of the Okios is about the same, but the only reason I've put it off is because it is only offered with the honey. Are you guys using 2%, 1% or FF? I use 2 % and down, what ever is on sale. I'm using an off brand of powdered milk. I hadn't bought any of that for two years, just keep it in the freezer, and OMG I couldn't believe the cost and how much it has gone up. I'm going to Aldi's this week to see if I can get a better bargain on it. It is kind of funny that the powdered milk has been in the freezer for two years and I'm starting my second box of it in less than a month. Well, I found a recipe for Chai tea on www.allrecipes.com and that is not helping my powdered milk supply. Chai tea was the only thing I really missed from my old life style and with the subs of Alterna, and SF creamers, it makes a decent cup. And a lot cheaper than the Big Train Chai Tea I've been buying. Well, happy yogurt making!!! LOL!!!

Hm. I'll try Fage when my frozen supply of Stonyfield Organic runs out.

I've been using 2% milk and whatever brand of powdered is on sale. I'll probably run to Sam's club this weekend and get a bigger box of powdered. I hadn't thought about keeping it in the freezer, but that's a good idea.

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I researched dry milk. A drought, and some economic issues caused the price of dry milk to skyrocket. What ever I was reading predicts that the price will come down some, but it is not the bargain it used to be and probably won't be again. The price of a quart of reconstituted dry milk is as much as fluid milk. I looked for it at Costco and they don't have it. Probably because of the cost. I got my last batch at a Wal-Mart Super Center.

nanj, I did the same thing you did. I had a ton of Carnation Dry milk in the freezer. I decided to start drinking it both for convenience and Price (trying to save because of all the dire economic predictions), and what do you know, it is now hard to find and expensive.

Houston, we have yogurt! Firm yogurt.

I used dry milk, heated it, cooled it, added a good dollop of Mountain High 2% commercial yogurt. I put it in a styrofoam cooler with a heating pad and my indoor/outdoor thermometer. The outdoor part was inside the cooler so I could tell the temp without opening the lid. I let it incubate from after lunch - maybe 12:30p until about 6:30p. I was going to let it go longer, but I just had to peek and it was done.

Problems: I got the milk too hot during the initial phase. Then I let it get too cool before adding yogurt. Turns out the heating pad I used has an automatic off feature, so it turned itself off a couple of times and the temp got too low.

In spite of the above, the yogurt is perfect. I added just a bit more dry milk than the original recipe called for, and I haven't tried it with Mountain High before, so maybe one of those things helped. I am going to freeze the rest of the Mountain High for future use.

Amazing how thrilled I am by all this :lol:.

I made some yogurt!
I took 3 cups of 1% milk and mixed in 1/2 cup of powdered skim milk. Brought to 170, then cooled to 115. Added 2 tablespoons of Fage 2%.

I put it in my oven that has a baking stone in it to retain heat. I had a probe thermometer that can be read from outside the oven. I heated the oven to 120 and monitored the temp. I actually went to bed, and woke up at 1am and remembered the yogurt.
I poked the top and it looked solid, so I took it out and put it in the fridge.
Well, this morning I checked and only the very top had become yogurt - the rest was still liquid. So, I thought I would see if I could salvage it.
I warmed the mixture and added another dollop of the Fage. Then back into the oven. About 6 hours later, I had nice firm yogurt!

It is very mild in flavor, like the Fage. I have some straining right now. DH was pretty impressed LOL!

I strained some of mine, too. Really good. The trouble is, I can't leave it alone. Even though my DH doesn't like yogurt, he was impressed that I actually made some myslef. So was I :lol:.

I use whole milk. Shocking huh?!?!?! DH and I are ttc and I've read that the balance of naturally occurring milk hormones go off balance when fat is removed. Harvard did a study and low fat dairy can cause problems when ttc. I will be switching to 2% once we get preggo though. :)

Dry milk prices are crazy high right now. I was lucky enough to find my last box at the Grocery Outlet for $5. I should have bought them out! Oh well...

gailr42~I used to use Mountain High as a starter and it always worked well for me. I've only been using the Nancy's brand lately because it's slightly cheaper here. I typically go for the cheapest live culture yogurt that's made from rBST free milk.

WOOT! To all yogart makers
 

I read an article yesterday about making yogart and they use the same method as me, except they had increased their powdered milk to 1 c! Evidently, they wrote this article before the price went up.

OT: I'm 198.5 pounds this morning!!!! First time I've been under 200 lbs. in 32 years!!!! I'M IN ONDERLAND!!! I'm telling everyone.

:bravo: Nancy - Welcome to Onederland!!

You go, Nancy!!!! Congratulations.

Whooo hoooo Nancy. I remember when I dropped below 200 - it ROCKS. Good for you.


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Way to go Nancy!!! :dance:

Thanks you guys! I bought a toddler 3-wheeled stroller yesterday to ramp up my walking routine. I have a 3 y/o granddaughter who I'll be pushing round.

Zenor, on the off chance, I googled ttc because I didn't know what it meant. I thought maybe it was something like ADHD:lol:. Good Luck with your "project".

Nancy, that is wonderful about being in Onederland! You must be on cloud nine. Must be all that homemade yogurt!;)