so excited just have to share...

[snugglebug14]

I got an excalibur for my birthday a few weeks ago and it's been running non-stop! I've been using it for everything...my most recent accomplishment that I'm most excited about is raw yogurt!! After two years of trying to make yogurt, raw, pasturized, cow, goat, every method under the sun, I finally got it to work!! Ironically enough it's the simplest method that worked for me. I put two cups of raw milk in a quart jar, added a heaping spoonful of local yogurt, put the cap on and put it in the dehydrator at 115 for 8 hours and then let it cool in the fridge...PERFECTION! nobody else in my life gets how exciting that is so I thought I'd share here lol

[TheRobinsons]

I am excited for you! I feel like I have my oven running all the time dehydrating things. It makes my house so hot in summer. I would love a dehydrator....

[gabriel'smom]

Hi Snugglebug,

I love your excitement! I have an Excalibur I haven't used yet. Would you share some of the food you've been making? I'd love ideas!

[snugglebug14]

I've made yogurt, soaked granola (YUM), dried herbs, fruit leathers (didn't work so well the first time) hmm...that doesn't sound like much considering how often I've been using it, but I have made a few batches of each. I'm gonna dehydrate a bunch of bananas and apples later today. More herbs. Haha I have a friend who goes hunting and he wants to go squirrel hunting and make jerky..sounds gross to me but he says it's really good so I'm gonna let him use my dehydrator for that.
I on the other hand want to make regular jerky. The dehydrator book also mentioned making cheese in there so that's something I'd love to try.
The yogurt in and of itself is going to pay for the dehydrator...I'm used to paying $4/quart at the store...it's costing me $1.5/quart to make it at home AND it's raw milk so it's even better!! So excited about that.

[stilllearning85]

Originally Posted by snugglebug14

I got an excalibur for my birthday a few weeks ago and it's been running non-stop! I've been using it for everything...my most recent accomplishment that I'm most excited about is raw yogurt!! After two years of trying to make yogurt, raw, pasturized, cow, goat, every method under the sun, I finally got it to work!! Ironically enough it's the simplest method that worked for me. I put two cups of raw milk in a quart jar, added a heaping spoonful of local yogurt, put the cap on and put it in the dehydrator at 115 for 8 hours and then let it cool in the fridge...PERFECTION! nobody else in my life gets how exciting that is so I thought I'd share here lol

WOW!
So you didn't heat the milk at all before hand? Like you stuck cold milk in a mason jar and mixed in some cold yogurt and let it run at 115 for 8 hours and it worked?! YAY! MUST TRY THIS!

[snugglebug14]

Originally Posted by stilllearning85

WOW!
So you didn't heat the milk at all before hand? Like you stuck cold milk in a mason jar and mixed in some cold yogurt and let it run at 115 for 8 hours and it worked?! YAY! MUST TRY THIS!

exactly I was shocked after trying every complicated method you can think of that something so simple worked so well and it wasn't a fluke, I made another batch today and again it came out perfectly, nice an thick and gelled (not really gelled but I can't think of another word for it) like store bought yogurt.

[Koalamom]

Yeah for dehydrators!!
I have one and use it all the time. I think it is a luxury but a neccesity. I made freeze dried liver recently and then encapsulated it. I made kale chips from WhoMe's recipe. A local produce stand had a big table of fruit and veggies that were over rpe and selling for so cheap, tat stuff makes the best leathers. I love pear leather. I tried drying strawberries this year and it was the best. The only problem I found was that it was faster to eat them than it was to cut them up and dehydrate. Would have been easier to eat them fresh. So I am drying all that I can for winter storage since we have a short growing season. And you never know when there could be a food shortage and the dried food will come in handy.

[CeciMami]

I will definitely have to try the dehydrator yogurt recipe...i just happen to have raw milk on hand at the moment...yay!

[momofmine]

I've also been thinking about trying raw milk yogurt. It was actually refrigerator cold?? Wow!

[stilllearning85]

It worked! YAY! Thank you! This is ssooooo much easier! WOO!