homemade yogurt = awesome???!?!?!

[KLK7]

So I made my first batch and let it work its magic for 24-hours. It was quite possibly the best thing I have ever ate. It tasted like custard with a slightly tart sour cream like aftertaste. I ate 2 full cups and am craving more. Is this what it is supposed to taste like? And can one eat too much yogurt? And why does it taste so much different than my starter yogurt (Stonyfield whole milk plain)?

[quietserena]

Mine gets to be quite tart after 24 hours, but it does taste good to me. The improved taste is likely because of the milk you used - good milk makes good yogurt.

[memory maker]

what recipe did you use? I just got a yogurt maker and am ready to make some

[KLK7]

I used the recipe from NT and just used my oven and the light. I don't have a yogurt maker.

[quietserena]

No recipe really needed - need some milk and some starter - I use store bought yogurt (or buttermilk, or kefir) in the first batch and then my own until it gets to be a bit 'off' then get fresh. I use about half cup of starter for a quart of milk. Mason jars fit perfectly in my yogurt maker, I love that. Mix the milk and starter up and pop in the yogurt maker. Some people heat up the milk to about 100F, but in my experience this wasn't needed.

Remember to reserve some fresh yogurt as starter for next batch.

[mama2tzatziki]

There really is no comparison to homemade yogurt - it is so sweet and rich. I make mine without a yogurt maker using the cooler method, and I make a gallon at a time.

[peridot83]

So to make it without a yogurt maker could I just mix the milk and starter together in a mason jar and put it in the oven as low as it will go? Is homemade a lot better than really good store bought yogurt, or something I buy from the farm? I think I need to start making my own since
i go through enough of it.

[quietserena]

Yup, that's why I started making it - couldn't buy enough.

Oven would work - just gotta make sure it doesn't get too warm or you'll kill off the colony. Iirc, over 120F is too warm. Someone correct me if this is wrong.

[peridot83]

Thanks, I'll give it a try the next time I get some raw milk.

[cloudswinger]

I make it using a double boiler to heat the milk and some water, and then dump the water in a cooler(with some cool water so it's not so hot), mix the milk and starter in a jar, and stick the jar in the cooler for about 8 hours. It's not very tart at that point, but usually curdled. Uses less electricity that way.

[twinkletoes]

yes, homemade yogurt is SO delicious. I notice vaste differences in taste depending on the (all natural) yogurts I use as a starter, so now I have one I love and only use it from time to time, but my end product never tastes like the yogurt I started with.

[pookel]

So, in the summer could I just leave it in a jar in the garage? I may have to try this ... I don't have a yogurt maker and don't want to buy more stuff for the kitchen.

I remember one time that a half-cup of milk got left out in my living room for a couple days when it was warm, and when I dumped it out, it was yogurt. It smelled fine, not like rotten milk, but I didn't have the nerve to taste it.

[pookel]

P.S. Another question ... do you suppose it would work to just take the remains of the yogurt in the container, fill it with milk, and leave it somewhere warm? Or does it need a glass container for some reason?

[cloudswinger]

I've reused plastic yogurt tubs to make yogurt, although not directly like you're suggesting. I've thought of it, just never tried it.

[quietserena]

I think they make then that way at the dairy. How else would it set so perfectly in there?

I think the only problem would be contamination. this depends on how you've gotten the other yogurt out - if you ate out of the container, then the risk is higher, and if you used a clean utensil to get it out, then it's very very low.

that said, i've done it and had no problems.

[Rachel J.]

Originally Posted by quietserena

Yup, that's why I started making it - couldn't buy enough.

Oven would work - just gotta make sure it doesn't get too warm or you'll kill off the colony. Iirc, over 120F is too warm. Someone correct me if this is wrong.

I make mine in the oven with just the light on. It keeps it between 100-110 degrees and I imagine it doesn't use much electricity.

[quietserena]

Originally Posted by Rachel J.

I make mine in the oven with just the light on. It keeps it between 100-110 degrees and I imagine it doesn't use much electricity.

Back when I was a student, I lived in this hole in the wall apartment that had a gas range with a gas oven. The pilot light was just enough to keep the oven warm and I'd crack the door using a wooden spoon so it wasn't too warm. Had to explain it to the landlord several times - he always thought I'd forgotten about my yogurt. (He was always there trying to fix that rickety old range...)

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by KLK7

I used the recipe from NT and just used my oven and the light. I don't have a yogurt maker.

so which recipe?? the cooked or raw? I can't get the raw to work...my kids won't eat it and I'll only use it in smoothies since the texture is off.

[KLK7]

The cooked one. It worked perfectly for me. I didn't use raw milk since I don't have any and I didn't think it would be a good use for it since it says to heat the milk so hot. I used grass-fed organic whole milk from the grocery store and Stonyfield whole milk organic plain yogurt as the starter.

I am totally hooked. Today I am making it again with the same milk but 2 different starters to see if it tastes any different. I am using Horizon organic whole milk in one batch and Fage greek style whole milk in the other batch. Man, that Fage is TDF so I hope mine turns out good.

[syllymom]

Heating milk ?

Ok, I'm going to ask what may seem like a dumb question but some have said in a way that you don't heat the milk first. Is this true?I thought you have to heat the milk. What does heating the milk do?

I've made yogurt a couple of time but have never been happt with it. I will get curdly in some spots which turns me off. Went back to buying it.