Making yogurt without yogurt-maker or dehydrator?

[Severine]

Is this possible?

In NT, it refers to either putting your yogurt in the dehydrator or oven at 150oF. My oven doesn't go that low, and my dehydrator consists of stacked trays, so I can't use that for yogurt either. Any other suggestions? I'd really like to start making my own but I'm not sure if it will be possible under the circumstances.

Also, is soured raw milk good for making yogurt? The last batch of milk I bought tasted sour from day 1 so I'm trying to find some good uses for it.

[syllymom]

Don't follow the 150 degrees in the book... it must be a typo.

What I started doing, and have had better success then when I used the yoghurt maker I got, was to heat the milk and add starter as stated and then poor it in a mason jar put the lid on lose, wrap some towels around it and leave it on the counter for atleast 12 hours but more like 18hours. Oh and don't move it or touch or peek at it during the time.

I'm really surprised at how easy it is to make yoghurt.

[quietserena]

First, 150 is way too hot for yogurt. I think 120 is the upper limit.

I used to make it in the oven with an oven thermometer - turning the oven on and off to keep the temp between 100 and 120. If you have an oven with a light bulb or pilot light, those might keep it warm enough too. Or a heating pad. Hot water bath. Top of a radiator. Sunny window. Preheated thermos bottle. I've at one time tried all these, usually with decent success. Yogurt is pretty easy to make, seriously. Just look around your house for a warm spot. Too cool is better than too hot.

[eclipse]

I just put it in my oven, with the oven off, overnight. The pilot light keeps it just warm enough.

[dad-o-six]

I use some stuff that I have around anyway.

I put a heating pad in the bottom of a small, insulated cooler, and set the heating pad on medium. I fill 1-quart mason jars mostly full of milk, and add a tablespoon of storebought yogurt, and stir pretty well. Then I leave it overnight, and move it to the fridge in the morning. Hasn't failed yet.

The thing I like about using the cooler is that I can make 2 quarts at a time if I want to. I also can use the cooler and heating pad for other purposes, so there's no need for additional stuff. However, if you want to buy something, I've heard that the Salton yogurt makers are cheap (less than $20) and effective, and that you can use your own mason jars on the inside (so you can have as many batches cycling as you want).

You can heat your milk up to 180 degrees before you make the yogurt. That will make it a little thicker. But you can also just start with cold milk (easier!). If you heat the milk to start with, make sure it comes down to less than 120 (max) before you put in the yogurt starter or you'll kill the good bacteria.

[Severine]

I thought 150oF didn't sound right, but that's what it says in NT. After the initial heating (180oF for pasteurized milk, 110oF for raw milk), it said to let it cool, then add the starter and put it in the oven or dehydrator at about 150oF.

Glad to see I don't need to heat the milk first since I have no way of meausring the temp anyway, LOL!

Sounds like I can do it pretty easily without any fancy equipment so I'll give it a whirl! I have some souring milk anyway that I need to get through so this will give me something to do with it.

[westcoastmom]

The farmer we used to get milk from in Canada would mix a spoonful of store bought yogurt in, and put it on top of the frigde overnight. (He didn't heat it, but fresh milk is warm)

I guess it depends on your fridge though, since ours isn't warm on top.