Glass in yogurt maker

[blairhoney]

So, I just got the Salton YM9 1-quart yogurt maker, and I am looooving it (saving so much money while making better quality yogurt!). I replaced the plastic liner with a glass mason jar, and I'm pretty happy with that too. But here's my question: after I scald the milk in the microwave (185 degrees), I have to let it cool to 110 degrees. It takes FOREVER to let it cool - like 45 min or an hour.

So here's my question: if I put the hot glass jar in the fridge, am I risking cracking the jar? I seem to recall glass shouldn't move between extreme temperatures in a short period of time, but I don't like to spend an hour setting up the yogurt.

[cristeen]

First of all, microwaving is not nice to milk to begin with, it damages the proteins. Second of all, I never scald my milk before making yogurt, I put it in cold, it saves time and energy.

But to answer your question, yes, you would be risking the glass jar cracking. I broke one last week by shocking it.

[avendesora]

I also don't heat the milk.

If I use pasturized milk, that's been opened only recently, then I don't worry about it. If I use raw milk, then I want it to stay raw, and I also don't worry about it.

Aven

[artparent]

so, for those of you who don't heat it, does your yogurt turn out thick? what kind of culture do you use? my yogurt is thin, and i am very fond of very thick yogurt. i've tried heating, not heating...i'm having trouble!!

i would buy a salton and change for a glass jar myself, if i knew it would make thick yogurt!

*

[blairhoney]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I will think about not scalding the milk, though I have heard it helps the yogurt thicken a bit more.

As far as I know, there are two options for thick yogurt:
1. add dried milk (which is apparently good but for me defeats the point of using organic milk/making my own yogurt)
2. strain the yogurt with cheesecloth, which will decrease the volume but increase the thickness, a la greek yogurt.

Personally, I've been happy with the thickness of my yogurt; I use 2% organic milk and let it incubate in the Salton for 5 hours with a cloth towel over it. If I didn't mix the whey back in, it would be quite a bit thicker. But I don't mind the whey and am just as happy not to lose the volume.