Been a bit busy since getting my yogurt maker last week. Today I’m finally attempting the first batch.
I used Zoi unflavored Greek yogurt as the starter. Not sure of the exact amount (measuring is for wusses). From the 12:00 position, the variations are:
- Plain whole milk
- Whole milk with Karen’s fabulous apricot syrup stirred in
- Whole milk with extra milk solids
- Half-and-half with extra milk solids
- Half-and-half with Karen’s fabulous syrup on the bottom
- Plain half-and-half
Not sure how much I added of either syrup or milk solids. I may have mentioned I think measuring is for wusses. 🙂 But really, I figured this first batch was unlikely to turn out great just because it’s a first batch. So I wanted to see how loosey-goosey I could be with ingredients and still get something yogurtish. Once I get a wonderful result, then I’ll start worrying about making it reproducible.
Oh yeah, non-fat and low-fat are for wusses, too.
I was a little concerned because the Yolife yogurt maker is only heating to 105 degrees, which seems to be a few degrees “lite” of optimal. But then, every how-to-make-yogurt article has a different viewpoint on optimal. I like the Sunni Maravillosa article Carl-Bear tracked down and put in the comment section the other day. Sunni definitely knows her way around a kitchen. If 105 doesn’t do it, I can probably raise the temperature a tad by draping a towel over the plastic cover.
The jars have been in the machine for three hours and when I lifted the lid to take this photo (don’t tell me I shouldn’t have done that) the most wonderful aroma wafted up. Hm. Could it actually be working?
neat-o.
one of the amazon reviewers said that they prefer the easier-to-clean canning jars, which seems like good advice. At least you know you don’t need to hunt down something special if breakage occurs.
Is there a timer on that thing? it seems like one could do a remake by just getting an industrial thermostatically controlled AC switch and splicing it into the power cord of a crockpot like so:
http://www.chow.com/food-news/64330/how-to-hack-your-slow-cooker/
Then you would have a sous vide cooker with the same hack (at a wee higher price though)
You mean I could have a sous-vide machine when I never even heard of one? That would be something. 🙂 No, there’s no timer on this machine. I noticed that some others had timers and automatic shut-offs and thought I would miss that. But because yogurt-making time can be so variable, I’m not sure I’ll miss it at all. Still, I’ll check out that hack.
Once I get a recipe I like, I’ll definitely switch to big canning jars. The little ones are certainly handy for experiments, though.
You don’t need a fancy yogurt maker. I use the instructions at http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/yogurt_making/YOGURT2000.htm that don’t involve anything trickier than a pot, a thermometer, some mason jars, and a picnic cooler. It’s easy and works well every time.
Well, hello, David Gross. Nice to hear from you again.
Truth is, though, that while YOU don’t need a fancy yogurt maker, I do. Not a fancy one, actually. But when it comes to anything in the kitchen, I need something that is both EZ and I-D-I-O-T-proof.
So far, so good. I was figuring 8 hours. After 7-1/2 hours, I removed five perfectly set and deliciously fragrant jars of yogurt from the machine. The sixth jar — the one I stirred the apricot syrup into — hasn’t set up completely so it’s still in there. The one with the syrup on the bottom, though … now that looks delectable.
First taste test in the morning.
Questions:
1) You don’t heat the milk, half-and-half, etc before you put it in the yogurt maker?
2) Who sells _plain_ Greek yogurt? (Around here every brand on the shelf is sweetened, or has added something.)
3) You sweetened it in the yogurt maker? “Experts” always say to make the yogurt and then sweeten it before you eat it, because the sweetener slows the setting-up process. And I’ve found this to be so. (BTW, try agave syrup in it sometime; it’s good in plain [non-Greek] yogurt, and I’ve been using it in place of honey, including in tea and cooking. It’s supposed to have a lower glycemic index, too.)
Pat,
I brought the milk up to room temperature to make it more friendly to the little growy things. But from all I’ve read, you don’t have to heat the milk if it’s already been pasturized.
I have to drive 90 miles one way to get the plain Greek yogurt. But I can usually find plain non-fat regular yogurt at any store around here. I assume that would do as well for a starter.
When I stirred in the fruit syrup I was going by instructions that came with the yogurt maker. But it seems that your experts are more right. The jar with the fruit syrup on the bottom appears to have turned out fine. The jar where I stirred it in never did set up properly. (Taste tests to come after I’ve had my morning tea.)
Agave syrup, eh? I’ve had it, but never with yogurt. Nobody around her sells it, but I’ll keep an eye out.
Domino (sugar company) now makes two Liquid Sweeteners with “organic agave nectar”, labeled Light (very little taste, except sweet) and Amber (fuller, honey-like flavor). It takes the tartness out of yogurt, if the yogurt is too tart. I use the light kind if I need to use any sweetener at all. Maybe you can find Domino at a big town/city closer than 90 miles.
http://www.dominosugar.com/products/agave/agave-nectar.html?code=paidsearch&gclid=COr_-ab8zKsCFUOo4AodB2Ra5Q
And half-light/half-amber makes a perfect blend for sweet vs tart for a cranberry relish I make.
I’ve made yogurt without a yogurt maker, but my house is generally too cold for that. No matter how I tried to insulate it, it cooled too quickly and ended up smelling spoiled instead of yogurty. I got a 1.5 quart yogurt maker, the kind that looks like a souped-up thermos, and it works great. I just don’t eat enough yogurt to keep a starter around all the time. Maybe after I get a few dairy sheep I’ll start making it more often, but, there other stuff that needs done before that can happen. I go through milk too fast as it is right now.
My favorite way to eat homemade yogurt was with a spoonful of buckwheat honey mixed in, but that was before I heard of greek yogurt.