Yogurt simply put is:
Milk almost half a gallon fits in the container pictured. (anything from cream to skim)
1) Pasteurized; the easiest method is to start with unopened, pasteurized milk.**(If you don't have unopened milk don't fret, see the note at the bottom for pasteurizing.) Leave a little headroom in your container. You'll see why.
2) Heat; 100-115 degrees. I use the microwave because I don't have to wash a pot later. (the cooler temperatures produce a milder yogurt where the warmer temperatures are more like sour cream) If you have found your milk is too hot to add the starter just add a little cold milk to it, aren't you glad you left some headroom?
3) Add starter; yogurt with active cultures in it. One small containers worth. (Don't microwave or overheat (115+) your milk at this point because it will kill your little cultures.)
4) Incubated; 6-8 hours in a covered container. The picture on the left is the Shoebox Method (I know it's not a shoebox, it's close enough), it offers the most control of temperatures (read the captions in the picture to see why.) The lower temperatures take longer but I think it's worth the wait. (Be sure to use a heat pad without auto shut-off.)
5) Strained; I use a colander lined with overlapped coffee filters. I put my colander in a large bowl to catch the drips, with a very small bowl under the colander to lift it out of the drips. You may have to periodically dump the drippings (sounds like gravy but, I don't know what it's called, whey?) out to keep it from flooding the colander. I use a plate as a lid- I don't think colanders come with lids...wouldn't keep the air out anyway what with the holes in the bottom. Put your yogurt in the fridge to strain. The more patient you are in this process the thicker your yogurt will be. Just give it a stir every so often to scrape the thicker yogurt off the bottom. I have found a downward scrape keeps the coffee filters from shifting out of place. If the thought of shifting filters is too much for you. Just make sure you have enough space in the larger bowl to catch all the drippings without flooding your yogurt; leave it untouched overnight.
**To pasteurize milk bring it to 170 degrees. If a skin forms lift it out. Let the milk cool to your target temperature of 100-115 degrees. Skip step two and pick up with step three.
With all the writing here you would think that yogurt isn't as simple as I said it would be but, really it is simple and pretty forgiving too. I haven't ruined a batch yet.
~J
PS Has anyone tried to make frozen yogurt with this? Hmm...
PPS Any ideas of what to do with the drippings/whey? C says it's full of protein...
1 comment:
I tried a new incubation method. It's a combination of the Cooler method that C uses, and the Oven Light method. (The Oven Light method. Once you have your milk and starter at the right temperature you can put it in the oven with the light on to give enough heat to incubate it for 6-8 hours.) Once I got my milk and starter at my target temperature (remember not to kill your cultures by overheating.) I put two containers (same as the one pictured) in my oven with the a pot of boiling water, placed near but not touching the yogurt containers, and with the oven light on. Don't open the oven door for 6-8 hours. The temperature that was maintained for the majority of time was about 110(Be sure to place your thermometer in direction you can see through the oven door.) It was still mild, although not as mild as the 105 maintained temp. I think this method is the best for big batches. (I don't have a cooler big enough to use the Cooler method.) I will use this method again, it made pretty good yogurt.
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