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Elizabeth
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we are spending a fortune on yogurt. Please tell me everything I need to know about making yogurt at home, including recommendations for yogurt makers. Thanks so much!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Cay Gibson
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Same thing is happening in my house. Annie can go through three cups a day, dh and Kayleigh pack a couple to take with them for the day, and the rest disappear. I can't keep stocked. I've been thinking of making my own.
Great timing. 
Also, what about proper storage...in the refrigerator and for those who take carry-out?
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Jen L.
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I always think I should do it, but never have. Maybe this thread will be my inspiration/motiviation to actually DO IT!! (I wonder if I could make key lime yogurt - the kids' favorite?)
Here a few links to past conversations about makers and techniques though...
Yogurt Makers
Homemade Yogurt anyone?
Making your own Yogurt
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JenniferS
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Agh! We have the same problem. I have just been thinking we should probably make our own, but I don't know where to start. Maybe this will give me a push!!!!
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teachingmyown
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Well, I am just a bad mom, cause I don't buy it. Frankly, we can't afford it, especially because my kids are yogurt snobs and only like the really creamy, tasty kinds. 
Maybe making our own would help.
Listening with interest!
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Angie Mc
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Elizabeth, I cracked up when I saw this because we all have so much on our plates, to include a lot of pretty serious stuff, yet...
I, too, am completely convinced that I need to make my own yogurt  . I tried once before...something about a thermos...and well...nothing. Maybe THIS is the time it will really happen. Hey, wouldn't it be great if I could delegate this job to one of my boys?
Love,
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Lisbet
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Angie, I was thinking the very same thing the other day. Sometimes I wonder if we 'give' ourselves too much to deal with sometimes. I was actually going to start a thread on this a few days ago. (Not yugurt making, cuz I too am convinced this is something I should be whipping up each day at home! ) But about handling it all.
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I started a thread on this a few weeks ago - we go through a quart or more of yogurt a day. I finally dug out my old yogurt maker - the very basic one in the thread above- and have started getting back into it.
I no longer do the raw milk (dh not happy when I am expecting,plus too hard for us financially at $7+ a gallon). So I do the following:
- quart of organic skimmed milk with a thick whipping cream added (or you can use regular organic milk - not fat free)
- stir in a tablespoon of organic powdered milk
- heat on stovetop until bubbles apper - just under boiling point
- cool to room temperature
- add a couple of tablespoons of creamline plain yogurt or Yogourmet yogurt starter
- put it in the incubator container for about 6-8 hours - I just check till it is thick enough for us and then refrigerator.
- it tastes yummy and mild. The kids stir in either maple syrup or honey and cinnamon. My new thing is to stir in one of the new fruit sauces from France (from Trader Joes) - apricot or mango.Yum.
It really does not take long - I just have to get into the habit of making it every day. Watching the milk almost boil is the only tricky point - so I do it when I cannot get distracted. Also watch to see that the milk is sufficiently cooled before adding the culture. I do not use thermometers (do not have them!) - but I have gotten quite good at figuring it out with a clean finger.
I found the cheap basic yogurt maker to be better than the more expensive ones with individual pots - but it is personal preference.
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esperanza
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Jen L. wrote:
| (I wonder if I could make key lime yogurt - the kids' favorite?) |
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Please do share this recipe if it turns out well. My dc don't like bits of fruit in theirs I lament over this every shopping trip. I try to buy it at Target...dh loves Yoplait..you should have seen his face when I told him it has too much sugar to do him good.  I will have to get my dc involved just to get them interested enough to try it. Dh likes to make smoothies for everyone  so homemade yogurt would do well for this anyway.
Do you moms purchase individual yogurts or tubs of plain or vanilla? I buy plain Kefir for myself. I started this when pregnant last time it really helped to drink before meals for digestion. Do the yogurt makers make Kefir?
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Alison
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We make it like Marilyn then I incubate it in our bed! I make 3 litres. I put it in a large pyrex casserole on a tray wrapped in several towels under our quilt and with several pillows over that.On winter or cool days I put the electric blanket on high while I'm making the yogurt then turn it off when I put the casserole to bed! Like Mariyln said it makes a really creamy/mild yogurt and some of my kids even like it when its still warm!! I have a friend in Tonga who used to make this recipie commercially and people would substitue it for the icecream they used to have on their breakfast bread(hmm not sure if I'd fancy either on bread but each to their own).Tonga's also where I learned to eat it warm
blessings
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Bookswithtea
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We eat tons of yogurt here, and I even have a yogurtmaker...but its gathering dust because my kids don't think it tastes good unless its preflavored...I can't convince them that adding vanilla and sweetener afterwards is still yummy.
Does anyone have any recipes for a presweetened/flavored vanilla yogurt?
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Elizabeth
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Angie Mc wrote:
Elizabeth, I cracked up when I saw this because we all have so much on our plates, to include a lot of pretty serious stuff, yet...
I, too, am completely convinced that I need to make my own yogurt . I tried once before...something about a thermos...and well...nothing. Maybe THIS is the time it will really happen. Hey, wouldn't it be great if I could delegate this job to one of my boys?
Love, |
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Okay, I used to grind my own wheat and make four loaves of bread every other day. Now,I have a severe wheat allergy. But I miss the make-my-own-staple spot in my kitchen. And we are spending an outrageous amount of money of organic yogurt. There are nine kids here every day plus dh and me. We ALL eat yogurt (even the baby). I'm trying to hit the superfoods recommendation of a cup a day. EACH. That's a lot of store-bought containers.
I have to admit the thought of putting yogurt in my bed cracks me up. I can just hear my dh: "First it was the dog, then it was the baby, then it was the toddler and the baby, now it's the baby and whoever else wanders by...and you want to put *what* else there??"
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Alison
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Elizabeth wrote"and you want to put *what* else there?"
"But only dh when your not in it!...well maybe one or two kids ...and the dog...plus me and thee, but the yogurt it "sleeps" solo!! 
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Margaret in MN
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I've been wanting to make my own yogurt ever since Danielle wrote about it last June. (Sad, isn't it, how such a healthy desire on my part could have gotten buried in my planner for so long?)
And like Jen L., my kids all clamor for the key lime flavor...
PS. Have you ever gotten the sugar- & fat-free stuff by mistake? Yuck! 
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Like Marilyn, I too recommend the one-piece yogurt incubator - it's easier to hit one big target (when transferring milk and starter) than it is to hit several smaller ones!!
We use the Yogourmet. Nothing fancy, but it came with the thermometer. Unlike Marilyn, I am NOT good at testing myself, so I needed the thermometer.
We also like the yogurt cheese maker. I substitute yogurt for sour cream and cream cheese in my recipes.
We use organic milk, and the Organic Valley dry milk powder. The powder makes a very thick yogurt which our family likes! I use the whey (the liquid on the top of the yogurt) in my bread.
Fresh strawberries are great in yogurt, also my kids like to sweeten with honey and vanilla extract.
I'm trying to cook more with it. Two books I've found to be very helpful are Cooking with Yogurt and The Book of Yogurt
The trickiest part of yogurt making is waiting for the milk to reach the right temperature to add the starter culture. It never fails that the kids present a crisis (or multiple crises) at exactly the moment when I need to be most attentive! Maybe I'll put my oldest in charge of this step??
I'm all about the "right equipment" and everything looking pretty on the counter, so I was really intimidated by the whole "make it in a bowl sitting on a heating pad" arrangement. I know some who make that work very well, and I wish I were that brave, but I'm not. BUT that might work better for your large family since you could certainly make more in a batch that way. I know the two books I mentioned above both talk about yogurt making WITHOUT any special tools or kitchen equipment purchased.
Hope some of this helps a little. Good luck!
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Donna Marie
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Elizabeth,
You can make it in quart jars in an electric roasting oven too...ask Kim Fry...she does it all the time! I would love my regular oven to have a cooler setting so I can make it there IN BULK, but it doesn't 
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Anne McD
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[QUOTE=Jen L.] (I wonder if I could make key lime yogurt - the kids' favorite?)
QUOTE]
Not sure if this helps in the taste dept., but I had a friend in college who made her own yougurt (on the Zone diet) and used jello packets to flavor it. I'm pretty sure they make key lime flavored.
HTH!
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KellyJ
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Is making your own yogurt really less than store bought? I've seriously toyed with the idea in the past but wondered whether it was worth it with as much as milk costs.
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stefoodie
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Thank you for this thread, ladies! I've been looking at yogurt-making ever since my 5-yo fell in love with yogurt. Buying a case at the co-op is cheaper, but then we get tired of it because we're the only two eating it (the others are allergic). The craving comes and goes, so it's better to make our own. I'd love to experiment with making soy yogurt too, or even rice milk yogurt. I've already got a bunch of links and websites and books detailing the process, now I just gotta jump in and do it.
BTW, has anyone tried Fage (Greek) yogurt? It's fabulous, but it's even more expensive than organic American yogurt -- so that's another reason to do this. I think I'll try using the Fage as starter too. I hope you'll all post about your yogurt experiments so we can learn from each other!
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Mackfam
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KellyJ wrote:
| Is making your own yogurt really less than store bought? I've seriously toyed with the idea in the past but wondered whether it was worth it with as much as milk costs. |
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It definitely costs less. I can make a quart of yogurt for about $2 - and that's using organic milk!!!
Having said that, we started making our own because of health reasons, and because I loved the idea of providing this key nutritional wellspring right in my kitchen. It doesn't take long when looking into making any sort of nutritional/diet changes to find yogurt and its endless list of health benefits. Thus, our move to making our own. It is a real challenge to be frugal and eat an organic, whole foods type diet. That would be another thread that I would so love to hear from all of you and your insights and tips on ways you've found to do it.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Yogurt Making
