Anyone use Yogurt Makers?

[ZenSojourner]

Using Whey instead of some or all of the water in bread:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/359...use-it-and-why

Use it instead of milk or water in pancakes or cornbread mixes

Use it as a substitute for buttermilk or sour milk in recipes calling for those

Use it to cook rice (probably ok) or oatmeal (ummm, yuck?)

Add it to dog food - for the DOG of course

Soak beans in it instead of in water (I imagine you'd want to do this in the fridge?)

If you're using it to soak beans or cook rice, I've seen suggestions varying from adding a couple T of whey to the normal amount of water, to using 100% whey.

If you're using it in soup, one source I saw said not to add it until after any beans in the recipe are nearly cooked, claiming it will slow bean cooking down. I'm not sure why that would be, you would think the acidity of it would break beans down faster.

The following are from here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/353018

They make ricotta cheese from whey left over from cheese making, I don't see why that wouldn't work with whey from yoghurt, It needs to have never been boiled for this to work. I don't think I remember boiling the milk for yoghurt. Anyway here's the recipe:

Take the whey and heat it to 200 degrees plus (F of course). If your whey is acidic enough, little specs of the albumen will start to precipitate out once it gets to around 200. If this does not happen, add a tablespoon or two of white vinegar. Once the albumen starts to separate, maintain the heat for a few minutes so it all has time to set up, then pour through a very fine cheese cloth. It usually takes several hours, if not overnight, to drain completely.

Salt if you like, then use it however you like. I usually get 1/2 - 1 cup of finished ricotta from the whey produced by a gallon of milk, after cheese making.

The cheese cloth they re talking about there is REAL cheese cloth, not the gauzy stuff they sell in the grocery store. And if you want to try ricotta, one source I saw said to let the whey sit over night to increase acidity.


Here's something else to try, if you drink coffee I guess:

add a bit of sugar and sloooowly cook it down into a delicious caramel-like sweet syrup that's great in coffee or on ice cream.. Norwegian gjeyost (sp?) is this type of cheese. I would make pints and pints of this and can it. It's addictive.

Here's a similar recipe from Iceland:

http://icecook.blogspot.com/2007/08/...mysuostur.html

Hope that helps.

[OakLeaf]

one source I saw said not to add it until after any beans in the recipe are nearly cooked, claiming it will slow bean cooking down. I'm not sure why that would be, you would think the acidity of it would break beans down faster.

Acid hardens bean skins, preventing them from taking up water. If the cooking liquid is too acidic, beans won't cook at all. Same reason you don't put tomatoes in bean soups/chilis until the beans are fully cooked.

By the same token, I'd be leery of soaking dried beans in whey - have you tried it? (In any event, it seems wasteful - the beans will take up very little if any of the nutrients in whey.)

[ZenSojourner]

Acid hardens bean skins, preventing them from taking up water. If the cooking liquid is too acidic, beans won't cook at all. Same reason you don't put tomatoes in bean soups/chilis until the beans are fully cooked.

By the same token, I'd be leery of soaking dried beans in whey - have you tried it? (In any event, it seems wasteful - the beans will take up very little if any of the nutrients in whey.)

Nope, I don't usually cook with whole beans. I usually use my whey making curries or dahl soups. (Dahl are split, shelled legumes such as chickpea, pigeon pea, etc). I've also used it making potato soup, for which I have a killer recipe.

Oh yeah, and you can freeze it to use later. In fact I used to make ice cubes of whey and then I could just add them to whatever I was cooking for a little extra tang.

[bmccasland]

Consistency was just fine. And considering I immediately started filling available plastic containers, I couldn't tell you what 1/2 gallon of yogurt condensed down to. I had a viscous glob, in fabric, that I spooned to containers. Nala was doing her best to not be directly underfoot, but let me know she was available....

I was wondering about using unflavored gelatin to thicken the yogurt - I know from reading labels that commercial yogurts do this. Any thoughts? Figured once I eat my way through this batch, and make my second batch, I'd give it a try. Maybe one envelope?

[bambu101]

You can add some dried milk powder to thicken up yogurt, especially if it is made with skim or low-fat milk. Works great!

[Becky]

I was wondering about using unflavored gelatin to thicken the yogurt - I know from reading labels that commercial yogurts do this. Any thoughts? Figured once I eat my way through this batch, and make my second batch, I'd give it a try. Maybe one envelope?

I tried this using 1 envelope to a half-gallon of milk. I just stirred it in right before the starter. What I ended up with was rather thin yogurt, with a gelatinous rubbery layer on the very bottom of the container. I think it would have worked if I'd more fully dissolved the gelatin in something hotter before adding it to the milk.

[ZenSojourner]

I was wondering about using unflavored gelatin to thicken the yogurt - I know from reading labels that commercial yogurts do this. Any thoughts? Figured once I eat my way through this batch, and make my second batch, I'd give it a try. Maybe one envelope?

I wouldn't try this. The thing that makes yoghurt yoghurt is the action of the yeastie beasties in the milk. Adding something like gelatin is liable to interfere with the natural processes that turn milk into yoghurt.

Adding powdered milk as has been suggested a couple of times will probably work pretty well, I do this all the time when I'm making paneer. It increases the amount of milk solids available. Using whole milk (3%) to start with will also help.

[Blueberry]

Gelatin will work (you have to dissolve it in the milk when it's at 180), but I don't like the flavor/texture. I use whole milk, and my yogurt has a nice texture. I've used powdered milk, but also thought it modified the flavor (yogurt tasted like re-constituted powdered milk - ick!).

CA

[bmccasland]

I was thinking about adding the gelatin after the milk and yogurt starter got to know one another - maybe warm some plain milk to the right temp to melt the gelatin, then stir that in? But doesn't too much stiring thin out the yogurt? So maybe I'll go the extra milk powder route. I'm trying to keep the fat content down, so use skim milk - but what I buy from my local dairy doesn't taste at all watery.

Last thing I want is globs of gelatin in my otherwise yummy yogurt.