Yogurt conspiracy

[smilingcat]

OMG OMG OMG!!! I made the Greek yogurt by following the youtube video instruction. I'm in heaven.

Okay so first thing first. For a change I followed the instruction with one change. It took far longer than 4 to 4-1/2 hr to set up. It took overnight. Then I drained it for about 4 hours because that was all I could take.

The yogurt was really thick. I mixed in two table spoon of raspberry/blackberry honey into 8oz of yogurt. And OMG!!

And OMG I figured out the calories. around 360 calories per 8oz.
1/2 gallon of whole milk
one cup of heavy creme
1/2cup of plain greek yogurt
and it looks like it will make about 3 pints of yogurt after the whey is separated out.

The man in the video used T-shirt to strain. ughh. I used a blank tea bags (extra large one from Monterey Bay Spice) or use large coffee filter and a colander. It takes about three to four hours to separate out the whey.

Now I'm trying with non-fat milk. The video warned that it will not taste as good as the whole milk with heavy creme. If it is good enough then I'll start making it with non-fat milk.

ONE THING THAT BOTHERED ME ABOUT THE VIDEO WAS STERILIZING THE CONTAINERS, SPOON AND WHISK AHEAD OF TIME. When ever I pickle food, I'm extra careful about sterilization: boiling the spoon, whisk and the containers. yes bad bug is supposed to be overwhelmed by the good bugs but why not spend little extra time to reduce the bad bug count.

My yogurt machine is going to be donated since it is so much easier with a pot, spoon, broiler tray (Bain-marie) for waterbath and few mason jars.

[OakLeaf]

You can use butter muslin and set it up to drain overnight. Just tie the ends of your cheesecloth over a wooden spoon or dowel, to make a sling for the yogurt, and hang it over a 5 gallon pail. Nice and thick by morning.

[ZoneFive]

I realize I'm pulling this thread out of the deep freeze, but I make my yogurt in a crockpot. I have about 2% involvement in the process, and the crockpot does all the rest! I strain the yogurt through cheesecloth -- I tried the coffee filters but they clogged up and didn't let much whey through. Nielsen-Massey makes a vanilla powder that I love to put in with yogurt and muesli, but fresh blueberries are just a little bit of heaven too.

[katluvr]

I have to chuckle! I can barely make dinner more than 3 nights a week due to time or just being tired (or lazy). Making yogurt? I just can't imagine! Good for all of you that do!

K

[Crankin]

Yeah, I actually love to cook, but there's no way I am going to make my own yogurt. I am perfectly happy with Fage plain Greek yogurt.