QUESTION:
Do any of you make your own yogurt? It looks pretty easy. Where do you keep it so it’s at 110 degrees for the few hours it takes to curdle/thicken? (Put the jar/s in a Crock Pot?) Do you recommend a specific store-brand for the initial culture needed? Thanks!
https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/make-yogurt-home/#tasty-recipes-6859-jump-target
I used to make yogurt all the time - I used my chicken egg incubator (hovabator) and mason jars with plastic lids. Worked wonderfully.
Just be sure to disinfect your incubator with bleach or such before switching over.
I’ve made it several ways, I think the easiest was in the oven with the light on. I also tried a Crock-Pot on low but those get way too hot these days. If you have an old one that really is a slow cooker, that might work. I used a thick towel to keep the container from getting near the heated walls. A heating pad might work, you’ll have to play with the temperature settings to see which one is right.
Have decided I don’t care to use any store-bought yogurt as a bacteria source. I just order little envelopes of yogurt starter. Then I save a little from each recipe after that. I think the store bought ones have an odd flavor that gets transferred
Let us know how your adventure goes!
oh, the yogurt can be quite runny so straining it to make Greek yogurt works out pretty well. You don’t end up with a whole lot though.
You can use an old crock pot on low with the jars sitting in water and the lid off but the new ones get too hot.
You can also use an Insta-pot.
The longer you let it culture the more sour it will be. Five to six works best for me. Twelve is way too sour and four is just bland.
If you are going to use store bought yogurt for culture use plain and either Fage for Greek or Skyr for Icelandic.
Or you can just buy the cultures.
You will need to drain the yogurt. Because I like to make the thick stuff I put a couple of layers of cheese cloth in a strainer and set it over a bowl and put it in the basement fridge for about 24 hours.