Comments on: Return of the Homemade Yogurt

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:53:48 +0000

Congratulations! Welcome to the fold.

Here's a simple recipe: Take some thickened yogurt, mix in some honey, almond extract and vanilla. It tastes better than most ice creams out there and it's good good for you.

I recommend using cheese cloth (or the Donvier Wave) to thicken the yogurt. While the yogurt is suspended, the breakdown of lastose will continue, giving you more tart yogurt. With a little experimentation, you should be able to control the thickness and tartness by mixing thickened/non-thickened parts.

One thing you might want to try is to intentionally carmelize the milk a bit. Not to the point you are making dulce de leche, but just until the milk discolors a bit. You'll get a yogurt that is slightly more elastic with a light caramel flavor.

One more tip: Even the most careful cook will occasionally get a bad batch of yogurt. You'll know it when you taste it. Don't try to save it, don't try to cover up the rank flavor. It is dangerous and no longer edible. Throw it out and wash EVERYTHING. Twice.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:25:55 +0000

I just came across your blog via another site and I am enjoying it very much. In regards to maintaining the temperature for yogurt – my mother-in-law used to make yogurt often using a simple recipe (which I don't have) and setting in on a tray on her heated water bed under the comforter. I have not details but I do know that her homemade yogurt was delicious.

By: junglewife

junglewife — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:14:11 +0000

I just happened across your blog through another cooking blog and wanted to comment on your yogurt-making adventures. I live overseas and make my own yogurt just about every week. What I do is nothing special, and it's very easy. Here's what I do:
Combine 3 cups powdered milk with 4 cups room temperature water. Add 2 cups boiling water and about 1/2 to 3/4 cups yogurt as a starter. Mix it all together, and pour it into a Tupperware or glass jars. Put the container(s) into a larger insulated, covered container (like a cooler or Igloo) and fill with water that is about the same temperature as the yogurt mixture. Let it set for about 8-10 hours. I get custard-consistency yogurt every time!

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:47:11 +0000

I got into the whole idea of making my own yogurt after reading French Women Don't Get Fat (and hey, I'll try anything once). I wound up purchasing a Salton yogurt maker for less than $20 shipped and it's been worth every penny. It's a bit of a PITA to scald the milk, cool it (not forget about it while it's cooling!) etc., and the maker itself acts basically like an incubator, but it's definitely cheaper to make my own. A 32 oz container of Stonyfield Farm's Organic plain yogurt is almost $4 at our grocery. I can buy an entire gallon of milk for that, spend a couple bucks more for dry milk, and then (after one container of storebought plain for starter) I can use the yogurt I made for starter. About once a month I buy the storebought again, as the cultures tend to die down some and the taste becomes overly tart if used more than 4 or 5 times. The recipe that came with my yogurt maker is 4 cups milk (I use skim, cutting down the fat even further), 1/2 cup dry milk powder, and 1/2 cup plain yogurt. I usually let it incubate for 8-10 hours with excellent results.

By: cathy

cathy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:25:15 +0000

Excellent work. I will have to copy you completely now. I also failed miserably at an ill-fated home yogurt experiment long ago and never had the guts to look back. Thanks for the inspiration!

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:36:17 +0000

Just out of curiosity, did you find that is is cheaper to make your own yogurt? And is this something you plan on doing regularly? I just made my own granola from scratch last weekend…and it seems like experimenting with making yogurt would be the next step, depending on whether my boyfriend will ever decide to stop calling me a hippie.

By: winnie

winnie — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:04:34 +0000

Bittman's yogurt biscuits are really, really good. I also second the tzatziki. And for yogurt cake, I'm pretty sure Clothilde 's is the way to go.

By: Kathryn Yu

Kathryn Yu — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:46:27 +0000

What about Dorie's olive oil and yogurt pound cake?

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/01/extra-virgin-olive-oil-and-yogurt-loaf-cake-recipe.html

By: missginsu

missginsu — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:17:20 +0000

Nice. I've been working on homemade yogurt myself, so this is a great help.

The roommate was flipping channels last night and I saw a quick bit about Nancy's Yogurt on the west coast (wish I knew what the show was). She'd mentioned dry milk as an important additive in their process, so I'm glad to see your testing process here.

I can attest that cucumber raita, tzatziki or a cool yogurt soup will use up those jars pretty quick.

Cheers,
Miss G.