I’ve tried several times to make yogurt in my CrockPot with no success. The closest I came was a clumpy mess the consistency of thin tomato soup. No good. I’ve seen the jar and cooler method but it’s too involved for me.
Still, I often talk about wanting to make yogurt.
My husband really listens to what I say. For my birthday, he bought me a yogurt maker – this Salton
Some girls want Prada bags and BMWs. Not me. I want kitchen appliances, antique cookware and utensils, great knives, food processors, tons of mason jars, kitchen gadgets, and a garden.
The Result
I followed a recipe out of the book using the organic yogurt starter
Oh my goodness…talk about thick, rich, and creamy with the perfect tang. I was shocked – everything I’ve read says that homemade yogurt needs to thicken in the refrigerator. This is thick when it comes out of the yogurt maker- no setting up needed.
It’s better than the Greek Yogurt I buy at the store. Joe has even been eating it for dessert. We’re on our second batch already.
A Few Tips
When you make homemade yogurt, you’ll need:
- to use a metal spoon – a wooden spoon can contaminate the culture and it won’t set up correctly.
- a clean saucepan or pot.
- the jars and lids that come with the yogurt maker – make sure they’re clean, too.
- a reliable instant read digital thermometer
.
- organic yogurt starter
In the recipe below, I tell you exactly how I made my yogurt so that you can get the same results.
A Few Yogurt Links
- Jenn from The Leftover Queen makes her own yogurt and has it for breakfast.
- Diana from A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa has an extensive yogurt tutorial here.
- Katie from Kitchen Stewardship makes her yogurt using the jar and cooler method – too much work for me but it works for her and it might work for you, too.
Reminders
- I have a give-away this week for Pamela’s Products – there will be 3 winner. Check out the details here.
- You can still link your healthier recipe to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday here. There are many great recipes for you to browse, too.
Easy Homemade Yogurt
makes 4 cups
made in my Salton Yogurt Maker4 cups of 1% organic milk
1/2 cup dry non-fat milk powder
1/2 cup organic yogurt starterPut milk in a clean metal saucepan and place over medium heat. Add milk powder and stir until dissolved completely. Heat until nearly boiling, about 185 degrees. Watch carefully though because you don’t want to boil the milk.
Remove the milk from the heat and let it cool to 100 – 110 degrees. You can do this one of two ways – let it cool on the counter. (This takes way too long for me.) Or, pour the milk into a clean bowl and set the bowl with the milk into a larger bowl with ice in it. (This is called an ice bath.)
Stir every 1o minutes or so until the yogurt temps between 100 and 110 degrees. Put the yogurt starter into a glass measuring cup. Add some of the warm milk to the starter and stir until it’s combined and smooth. Stir this into the milk.
Divide evenly between the glass jars, pop the plastic lids on, and place in your handy yogurt maker. Put on the plastic lid, plug in, and turn on. Leave yogurt in the yogurt maker for 6 – 10 hours, depending on how you like your yogurt. I took mine out at 10 hours. It’s perfectly divine.
Enjoy!
