Katsolo's Journal, 28 December 2019

Sounds so good. How do you make yogurt? I would absolutely love to learn🤗💜💚 

I also make homeade yogurt weekly. Never thought of canned pumpkin but I am definetely going to give it a try! I usually top with either half sliced banana, mango, blueberries, homeade cranberry sauce....and always some walnuts and flax seed. 

jcmama777, so would I! Any favorite recipes to make yogurt, friends? 

teach me that stuffs expensive 5 for 6.00 

There is a simple video on youtube with the dash yogurt maker that explains how to make it. The only difference if you don't have a yogurt maker is to have the yogurt for hours at a certain temperature. I purchased the yogurt maker because our house is too cold and I was worried about the temperature but it is not really worth it. 

It's so easy. I turned off the heating portion of the cooking because I used pasturized milk and I think it delivers a milder tasting yogurt. I literally just dump 1/2 gallon of either 2% or whole milk into the instant pot and stir in a big spoonful of yogurt from the last batch or fage plain yogurt and leave it for 10 hours (my preference again). I then strain it using a sieve lined with paper towels for about 4 hours or overnight. Dogs and I share the whey. You do not need an instant pot, you do not need a yogurt maker. We used to put the bowl in the oven with the light on overnight. You can use the scalding method, but don't add the starter yogurt until it's cooled down to ~100 degrees, you don't want to kill the bacteria before you start. It keeps for about a week, week and a half. So much better than store yogurt and no stabilizers or fillers. Couple of qualifiers here. Most store bought milk is ultrapasturized and homogenized. You do not need fancy milk for this, but if you go to the nature store for your milk or the farm, make sure you heat the milk and let it cool. Skim milk in yogurt takes longer and tastes like skim milk. I can't get it to taste like greek yogurt and I quit trying. You do not need to add half and half or cream unless you want to. I get enough fat content in 2% up that I don't add anything other than starter yogurt. If you choose not to strain for greek yogurt, some milks have a stretch consistency to them. Nothing wrong, it's just the way they are. I prefer the texture of greek yogurt and my whole problem is that I don't like milk, so yogurt and cottage cheese save me. Sometimes, a batch just doesn't work. Don't toss it, just start again and use new yogurt as starter. Usually catches the second time around. Finally, I have a friend who is trying to get me to experiment making yogurt cheeses as I do this. I haven't tried it other than a soft ricotta like cheese, but would love for people to share their techniques. I do know you can strain yogurt for 24-36 hours and end up with something the texture of cream cheese, but I'm always too hungry.  

Didn't realize FS would mush that all together. Sorry. Let me know if you want a separate post. Summary: you don't need to heat the milk, you don't need a pressure cooker, you don't need anything other than milk and some starter yogurt. The longer you let the yogurt cook, the more tart it is. I like 10 hours, but most recipes talk about 8 hours. Putting the yogurt in the fridge stops the bacteria from making more yogurt. :) 

Thanks for the info Katsolo. I am intrigued! 

Awesome. Thank you Ireland and Kat😊 omg yogurt cheese 😋😋😋 

One more thing, if you ever see pink, grey or fuzzy growth, toss it. Those are NOT the bacteria you want and the batch is contaminated beyond repair. 

do you turn the IP on for those 10 hours? if so, what settings? 

Wow homemade yogurt sounds fantastic❣️ 

I'm with you, Katsolo… presentation isn't everything. 

I use a quart of your standard whole milk heat to 180 then cool to 110 and then add a cup of starter yogurt from my last batch. Put in mason jars in the microwave for 24 hours with the door ajar so the light is on which increases the temperature. My grandma back in the 60 and 70 did the same thing but put it on top of the fridge. It comes out smooth creamy not to tart. I do not strain it and it has the thickness of sourcream. yum.  

i meant two quarts not a quart of whole milk. 

my instant pot has a yogurt button, but you can adjust the time. default is 8 hours, I prefer 10. I turned off the heat portion of the cycle. the best part about making your own is that you can choose what you like best once you get it down and make as little or as much as you need for a week.  

I just did a quick YouTube search, there are recipes for slow cooker, crock pot and other appliance yogurt recipes. You definitely do not need to buy anything new. simple is better in my opinion. 

Thanks for all this good info❣️ 

google bon appetit which has very simple no fail steps.... like katsolo said you do not need any fancy equipment ! 

I used to maKe this all the time. Thanks so much for sharing!How do I get started making my own yogurt. With the canned pumpkin, I would assume it is just the puree. Do you add your own spices? I also use to freeze this once made and substitute for ice cream.