So, I like yogurt. The husband takes it with him every day to work for breakfast. Sometimes I even make him a refrigerator oatmeal parfait the night before for him to take to work. Hes been getting a case of Greek yogurt at Costco for a while now, but the problem is that Caleb always wants to eat it was well, and then he runs out. The other issue is that I would like the baby to have the full fat yogurt, but that stuff is super expensive. I know people who have made their own yogurt, so I figured I would give it a try! I was a little scared, the idea of leaving milk out overnight freaked me out a bit, but I powered through it. So we are going for Organic, full fat yogurt. I was a little concerned that the Ultra Pasteurized milk might not work right, but it's what I had on hand. First I dumped a gallon of milk into my crock pot. You can also do this on the stove, but it requires more attention than I am willing to give. I can't be bothered with all that stirring and making sure the milk doesn't scorch. Up until this point, I also didn't realize that my crock pot holds a gallon of liquid. Good to know. I then ignored it for 2 - 3 hours. Cleaned the house and got ready for the company coming over. Once it hit 180 degrees, I shut off the crock pot. I then ignored it for another few hours while I waited for it to get back down to 110 degrees. Our friends came over and we has an awesome time drinking beer, eating mac n cheese and playing with all the kids. Woo Hoo 110 degrees! I grabbed the single serving of plain yogurt that had been sitting out to get up to room temperature, and gently mixed it in. After I got it mixed in I realized I was supposed to mix the yogurt with a bit of the warm milk and then add to the whole pot. Oops. Hopefully that doesn't screw anything up. Now, the milk gets to have a nice cuddly snuggle with a bath towel. I wrap up the crock pot and leave it for the night. Goodnight milk, don't do gross things overnight... Good morning! Its been 12 hours since I left the milk. I'm super excited to see what happened! You guys...... It's yogurt!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! Its thick and creamy and smells like yogurt. Omg! I'm feeling more confidant now. Time to strain it. I plopped a colander on a big bowl and lined it with cheese cloth. The idea is to strain out some of the whey for a thicker yogurt. It looks so amazing!! It all just fit, which is great because we need to get to church. I decided to cover it because we have a very curious kitten around who would love to stick her nose in some fresh yogurt. Naughty cat. Off to church! When we came home 4 hours later it was done straining. I tasted it and it was so yummy! I ended up with approx 11 cups of yogurt. Its not super thick, but its very creamy. If I had let it strain longer it would have gotten thicker. Next time I might let it strain a little longer. The little jar will be the starter for the next batch. I also have a bunch of whey, and I cant wait to figure out what to do with that! if you have ideas, leave me a comment. Caleb got to be the taste tester! I figured the 4 year old would give honest feedback. i added some strawberry preserves and gave it to him. He absolutely loved it!
Here is the recipe I used: Ingredients
Instructions
Notes ***You don't have to use the slow cooker method. For a quicker method simply heat the milk in a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Just be sure to stir it regularly, especially as it gets hotter, to prevent the milk from scorching. Then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
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AuthorI'm so tired. The children are so not tired. |