Fresh Yogurt

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The first time I made the recipe, I followed the procedures exactly, but it turned out very runny. I consulted with some friends who have made yogurt before and found that the issue wasn't with any of the software or hardware, but in the process. I was advised to heat the milk, powdered milk and honey to 180 degrees and then cool down to 120 before adding the culture in. This made all of the difference. The yogurt set up nice and firm and is super creamy. Some of the best yogurt I have ever had.

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Here are my observations and suggestions:
1. Milk - use "fresh" organic milk. This means organic milk with a 4-6 week expiration date.
2. Starter - When you make your first batch, put it into ice cube trays and freeze. The starter keeps for a long time frozen (I'm approaching a year and the ice cube tray is the correct amount of yogurt. Also, make sure the starter from the store is fresh (again, I base this on the expiration date. I just throw the ice cube starter in with the milk while I'm warming to 115C.
3. Heat - I find that using an 8x8" glass square dish over a heating pad and covered with aluminum foil keeps it at the right temp. I "cook" the yogurt on the stovetop at med-high heat.
4. Time - Overnight works best for me. It takes me no more than ten minutes to "cook" up the yogurt and approximately 8 hours to ferment. I have yogurt in the morning when I wake up! If I'm working to make a Greek style or unsweetened, I may allow it to ferment a little long.

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Worked great, tasty with strawberries and honey. Used Chobani plain Greek yogurt for the starter and put everything in a towel covered crock pot and just cycled it on and off by hand. I never let temp go over 110 deg.

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I agree with another post. I have made this twice and followed the directions to the letter. Both times it came out like a slimy sour milk. This was the last time for this recipe - will try one that heats the milk to a higher temp.

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Been rocking my own yogurt for quite some time now. I make gallon batches in stock pots using a double boiler method on the stove top. I do gallon batches because I always strain it to make greek yogurt. Truly divine stuff.
I cannot say for sure, but I suspect that the cheap Walmart brand milk powder ruined one of my batches. It did not thicken up like it should have and was very watery. After I strained it in some cheesecloth, it only yielded a small quart of greek yogurt when it usually yields 2 healthy quarts. If anyone else has had this problem, some further insight would be greatly appreciated.

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This recipe and method are similar to the way middle easterners have been making yogurt for years. But we just use blankets to keep the yogurt mixture in and keep it wrapped overnight, then put it in the fridge after it thickens. It's very easy to do.

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I really enjoy fresh, homemade yogurt when it turns out right, but I'm a college student who's had to use resort to more unconventional methods of preparation. For example, instead of the heating pad, I just leave the container in a warmed oven. Anyway, I had a question about the powdered milk: I successfully made a batch of homemade yogurt using just 2% milk--no extra protein added. But then I got some Nonfat Instant Dry Milk (which I assumed to be the same as powdered milk, and when I add it, the yogurt comes out especially tangy, even after fermenting for a mere 4 hours. Suggestions?

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This is my favorite recipe. I tried a few (including crockpot, and this is the easiest, no hassle, quick recipe with excellent flavor and versatile results. The honey addition makes the recipe taste awesome straight up.

In reference to comments about needing to bring temperature to 185. That isn't necessary when using pasteurized milk. 185 is higher than needed anyway. It can be good to hold at higher temps for an extended period uncovered, however, to help make a firmer yogurt (concentrated.

I have a gas oven, so it is always a little warm in there and I can put it on the stone with a towel over it and that works pretty well.

If you drain off whey, you can use it to make sourdough bread as well.

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I have found it consistently documented that the milk should be heated to 185 F then taken off the heat to cool to 110 F. 185 F is just below the boiling point and I believe the purpose is to kill any other bacteria which may be present.
Also, when making yogurt, any kind of milk is acceptable i.e. 2%, whole etc. I am not saying to alter this specific recipe, only providing information.

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The problem with most yogurt recipes is that they are oriented toward and experiment or event rather than a way of integrating yogurt making into your life... I make at least 3 quarts at once and sometimes a gallon at a time. See mryogurt.info for more ideas.

Before bedtime, I put 3 quarts either no-fat or whole or a combo milk into my crockpot and set it on warm. (Crockposts will heat to 140F on warm.. At the same time I whisk in a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons full of sugar and/or Splenda. I also add at least a cup of powdered dry milk and whisk that in.

When I get up in the morning, I immediately set it on high and go about my business unloading the dishwasher, feeding our 4 cats and making coffee That takes about an hour and the milk now is around 190F and I turn off the crockpot then.

I pull out the clean quart and pint jars and fill them with the hot milk to heat them up and I also start the Waring Pro Yogurt Maker to get it warm.

Then I put a clean, dry cold soup pot in a dishpan of cold water and pour the warm milk into it. After 5 minutes of stirring, the temperature is down to around 110 and I pour a pint or so of it into our blender with some starter culture like Activia (takes 5 hours or Siggis (takes 3 hours and blend it for 5 seconds.

Next I pour the blended culture back into the warm milk in the soup pot and whisk it for 10 seconds with a whisk.

Then I pour all the blended milk into the jars plus an extra small jar for the next culture. I put all the jars into the yogurt maker and check every couple of hours with the shake test.

The shake test - jostle one of the jars in the yogurt maker and if the surface doesn't move then it is ready.

Cap jars and move to fridge.