Yogurt Makers
Sandy Bodzin
My wife and I are considering buying a yogurt maker. Considering the
amount of yogurt we buy and what we expect will be cheap raw
ingredients, the yogurt maker should pay for itself pretty quickly
(yes?). Can anyone suggest a good brand? Are there any features to be
sure to get/avoid? How much should a yogurt maker run us? I heard
someone voice concerns about leftover whey after the yogurt making
process. Is the process a mess with lots of waste or is it a simple
processto great tasting yogurt?
Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.
- Sandy
Rachelle Thibodeau
Sandy Bodzin (sb...@andrew.cmu.edu) wrote:
: My wife and I are considering buying a yogurt maker. Considering the
: - Sandy
I picked up a Salton yoghurt maker at a Salvation Army store for $8.00
(new), and it works like a charm. Apparently, lots of these are given
as gifts and then never used. Making yoghurt is pretty easy. You just
bring milk to a boil, let it cool (a thermometer came with the
Salton), add the starter (a spoonful of yoghurt saved from last
batch), and pour into the maker. The one I have has 5 little cups
(about 6 or 7 oz each). Wait overnight or longer depending
on how sour you like it, and that's it. I never have leftover whey,
unless I am straining the prepared yoghurt through cheesecloth to make
yoghurt "cheese" spread (yum).
That's the good news. The bad news is that, in my experience, the
yoghurt I make at home never had that slightly cheesy taste that
store-bought yoghurt has. Does anyone know what I mean by this? This
is slightly improved if I use full-fat milk, which makes no sense
since the store-bought yoghurt I am comparing it to is 2% or even
lower fat. Weird.
I still make my own because with the addition of a spoonful of
preserves or honey or granola or maple syrup or whatever, I don't
notice the difference, and it is much cheaper, especially if I use 1/2
powdered milk and 1/2 fresh, when the budget is extra tight.
Good luck.
--
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Rachelle Thibodeau e-mail: rthi...@ccs.carleton.ca
Psychology Department telephone: 613 520-2600 ext. 1448
Carleton University office: A407 Loeb Building
Ottawa, Canada
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John Ward
I wouldn't buy a yogurt maker at all. I make yogurt all the time
as follows: Gently boil 1 quart of milk (I use whole) in a
pan. (I use a ceramic pan but it really doesn't matter.)
Allow to boil for a minute or so but make sure it doesn't
boil over. (Big Mess!)
Take off the burner and allow to cool. I wait till it cools
so that the outside of the pan is warm to the touch. (If you
want to be technical, say until the milk is about 110 degrees
Farenheit). Now add 1 tablspoon of starter from any commercial
brand of yogurt, I have used Dannon and cheap store brands
with equal success. Allow to sit at about 100 degrees F for
until firm. Usually 4 to 6 hours for me. Put it the fridge
and eat it when you want. Lately, I just turn the oven on
to its lowest setting (150F), keep the door open, and sit the
pot on the opened oven door. I'll figure out a more efficient
way some time.
If you use too much starter, or if you wait too long before
refrigerating, the yogurt may precipiatate out some water.
If this happens, don't worry about it.
John
wa...@tofu.com
http://www.tofu.com
Rachelle Thibodeau (rthi...@superior.carleton.ca) wrote:
David Labell
In article <4nqfh2$1...@shore4.intercom.net>,
wa...@news.intercom.net (John Ward) wrote:
>I wouldn't buy a yogurt maker at all. I make yogurt all the time
>as follows:
The bulb is 1.5 inches below the bottom of a pyrex bowl with a tight plastic lid. It holds a
quart, and my batch is 3.5 cups.
My batch is 1 1-qt envelope of instant powdered milk, and a 5-oz can of evaporated milk. I
do NOT boil it. I just whisk it together and stir in either a tbs of my last batch or 2 capsules
of a health-food-store lactobacillus-acidophilus starter.
I inclubate from my last batch for 8 hrs and from the caps for 12 hours.
The "cheesy" taste you like so much is the fragile taste of lactobacillus acidophilus,
or "acidophilus milk," which dies out rapidly in homemade yogurt. After the 3rd batch, all
you taste is streptococcus thermophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus, which are the true
yogurt, and probably some airborne bacteria from your kitchen. The solution is to
replenish your starter from Dannon or powder more often than you used to.
My simple yogurt tastes great. It's easier to make than instant coffee. It costs about 55
pct of the cost of Dannon in the store, and has more calcium and live cultures. It
separates a little -- I don't mind. It is "low fat," but not "non-fat."
We love it on pasta, over fruit and cereal, and strained to make yogurt cheese spread.
dfol...@leg.wa.gov
rthi...@superior.carleton.ca (Rachelle Thibodeau) wrote:
>Sandy Bodzin (sb...@andrew.cmu.edu) wrote:
>: My wife and I are considering buying a yogurt maker. Considering the
>: amount of yogurt we buy and what we expect will be cheap raw
>: ingredients, the yogurt maker should pay for itself pretty quickly
>: (yes?). Can anyone suggest a good brand? Are there any features to be
>: sure to get/avoid? How much should a yogurt maker run us? I heard
>: someone voice concerns about leftover whey after the yogurt making
>: process. Is the process a mess with lots of waste or is it a simple
>: processto great tasting yogurt?
>
>: Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.
>
>: - Sandy
>
>I picked up a Salton yoghurt maker at a Salvation Army store for $8.00
>(new), and it works like a charm. Apparently, lots of these are given
>as gifts and then never used.
You got took! I also bought mine at the Good Will and paid $2 for it.
They are a dime a dozen at yard sales. No respecting yard sale is
without one.
I used to really be into making yougart and was able to make it thick and
creamy. It has been so many years now that I forget exactly what I was
doing. I remember part of my problem was not mixing the table spoon of
fresh yougart starter in with my warm wilk thoroughly. A quick zap in
the blender will do it. I also used to add an amount of NON instant,
powdered milk to my whole milk as a means to thicken the yougart.
Instant milk has aparently been zapped in some way that it takes away
some of its ability to thicken. I hate runny yougart. If it comes out
runny I call it keifer make a drink out of it by adding consentrated
fruit juice.
As far as what makes a good yougart maker. I used to use a hot pad. You
can also bundle the incubated warm milk in a stirafoam cooler and keep it
in a warm place near the hot water heater. Nothing more satisfying than
pulllling your quart mason jar out of your home made incubator unwraping
the towl, turning the jar upside down and seeing a yoguart so firm that
it sits there wiggling back at you.
Here is a recipie that you could die for.
One cup of yougart
One bannana
A couple of large scoops of your favorite frozen consentrated fruit juice
Fresh fruit is even better
A half to one cup of milk
And couple of hand fulls of ice
Blend on high in the blender 'till its all smooth and creamy.
Mmmmmmmmmmm! I'm not sharing. Make your own.