Yogurt as a treat...who makes their own?

[EggsForIHOP]

I did! It is awesome as a people treat and the chicks....drum roll please...LOVE IT!!!

Decided to try it the other day with a friend...used the crock pot method...worried a lot overnight....and to quote Emeril "BAM!" We had yogurt bright and early this morning! Let it chill all day in the fridge, then we had it at dinner as desert and we loved it!

I hadn't really given any of the birds yogurt yet because the store bought stuff is either so expensive it's nuts or so cheap you can tell it's probably not good for them, plus I had been having a hard time coming across plain yogurt at the store - everything was always a crazy flavor and I just didn't feel right giving chickens "banana cream pie" yogurt - so I didn't give them any. But tonight after dinner I gave them some of the fresh, plain yogurt I had made and they went nuts! Crazier than the day they got their first worm, crazier than a pancake morning even, they loved it

Seriously, if you have never made yogurt you should so try it! It's like ten minutes of effort for a half a gallon of deliciousness! If I can do it anyone can! Plus I know I am giving the birds and us something good and not full of funny colors and flavors and preservatives I can't pronounce..it was just so cool I had to share...my husband didn't understand my excited shrieks at 5a.m. when I popped the lid on the crock pot and screamed "It really is yogurt in there!" and I think he went to bed laughing about it tonight...

 

[eenie114]

ooh! My mom just taught me how to make yogurt yesterday! BTW I love the part about you screaming! We are also making mottzerella and ritticotta cheese. (Goat milk) And it is sooooo yummy!! Havn't given any yogurt to the chicks yet, my siblings keep eating it all!!

Have you made cheese yet?

 

[shellybean40]

Homemade yogurt is the most delicious and easiest thing I have ever made!! I need to go and make some right now!!

 

[joebryant]

Here's how I make it a gallon at a time:
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MAKE INEXPENSIVE YOGURT THE EASY WAY

(based on directions from “Miss Prissy” on the Backyard Chickens forum)

by

Joe D. Bryant

You will need:
A small plastic, insulated cooler that will hold:

4 one-quart jars/lids for yogurt/milk OR 2 half-gallon jars/lids for yogurt milk

2 more quart jars to be filled with boiling water

A very large pan to first boil water and then heat milk to 185* F.



Ingredients:

One gallon of milk (1% to 4%)

One cup (or two heaping tablespoonsful per quart if not making a whole gallon) of PLAIN yogurt with live culture… no flavor… no fruit… Stonyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt OR Traders Point Creamery plain yogurt are both excellent and are sold by Marsh and other large chain stores for $5 quart.



I used an Igloo 26-quart cooler that K-Mart sells for about $20.



After the large pan of water is boiling, dip all the jars/lids in for several seconds to sterilize everything.



Pour the large pan of boiling water into the cooler and into two quart jars. Put the lids on the jars loosely. Close the cooler’s lid with the two jars filled and the rest of the boiling water in the bottom of the cooler.



Set the cooler aside to heat up and proceed to make the yogurt.



After cooling the large pan, use it again to heat one gallon of milk to 185 degrees (I used Anne's meat thermometer because I couldn't find a "candy" thermometer in two stores). Place the hot milk pan in a sink filled with ice water and let it cool to 115 degrees (took about five minutes with ice on outside of pan). Stir in one cup of plain yogurt into the 115* F milk. After mixing well, pour the milk into the four sterilized one-quart glass jars or two half-gallon jars and put on the lids (not tight).

Go back to the cooler, set the two quarts of hot water aside for a moment and empty the hot water out of the bottom of the cooler. Set the jars of warm milk/yogurt mix into the cooler with the two jars of boiling water and closed the lid.
After ten to twelve hours, take out the bottles of milk (finished yogurt) and put them in the refrigerator to cool.



That’s it:
For the cost of a gallon of milk, you have four quarts of yogurt that are identical to the cup of expensive plain yogurt that you bought. Save a cup of your new yogurt to make another gallon when this one is almost gone.

 

[ElioraImmanuel]

I make my yogurt the Albanian Way.

A friend and her DD lived w/us for 4 yrs. The mom is from Albania and they eat Koss, everyday.

I take my 1/2 gallon of raw milk, pour it in a pot, heat until scalded (about 170-185--takes about 15-20 mins) and let cool(about 20-30 mins). When it is cool enough to sticky my pinky in (it turns about to be about 105), I add 2 Tablespoons of the previous batch or 2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt...it makes the thickest. The I put the pot in a Grocery store bag (plastic), wrap it in a thick towel.

Now, out oven has no pilot light. So, I preheat it to 170 degrees, turn it off and count to 10. I put the pot in there, close the door and set the timer for 4 hrs. Voila! Extra thick, extra sweet yogurt. You really can't mess it up unless you burn the milk. If you don't heat the milk long enough, you end up w/"drinkable" yogurt.

After I'm done I use my canning funnel and pour it into a 1/2 gal canning jar. I use it to ferment my grains, eating, etc. I get a lot of whey from my yogurt, too! The best part is no measuring temps! I can tell by just looking if it's ready. And it's quick!