Making Your Own Yoghurt

[Bren In Pots]

I've used a yoghurt maker since the 70's same recipe every time, but now I use a 1ltr maker rather than the individual pot one, that's still in the cupboard.

Heat 1 3/4 pint milk to sterilised point 84c on thermometer
Cool to blood heat, I've found it doesn't matter if its cooler.
add a couple of tablespoons starter ( preferably left from previous batch)
stir very gently
leave overnight in yoghurt maker

I make yoghurt every week and I've noticed after a couple of months the starter does seem to not works so well, you can freeze starter in ice cube trays.

hope this helps

[redkoatz]

Hi
I've been using the easiyo for ages but the mixes have gone up again and I thought about going back to making my own.
Here the easiyo container comes in really useful, I filled the inner container with just under a litre of organic UHT semi-skimmed, added 2 tbsp of starter yoghurt and 2tbsp of dried milk powder and gently mixed together Filled the outer container with boiling water as per the easiyo and left it overnight. Result - a great success. It was quite thick but I wanted Greek style yoghurt so strained it and now have a lovely carton of really thick yoghurt.
This has halved the price for me and its only a bit more of a faff than usual.
I shall be making a batch of scones with the left over whey tomorrow.
best
Sue

You use UHT ? I was under the impression UHT didn't work easily and you needed to add back in lost nutrients.
Btw why is the easiyo a good option? I have had my own yoghurt maker but unfortunately have never had any success, even though it had good reviews on Amazon.
I didn't use UHT but Semi skimmed milk which I followed instructions to heat and kill off all the bacteria before adding in the pro biotic yoghurt.

I find this really frustrating as I was so meticulous with the instructions I had and didn't cut any corners.

Why is it some websites say to sterilize the tubs and others say add sugar or honey to aid in fermenting but others say do not add anything until you've made your yoghurt ??

Btw I used onken yoghurt as it supposedly has live cultures in it.

Please reply as I eat a ton of Greek style unflavoured yoghurt so I can add in my own fresh fruit which I grow, this would save me some money, plus I just like being self sufficient.

[veggiechicken]

I doubt that Sue will reply as she hasn't visited the forum since 2009.

[Zelenina]

UHT milk works fine for me as well. It’s already been heated up to kill the bacteria, so it saves me the job of doing it. I use an electric yogurt maker with individual jars, and I start with full-fat cold UHT milk, and put a spoonful of live yogurt in each jar as a starter.

I know nothing about easiyo or how it works, but the general principle is to keep the milk gently warm for several hours, but not too hot for the culture to grow. This can be done in several ways e.g. by thermostatically controlled electrical heating, or by surrounding the container with warm water, or by pre-heating the milk and insulating it so it stays warm long enough, or just leaving the container in a warm place.

Yes, the milk container should be sterilised or at least very clean to prevent contamination by unwanted micro-organisms that could multiply in the warm milk and spoil the yogurt, and maybe even make it unsafe to eat. Depending on the type of container you can boil in a pot of water, or rinse with boiling or very hot water, or sterilise in an oven, or use straight after washing in a dishwasher. Or whatever way you would sterilise jam jars.

Lactic cultures ferment the lactose in the milk and don’t need any added sugar or honey. And if you add them before fermenting, they are unlikely to be sterile, and would probably be contaminated with bacteria or moulds or yeasts from the environment that would multiply in the warm milk and cause problems.

Yes Onken is live yogurt as far as I remember. Maybe you added it when the milk was still too hot and it killed the cultures. Or maybe you didn’t keep the milk warm enough for a long enough period. It will still ferment at lower temperatures, but much more slowly.

[Snoop Puss]

The Easiyo yogurt maker works a treat for me using a yogurt starter, whole milk (fresh or UHT slightly warmed) and a couple of tablespoons of dried milk powder. I don't bother heating fresh milk to boiling point and then cooling, but like Zelenina I'm careful to ensure that anything coming into contact with the milk is clean. I sterilise all the containers, spoon and whisk in boiling water. Just use the Easiyo yogurt maker as normal. Miles cheaper than their powdered mixes and the ingredients are much easier to get hold of. Plus, you can use other milks if you ever find them, like sheep or goat's milk. Sheep's milk makes fabulous yogurt.

I don't add any sweet ingredients. The possibility of contamination is too high, plus milk contains its own sugar. I find full-fat milk makes tastier yogurt, but each to their own.

I find the Easiyo gives more reliable results than any electric yogurt maker I've ever had. If I think the set isn't thick enough, I just leave the yogurt in the Easiyo to go a bit longer. If you want very thick yogurt or even a cream-cheese texture, strain it. Delicious. I use it instead of cream or cream cheese. Great for cooking with or as a topping.

[Ananke]

Just a few suggestions - use full cream milk - not semi-skimmed.
Use a live yogurt like Yeo valley - natural, not flavoured!
You can reuse your own yogurt as a start a few times but then its best to buy a shop yogurt to start again.

This is how I make mine.

For anyone who doesn't have a yogurt maker, you can easily incubate your jars of yogurt in a cool box with warm water in it.

[Mitzi]

I haven't made yogurt but I have made kefir, which is easier because it's done at room temperature. Unfortunately the lady who was feeding my cats when I was away for a while threw it away as she thought it was something that had gone off. :-(

Now I need to find some more grains.

[Ananke]

I haven't made yogurt but I have made kefir, which is easier because it's done at room temperature. Unfortunately the lady who was feeding my cats when I was away for a while threw it away as she thought it was something that had gone off. :-(

Now I need to find some more grains.

I gave up with the the grains I bought, there was a strange taste from the Kefir and I just couldn't get on with it.

[bazzaboy]

This thread keeps coming back to haunt us..... Tried making yoghurt following the basics of the Sue + comments recipes, kept this first one very simple with Yeo Natural starter and best part of 1 litre UHT Whole. Mixed and put in an EasiYo following their standard instructions…. After 6 hours it was thickening so left it another 6 hours whereupon it was more or less the same.... On this first occasion I didn't add powdered milk as some claim it mars the flavour. Cooled and did a taste test, compared it to my usual favourites - Total Greek and Muller Fruit-Corners - and can honestly say without fear, favour or boasting that mine…… wasn't as good! Back to the drawing board!

I'll try it again adding the powdered milk ingredient. I notice that the Total label says "strained" so I'll fiddle with that too. The Muller one is a different animal, not "Greek" as such but has a much creamier consistency and always tastes sweeter though they don't directly acknowledge any "sugar" in the ingredients. They do include "Guar Gum" for thickening, can you buy that? Googling Guar Gum I was amused to read one article which claimed that it can have "serious side effects including death" - serious indeed, I'm only trying to make yoghurt, thought it was supposed to be healthy! Think I'll pass on the Guar Gum option….

So I'll try the process again. Meantime any tips on getting closer approximations to Total or Muller, please? I know you're supposed to enjoy "homemade" as "homemade" but you get a taste for these commercial versions and wonder how they do it...

[veggiechicken]

"Greek" yogurt is strained through muslin, to make it thicker.

Years ago, on a small Greek island, the local shop sold homemade yogurt in earthenware bowls - much nicer than plastic. I filled my rucksack with these bowls as they were too nice to leave behind - in fact, 3 are still in use for dog food. ...........but I digress
I "think" the yogurt was made by heating the milk, adding a dollop of yogurt as a starter, and leaving it overnight to thicken in the bowls. The milk may have been creamier than the stuff they sell here which is treated in all sorts of ways before we are allowed to drink it.
I've tried making it this way too, putting the bowls on top of the Aga overnight. It did work but tasted nothing like that glorious Greek yogurt, eating in the sun with a dollop of thyme honey.

[Ananke]

They do include "Guar Gum" for thickening,.

You could try adding Calcium Chloride to your milk instead (I've only ever used whole milk though), makes a lovely, really thick yogurt that doesn't need strained. You can buy it from anywhere that sells cheesemaking supplies.

[Ananke]

that glorious Greek yogurt, eating in the sun with a dollop of thyme honey.

I made an involuntary "ooooh" sound when I read that bit, sounds perfect.

[veggiechicken]

The yogurt had a "crust of cream" on the top and, when you bought it, they covered the top with a piece of paper. Some days they'd have sheeps' milk yogurts - they were gorgeous.
Out in the countryside, there were shepherd's huts and, hanging from the eaves or from trees, were bags of muslin, filled with curds, draining the whey, to make a soft cheese.

[Ananke]

Sounds amazing. I wish we could get sheep's milk here to make yoghurt and cheese with. My Slovakian neighbour brought me some sheep's milk cheese to try, it was delicious. Raw milk would be amazing too but sadly illegal in Scotland.

[bazzaboy]

shepherd's huts and, hanging from the eaves or from trees, were bags of muslin, filled with curds, draining the whey, to make a soft cheese.

Interesting point, VC, I was going to ask how long to leave it in the muslin bag.... - for yoghurt presumably not very long, few seconds, a couple minutes at the most, leave it too long and I'll end up with cheese.....