Yogurt without a Yogurtmaker

kittiwoz

I don't make yoghurt that often but if it is too thin I strain it through a clean J-cloth to get extra thick creamy yoghurt. It makes it sweeter too. The thin whey that gets strained off is disgustingly bitter.

JoeyG

I managed to successfully make yogurt today!

It came out the right consistency, but a little creamy... kind of like a mixture of natural yoghurt and double cream... can anyone tell me what I might have done wrong? should I have left it longer/shorter, more yoghurt/less yoghurt etc etc?

I used a normal cheap thermos flask... can anyone tell me where I can get a wide flask and how much I can expect to pay?

Also, how long will the yoghurt keep in the fridge?

thriftlady_2

JoeyG wrote:

It came out the right consistency, but a little creamy... kind of like a mixture of natural yoghurt and double cream

Sounds perfect to me, the creamier the better surely ?;) It should keep for at least 2 weeks.

ariba10

The only thing that might thicken it is a cup of Dried Milk Powder.

Rachel021967

How did you make your yoghurt and how much did it roughly cost?

JoeyG

thriftlady wrote:

Sounds perfect to me, the creamier the better surely ?;)

It doesnt taste as 'sour' as other natural yoghurt... more like if you were to mix natural yoghurt with double cream, maybe it is meant to be like that!... my mate who doesnt like yoghurt thought it tasted better than anything he'd tried before.

The only thing that might thicken it is a cup of Dried Milk Powder.

I actually used 2 tblspns of dried milk powder, and that made it about the right thickness.

How did you make your yoghurt and how much did it roughly cost?

I made it by mixing a litre of UHT milk with 2 tblspns of dried milk powder and 2 tblspns of bio yoghurt, then heating it to about 40 degrees and leaving in a thermos flask for 12 hours.

Initial outlay was about £3.50 - £4 from tesco, but after that all you need to make each litre of live yoghurt is a litre carton of UHT milk (35p)

More detailed instructions here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=71520

Anyone know where i can buy a wide mouth thermos flask and roughly how much?

nikibella

Hi,
I have a real yogurt maker (one with a large container, not small pots) which costed me discounted less than 10 pounds long time ago and I found it very useful, so if you find one it can be worth buying it. Recently I found out that I can use it also for raising yeast dough, it comes out very well.
Instead of a big thermos can, try to use a container to keep bottles cool in the summer I have a wide bodied one, you can put the yougurt mix into a wide glass jar, such as those used for juice or tomato sauce, I keep the yogurt in the fridge in one of those.
An alternative could be the wide thermos containers to take lunch to work, but I don't know if they are still available.

researcher

If it's not thick enough strain it through some clean cotton (or muslin) - if you strain it too thick - just add back a little of the liquid you've removed - this way you can make your yogurt as thick as cream cheese if you wish.

Also I always put my bowl of mixture in the airing cupboard to make yogurt(sealed and wrapped in a blanket) that way you can make a larger mixture - a cool box works just as well too.

JoeyG

I dont have an airing cupboard, but the coolbox idea sounds good

nikibella

You can put in the coolbox one or two heat or cold bricks (those you put frozen in coolboxes to keep the contents chilled) warmed in warm water, check the instructions, so they won't melt.