Yogurt without a Yogurtmaker

DawnW

I got a nice red wide necked thermos (called a food flask) from Sainsburys. I use it to take soup and left over dinner from the night before to work for lunch (that last bit sounds horrid, but everyone at work is jealous of my lunches). It is microwave safe, and cost about £2.50, back in the summer. I should think it would work for yogurt as well, though I haven't tried it for this - haven't made yogurt for ages

Maxjessdru

I have made yoghurt from Jamie's Oliver cookbook which needs no flask and is very cheap. All you do is boil 1 litre of milk (whole milk will be creamier, semi skimmed and skimmed less so), leave to cool until tepid, stir in 1 large pot (500g) of live yoghurt, cover the pan with a lid and leave for about 6-8 hours. Remove lid, stir and yoghurt is ready. This mixture can then also be used for future mixes.

JoeyG

Maxjessdru wrote:

I have made yoghurt from Jamie's Oliver cookbook which needs no flask and is very cheap. All you do is boil 1 litre of milk (whole milk will be creamier, semi skimmed and skimmed less so), leave to cool until tepid, stir in 1 large pot (500g) of live yoghurt, cover the pan with a lid and leave for about 6-8 hours. Remove lid, stir and yoghurt is ready. This mixture can then also be used for future mixes.

500g is alot of yoghurt to mix in!!!

I used 2 tblspns of bio yoghurt, but some people just use 1... but then I left mine 12 hours rather than 8, so i guess thats the difference

larmy16

I use 2T greek yoghurt, 2T dried skim milk and 1 carton wholemilk UHT. Comes out perfick. If you go on to strain it you get really creamy greek yoghurt.

Rachel021967

Thanks everyone I'll give both methods a go and see what comes out best.

fluffalo

Hi..
I have a Bel 'Natural' yogurt maker that I got at a charity shop for 50p. It is essentially a thermos or maybe like one of those wine cooler things - a plastic sleeve that fits in an insulated case. It has the directions and everything, but the cover does not fit too tightly, so I have not used it yet.

Would it be OK with a towel or something over the loose top? Or would it be better to use another container?
Any advice would be most welcome! I am quite keen to get started after reading through this thread!:j

JoeyG

I assumed it had to be airtight for the bacteria to grow... not sure on that though

thriftlady_2

Maxjessdru wrote:

I have made yoghurt from Jamie's Oliver cookbook which needs no flask and is very cheap. All you do is boil 1 litre of milk (whole milk will be creamier, semi skimmed and skimmed less so), leave to cool until tepid, stir in 1 large pot (500g) of live yoghurt, cover the pan with a lid and leave for about 6-8 hours. Remove lid, stir and yoghurt is ready. This mixture can then also be used for future mixes.

500 g :eek: is a lot more expensive than 2 tbsp of yogurt, do you have to use 500g each time ?

researcher

JoeyG wrote:

I assumed it had to be airtight for the bacteria to grow... not sure on that though

No it doesn't need to be airtight at all, bacteria will grow anyway.

apprentice_tycoon

thriftlady wrote:

500 g :eek: is a lot more expensive than 2 tbsp of yogurt, do you have to use 500g each time ?

I agree 500 g seems extraordinary! I make a litre with just 2 tablespoons of yogurt, I started with a wide necked flask, then moved on the the 6 pot maker but then graduated to the litre bulk makers (Lakeland) because I strain yogurt to make it really thick and creamy, also if you strain it overnight you get a cream cheese like Philadelphia that is perfect for cheesecakes.