Is yoghurt worth making yourself?

thriftlady_2

purpleivy wrote: »

I felt a bit silly putting that in writing, thinking someone would jump down my throat and go derrrrrrrrrr! I have a degree,

So do I :rolleyes::o:rotfl:

nanokitten

You don't need a machine, my dad always mad it in a 'hay box' (no straw required) when we lived in the coldest flat on earth.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/hayboxcooker.htm
basically its a very heavily insulated box say a box cardboard box filled withs crunched up newspapers, in the centre of the box is a small box (say a big tupperware, the size you put cakes in) filled with warm (hand hot I think) water (as the heat source) the little pots of yogurt mix are place in this bath whilst still warm up to their necks (with individual lids on if poss), tupperware lid on, coverd in thick layer of scrunched up newspaper, close box. Yogurt should stay toasty warm over night as long as the box is well insulated (you could also use bubble wrap, polystyrene old blankets etc for the insulation). keep a bit of the yourt each time to start the next batch off. http://www.recipezaar.com/powdered-milk-yogurt-380014
having said that their is nothing wrong with sainsburys value yougurt, its live and just as good as the dear ones and costs about 18 p I think.

Belisarius

nanokitten wrote: »

You don't need a machine, my dad always mad it in a 'hay box' (no straw required) when we lived in the coldest flat on earth. basically its a very heavily insulated box say a box cardboard box filled withs crunched up newspapers, in the centre of the box is a small box (say a big tupperware, the size you put cakes in) filled with warm (hand hot I think) water (as the heat source) the little pots of yogurt mix are place in this bath whilst still warm up to their necks (with individual lids on if poss), tupperware lid on, coverd in thick layer of scrunched up newspaper, close box. Yogurt should stay toasty warm over night as long as the box is well insulated (you could also use bubble wrap, polystyrene old blankets etc for the insulation). keep a bit of the yourt each time to start the next batch off.
having said that their is nothing wrong with sainsburys value yougurt, its live and just as good as the dear ones and costs about 18 p I think.

That's really helpful! I will try this next week, when I can get what I need during the weekly shop. Do you mean little yoghurts for 18p? The Basics yoghurt is 46p for a big pot in my nearest Sainsbury's.

nopot2pin

I quite fancy trying to make yoghurt.
But dont want to buy a yoghurt maker.
I do have a flask, so I was going to use that.
There is a mention that if you use UHT milk, there is no need to heat it.
Although, I wondered, if this was the case, when using a flask ?
If I use normal milk, what temperature does it have to be heated to ?

I was looking for a thread on this, but only found this one

Edit:
Just found a thread about it
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=149126&highlight=yoghurt

I think I am going to try this tonight, as I have everything that I need.
I do have skimmed UHT milk, so I will use that, but I am going to heat it first, as I don't think it will work with cold milk in a flask... but I am not too sure
Its gotta be worth a try eh ??

daska

nopot2pin wrote: »

I quite fancy trying to make yoghurt.
But dont want to buy a yoghurt maker.
I do have a flask, so I was going to use that.
There is a mention that if you use UHT milk, there is no need to heat it.
Although, I wondered, if this was the case, when using a flask ?
If I use normal milk, what temperature does it have to be heated to ?

I was looking for a thread on this, but only found this one

Edit:
Just found a thread about it
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=149126&highlight=yoghurt

I think I am going to try this tonight, as I have everything that I need.
I do have skimmed UHT milk, so I will use that, but I am going to heat it first, as I don't think it will work with cold milk in a flask... but I am not too sure
Its gotta be worth a try eh ??

You do need to heat it, what you don't need to do is heat it to a high temperature to kill of any nasties that would turn it sour before it yogs and then cool it again before you add the starter. A flask is fine, preferably with a wide neck as that makes it easier to clean.

nopot2pin

daska wrote: »

You do need to heat it, what you don't need to do is heat it to a high temperature to kill of any nasties that would turn it sour before it yogs and then cool it again before you add the starter. A flask is fine, preferably with a wide neck as that makes it easier to clean.

Thanks...
It is quite a wide necked flask that I have
I have just put some milton type fluid in it, to clean it, as it's not been used for a while. It looks clean, and doesn't smell... but I just wanted to be sure
I will heat the milk to "blood" temperature.... and go from there.
Hopefully it will be ready for brekkie

nopot2pin

Ok....

I started off a flask full, about 2 hours ago

I used UHT skimmed milk... a tbsp of milk powder... and a tbsp of Yeo valley yoghurt....the other tbsp of yogurt went into the freezer, hopefully for future yoghurts

Hopefully it will work

nopot2pin

It didn't work.
Its very runny and appears to be grainy.
I am not sure if it was at the right temperature to start with.
I have just took its temperature, using one of those digital thermometres... and its reading 44degrees :eek:

So, it was way too hot to work.


Can I salvage this batch, or would it be better to start again from scratch ??

thriftlady_2

Nopot2pin when I make yogurt with UHT I don't heat it. It isn't necessary because it has already been heated. I use it striaght from the carton and let it yog for 8-10 hours.

Likewise I have more success with fresh milk if I let it cool to room temp after first bringing it to boiling point. I did this today and left it in my yogurt maker for about 8 hours and it turned out very well.

russetred

I use a thermos flask and 2 tbsp of value dried skimmed milk mixed with 2 tbsps of yeo valley organic(its the cheapest) yoghurt and half a carton of value uht milk.The other half I heat in the micro to hand hot then stir up and leave for 8 hours.I find it too runny for my taste so i strain it thru a tea towel in a sieve over a pan.I put the strained yoghurt into a clean large yoghurt pot and mix with enough of the whey liquid to fill the pot.That gives me really creamy yoghurt.