More food adventures
Today I tried to make yogurt for the first time, using the second method on this page (very easy, btw!). It didn’t exactly turn out as I expected. But I did learn some things:
- Don’t try to use old milk that has already started to make curds and expect to get yogurt
- Let the milk cool down to less than boiling before you add the yogurt starter (oops!)
So what happened?
I got fairly decent cottage cheese! I added a teaspoon of salt which just about made it perfect. It’s not as creamy as the kind you get in the store, but it passed the kid test. 
We’re making lasagna tomorrow to celebrate.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Wow!
Yes, the fresh milk should be cooled to about 110F before adding the culture. I heat mine only to 180F, which will pasturize it, but won’t cook it nearly as much as boiling will, and there’s less risk of scorching. It also take less time to cool. When culturing, put a little of the warm milk into the yogurt and stir it around until it is smooth, then mix the thinned-out starter back into the milk - this will help eliminate any lumpiness in the finished product. I haven’t used a crock pot for yogurt… I put my cultured, warm milk into sterilized peanut butter jars, screw the lids on, and put them in a pot of 115F water. The pot then gets placed in a cooler lined with towels, like a haybox cooker. I do this right before bed, and the yogurt is ready in the morning.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I used the method below that one, a lady with a Turkish husband described what he did. I just used a regular saucepan.
Thanks for the tips! I’m going to try again as soon as I get to the store and buy more plain yogurt.