Saturday, March 12, 2011

Homemade Crock-pot Yogurt

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I got several responses from my last post from people interested in my experiences with crock-pot yogurt. Super easy, definitely cheaper than store-bought yogurt, and so delicious!

 Supplies:
1.) A crock pot!
2.) A half gallon of milk (preferably NOT ultra-pasturized)
3.) At least 1/2cup of live culture yogurt - after you've made your first batch you can just save some to use for the next batch.
4.) optional: foodsafe thermometer. This isn't strictly necessary but definitely helpful.



Directions:
1.) Pour milk into crock-pot and cover with lid. Heat on low setting until milk reaches 180F which will take approximately two and a half hours. My crock pot runs a little warm and so takes only two and quarter hours.

2.) Unplug crock pot and wait until milk cools to about 120 degrees which, depending on the temperature of the room, will take between two and a half and three hours.



3.) Warm the 1/2cup of yogurt slowly by adding a cup or two of the heated milk to the yogurt and stirring well. Slowly add the yogurt milk mix to the crock pot and whisk or stir well to incorporate. Re-cover crock-pot with lid.




4.) Immediately wrap the entire crock-pot, lid, base and all, with a thick towel or blanket to retain as much heat as possible.

5.) Wait at least six or even overnight.

6.) Tada!

You will have yogurt! Warm in the crock pot the yogurt is a little stringier than store-bought yogurt and will be a little runnier.

For best consistency, refrigerate for about 8 hours.



My strategy is to start the yogurt around lunch, turn it off and add the yogurt before dinner and pop it in the fridge before bed, then there is fresh yogurt ready for breakfast. An alternative would be to start it after work, turn it off and add the yogurt before bed and pop it in the fridge the next day before work. When you get back home there will be fresh yogurt waiting and ready!


We use 1/2 pint jars that are easy for a certain someone to grab on his way to work. Excellent with a little honey on top.

Don't forget to save some for the next batch!

To make a delicious active-culture cream cheese simply strain the yogurt through cheese cloth or a fine-weave dish towel for several hours. The yellow liquid that drains out is whey and is extremely useful for all sorts of live culture foods!


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3 comments:

  1. Hi Myrrh,
    I made this over the weekend, and it is awesome! I've never been a big fan of plain yogurt from the store because it has always been too tangy for my taste, but this came out fairly mild. I understand it will develop more tang as it gets older, though.

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  2. Myrrh,

    I recently got a crock pot and made this last night! It was so simple and came out great. Thanks for posting the recipe!

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  3. I was surprised at how easy it really is! I avoided even trying for AGES because I was sure it would be annoyingly complicated. :D

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