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Homemade "Greek" Yogurt
I agree, a countertop their height would be great....I do have stepstools, but they didn't use them...we do have sturdy bar stools with a back, so they really are above the countertop...they just get excited....these kids are so much fun, they come here and cook 3 meals a day, bake bread, and make their own salad dressings, lattice pie crusts........I have pictures of my grand daughter, on top of the butcher block holding the hand mixer....when she was 2 and a 1/2.....and they are master cookie decorators with royal icing...these kids use really sharp knives and do great. We do talk about it a lot before, I do demos...I would love to teach a kid's class, bet you love it!
Let me know about your yogurt....we make it into 'pudding' with pureed berries, make the yogurt cheese, frozen yogurt and more....this stuff is magic!
Homemade "Greek" Yogurt
Here is the recipe I have used for years, using just milk and starter....nothing more....the Greek yogurts do not use dry/powdered milk or sugar...just milk and starter.
1. Heat your milk on the stove top SLOWLY to 180 degrees. Do NOT STIR once you start heating your milk, stirring causes your yogurt to be grainy.
Use a heavy bottomed pan. I start with at least 1 gallon of milk (up to 4 gallons of milk). Your yield will be a little less than half of the starting amount.
2. Cool your milk mixture to 110 degrees to no more than 115 degrees. Remember, DO NOT STIR.You can do this by letting it cool at room temperature (this takes a while) or by filling your kitchen sink with cold water and placing your pan in the water bath. Sometimes I add ice or re-freezable ice packs.
3. When milk mixture has cooled, add your yogurt starter, just dump it in, DO NOT STIR, then cover the pan with a tight fitting lid or with plastic wrap.
4. Place milk mixture in your incubator....an oven with a proofing temperature of around 100 degrees, or an old style oven with a pilot light (this is also around 100 degrees), or use an ice chest and jugs of hot water. (see photos) Let incubate for 12 or more hours.
5. Your incubated milk mixture should resemble custard with a little watery film. Strain off the watery when using a collander lined with cotton fabric, cheesecloth or commercial coffee filters (found on-line) having a container below to catch the whey. when you have about half as much whey as the original amount of milk you started with, that is a good breakfast consistency. If you want the yogurt 'cheese' let it drain longer. DO try some of the 'Stash' yogurt at room temp before you refrigerate it....delicious....Place your Greek style yogurt in containers and refrigerate....in the photos you can see the drink dispenser I use to drain the whey. I make gallons of yogurt each week and share with family and neighbors. The grandkids love helping, and eating, this yogurt, too. If you have other questions, please contact me.
Grainy homemade yogurt
any live starter works fine, I go for the most cultures possible, so far the most I have found is in Cascade Active 8.....8 cultures. I use the ratio of one third cup (1/3 C.) of live starter to one gallon of milk. If you use too much starter, your yogurt will be more tart and tangy. That is because it has a larger amount of bacteria from day one. Remember, your culture is always growing, so start small....it will grow rapidly. One reason the yogurt (Greek or regular) gets an 'off' taste is because the bacteria level has maxed out.....they have no more room to grow....so start small.
In answer to gingershelley, you can get the Greek yogurt texture by straining your home-made yogurt. Remember, the only ingredients in Greek yogurt are milk and live culture. If you start adding other ingredients, like powdered or dry milk (yuk), or pectin, or gelatin, etc., you will thicken your product, but it will be different than real Greek style yogurt. Straining is the way to get this result. Mine strains for hours, I measure the whey that drains out, and when I have half as much whey as the original amount of milk, I stop for regular 'breakfast' yogurt. If I want the thicker, yogurt cheese, I strain it longer. Measuring your whey is a way to determine when to stop straining....
Grainy homemade yogurt
The bacteria is not destroyed by freezing. If you are making a frozen yogurt that call for heating above 112 degrees before freezing, then the active culture would be destroyed.
Try making your yogurt without stirring. The consistency will be creamier and not grainy. Whenever heating milk, you need to heat slowly in a pan with a heavy bottom, and can also use a diffuser.
Real yogurt will separate into whey and solids unless you use emulsifiers like powdered milk, gelatin, pectin, etc. These emulsifiers can change the taste and the mouth-feel. Whey is a natural by-product of yogurt and can be used in making bread, soaking grains, etc.
Homemade yogurt makers - what do you use as a starter?
Try Cascade Active 8.....8 cultures, more than Stoneyfield or Nancy's. I use 1/3 cup starter to a gallon of milk.
Homemade "Greek" Yogurt
You sound like a Weston A. Price fan....I use my whey for all of the uses you mention...and make bread with it.....YUM!!!
Homemade "Greek" Yogurt
The Fage does not have the dried milk or pectin or gelatin or other stabilizers, which most yogurt does have. To me, it totally affects the mouth feel when the pectin or gelatin are included....making a slimy, wet feel.
I have been making my own Greek yogurt for years and it is delicious and easy. I only use whole, organic milk. The reason many people add powdered milk is for stabilization, but it tastes funny. If you want the real Greek yogurt taste, youmay have to make it yourself...mine is so delicious, I make a big batch every week (using 3 or 4 gallons of milk at a time) and I provide Greek yogurt for my elderly father and some neighbors who do not cook. The yield is about 50% yogurt to 50% whey. I use the whey for making bread and for soaking grains, and even drink it plain. I will send you the recipe if you would like.
Grainy homemade yogurt
I agree with the other suggestions that your starter has seen better days. I never use my starter over 4 times before starting with fresh starter....also, do you really boil your milk? I go to 180 degrees, heating slowly.
For the graininess, try NOT stirring your milk at all once you start heating, and also do NOT STIR when you add your starter, just dump it in. I use 1/3 C. starter per gallon of milk. When making yogurt, you are essentially making cheese. Stirring makes yogurt grainy. I read where some people whisk their starter in, etc. Remember, this starter is alive, it can move around just fine by itself. When you stir, you are trying to re-combine your milk....try not stirring and let me know.....
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Check eBay for vanilla beans by the pound....they are affordable and wonderful....I use 2 per gallon of milk used...
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Look on eBay for vanilla beans....I buy them by the pound and use 2 per gallon of milk used in the yogurt....it is delicious. I soak them in the milk while it is heating slowly, then remove them, split them and scrape out the seeds, then add the vanilla bean pods and the seeds to the mixture. When straining the yogurt, I remove the pods.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
This is how I strain my yogurt to make it the Greek style. I do not use powdered milk, just whole milk and yogurt starter. This is a large tea dispenser, with a collander inside. I get really huge coffee filters to line the collander. Then I ladle in the yogurt mixture after incubating. By measuring the whey, I know at what point I want to stop straining the mixture. For regular Greek style yogurt, I get almost half as much whey as the amount of milk I started with..my grandkids really like to help with this stage of the preparation
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
This is my easy incubator, works on camping trips, too.....just fill your empty milk jugs with the hottest tap water, or heat some water on the campfire....I put clean towels on the bottom of the cooler, then put in the yogurt mixture and the hot water jugs, then place another clean towel on top. Close the lid tightly and leave for 12 -15 hours, then strain....delicious. This picture shows 3 gallons of milk in the pan in the center pan, but I have done as much as 4 gallons. Just make sure you have a large enough ice chest BEFORE you get started....
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
You could also use an insulated ice chest instead of dealing with the oven.....I refill the gallon milk jugs with hot tap water, put a clean towel on the bottom of the cooler and surround the yogurt with the jugs of hot water. put another towel on top for more insulation, then shut the lid and leave it. I use this method when I do not have an oven with a pilot light. It works great without all the checking and re-filling, etc. This way, also, water is not coming into contact with rings, etc. I make up to 4 gallons of yogurt at a time this way, and usually 4 gallon milk jugs full of hot tap water are sufficient to successfully incubate the yogurt, so it should work for this smaller yield. I've been doing this for years, no problems. Then in the morning, I strain it through giant, commercial coffee filters.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
If you can find Cascade Active 8, it has 8 cultures
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
You can use the stove-top, heat the milk slowly....and do not stir. I use a gas stove and turn my burner to the lowest temp. Also, on the days I know I am making yogurt, I leave my gallons of milk on the counter to come to 'room temp
You do need to use a thermometer and heat the milk to 180 degrees
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Stirring will affect the texture....you could try two gallons of milk side by side and find out....that is what I did.
If your milk is burning, turn the fire down OR get a diffuser....many hardware stores have these, they are round metal discs with a handle, usually about 1/2" thick with some perforations in the metal....this will prevent the burning.
The lactose is what is burning. If you lower your temperature a bit, it will take longer to heat, but it will not burn. The burn does not affect the taste or the yogurt (I guess it could if you burn it really badly.....) Find a diffuser and that will take care of the problem.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
I agree, it is wonderful....do you make whole wheat or white? I love both of them, but try to eat more whole wheat.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Try Cascade Active 8 with 8 cultures..
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Hi, biodanonima,
the yield on this recipe is a little less than half than your amount of starting liquid. Did you measure your whey? Your whey + your yogurt should equal your starting amount. How was it AFTER you refrigerated it? It should be thicker with refrigeration. Your may find that it is thicker than you wanted. Usually when you get half the amount of your starting liquid in whey, that is a good consistency for regular Greek style yogurt. After straining longer, it can get like cream cheese. I never have stirred it while it is draining, but the sides of the collander will have the thicker yogurt, for sure. When you transfer this to your storage container, it seems to even out.... Mine is always creamy, and so thick that I can scoop it where it stands several inches above the spoon.....
Please let me know how it was after it was refrigerated. Also, did you try some BEFORE you refrigerated it? That is a real treat to me....stash yogurt! Thanks for letting me know....
Definitely strain some to the cream cheese consistency...make spreads or dips with this.
I use the whey for many other things, including drinking and making whole wheat bread.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
I have never had the ropey yogurt I've been reading about. In the information about cheese making, they recommend this.
I wonder if the powdered milk could have something to do with this? I have never used the powdered milk, just milk and starter.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
I put the whole pot covered with a tight fitting lid or plastic wrap into the cooler, surrounded by the capped jugs of the hottest tap water you have. If there is room in your cooler, you can add to the inuslation with clean bath towels. Close the lid tightly and leave for 12 - 18 hours. You should have a beautiful custard-y yogurt in your pan when you open it. THEN you strain it. I use really large commercial coffee filters, but you can use cheesecloth or muslin to line your collander. Have a container under the collander to catch the whey. When the whey equals 1/3 - 1/2 of the amount of milk originally used, that should be the Fage consistency. You can continue straining and get 'yogurt cheese' of varying consistencies, depending on how long you strain it. After straining to your desired consistency, transfer the strained yogurt to a covered container and refrigerate. Do try some of your fresh yogurt before it is refrigerated....it is a special treat.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me 817-807-6748.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Another yogurt to use is Cascade Active 8 yogurt with 8 live cultures
*Lactobacillus Acidophilus
*Streptococcus Thermophilus
*Lactobacillus Rhamnosus
*Bacillus Bifidum
*Lactobacillus Casei
*Bacillus Longum
*Lactobacillus Bulgaricus
*Bacillus Infantis
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Cascade Active 8 has 8 cultures. I use the whole milk yogurt in the orange container
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Using too much starter will cause tartness, crowded bacteria. Try using 1/3 cup starter per gallon of milk used, no sugar or dry milk needed. Read about cheese-making for more info on how this process works
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Nick1990, try making your yogurt with no powdered milk and NO STIRRING. The stirring is causing your graininess. 180 is the temperature that milk separates....stirring is attempting to re-combine the milk....Incubating for 18 hours is OK. Strain the yogurt and you should have great yogurt. Use the whey to make bread or water your plants.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
The graininess comes from stirring. Original Greek yogurt is just milk and starter, nothing else. When you heat your milk to 180 degrees, this is the temperature where milk separates....when you stir, you are trying to re-combine, that causes the graininess.
Heat your milk slowly as the lactose burns easily. You can use a heat diffuser on your burner, too.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Yes, check it and when you see it has formed a 'custard' consistency, then strain it into the coffee filter, cheesecloth or cotton fabric....when your whey measures 1/3 to 1/2 of the original amount of liquid, you can put it in containers. You will have to try differing amounts of draining to see what you like best. Just for fun, let some drain for a day and get the 'cream cheese' consistency....It has so many different uses. Let me know how it works for you.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Wow, I have never seen such unwarranted hostility and aggression in a food discussion. I don't use Teflon, either, if you care to rant about that, too. I also choose organic products when offered, so you may add that, also.
There are plenty of studies that have other opinions. Not being a scientist, I can't prove any of the differing opinions, nor can you. I will then err on the side of the method that has the least controversy in the case of my food and how it is prepared. Perhaps you can do the same and allow others to make their personal choices without being so hostile. I do not believe everything in print . Many times commercial interests DO affect the information available. Do you think that diet drinks and artificial sweeteners are good for you? There is very conflicting information on them....what do you think?
And, please tell me how you hold the temperature of your microwaved milk at 180 degrees for 20 minutes....I am very interested.
I hope you feel better soon. Wish I could give you a bowl of my wonderful homemade, organic Greek-style yogurt, that might make you feel better.....
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
Straining IS the reason the yogurt is thicker.....I posted the recipe a little farther down....stabilizers are not used in traditional Greek yogurt.
Success! Homemade “Fage” Yogurt! Easy! Cheap!
If you are going to use the yogurt maker with the little cups, it would be a lot of work to dump them and strain them. You can surely use the powdered milk or other stabilizers if you want to thicken it up.
My recipe is for making the Greek-style yogurt using the ingredients that are traditionally used, just milk and yogurt starter. The traditional product does not include any stabilizers.
There are other schools of thought about the value of powdered milk, I do not happen to be a fan of consuming it.
I make large batches of yogurt at least once a week, sometimes more. I share it with friends who soon learn to make their own. For several years, I have been teaching classes on how to make this Greek-style yogurt. With a big stock pot, it is just as easy to make a batch with 4 gallons of milk as to use a few quarts of milk. The four gallons of milk will make a little less than two gallons of Greek style yogurt, with a little over 2 gallons of the whey.
Whichever method you use, you will get home-made yogurt. Sometime, you might try making other recipes and see what you really like the best.
