I want to state categorically that yogurt makers are the single most useless item on the planet. They are a waste of money, they are a waste of resources and they are a waste of time. OK maybe that’s a little harsh, this yogurt maker from Salton is pretty good.
To make yogurt, you merely have to keep milk at a lukewarm temperature for about 6-8 hours. On a hot day, all you need to make yogurt is a container, some starter and milk. Warm your milk up to about 108F to 112F and keep it at that temperature. It sounds tricky, but its not. The bacteria in the starter culture will still multiply if the temperature drops a little bit. A vacuum flask is up to the task of incubation. Note that you will need some plain yogurt to get this started, after that you can save a few tablespoons from each batch that you make
Or, you can try this method:
- Heat your milk (fresh full cream milk) up until it feels slightly warm.
- If you have no starter, add about three tablespoons of plain, unsweetened yogurt (the best quality that you can find).
- If the ambient temperature is a little cold, wrap the jar in a clean towel.
- Place atop a running computer, Xbox 360, DVD Player or any other device that you own that tends to get hot, but not too hot. My P4 runs quite hot and has the perfect surface area for it, so that is what I have used.
- Wait 6-8 hours, give it a good stir, refrigerate, and then enjoy.
Most people are blissfully unaware of just how easy it is to make yogurt. It seems so clever and resourceful, but when it comes down to it, it is about one of the most simple things you can do. It is a great way to put the heat generated by your home technology to good use, transferring it from somewhere that you do not want it to somewhere that you do. Just make sure that you keep everything that you use clean. Wash your jars thoroughly and frequently.
Price: depends on how much milk costs in your area.
Source: Sigsiv (Image only)
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Tags: DIY, food, Gadgets
10 responses
Aug 30, 2007 at 9:40 am
Must be a lifestyle or generational thing. I’m an old guy who doesn’t have these new heat generating appliances, so the $3 I spent on my present yogurt maker from the Salvation Army was a great deal.
You really let your yogurt go for up to 8 hours? Bet it gets real “tart”. Which is fine sometimes, but I generally prefer “sweet” yogurt. To get it, use a high quality “starter” and as you mentioned keep your equipment clean (sterilized.) Use a high solids milk and plenty of starter.
I use powdered milk, 1 cup per pint of finished product, and 1/2 cup of starter per 5 cups of milk. This yields 6 scant cups of yogurt in 5 hours that is more like what I got in southern Italy than is usually available in the U.S.
Don C
Aug 30, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Don C,
It is great to see that other people out there make yogurt. I make it a lot and might opt for a yogurt maker if I had the space in my kitchen. The trick if you are not using a maker is to keep it at a temperature where the bacteria can multiply. I had the hot gadgets idea when I made up a pot and realized that the milk was a little too cool. What was more the room temperature had dropped a little and in that kind of situation, there is a chance that it will fail. Rather than heat it up and risk killing the starter, I placed the jar on top of my PC. It worked better than I expected.
$3 is a bargain, great job. That is cheaper than the $6 vacuum flask I use when it gets cold. I like the powdered milk idea I am going to try it. I prefer a thicker yogurt.
If you are making your yogurt outside the optimum temperature range, it takes a little longer. If I leave it on my PC overnight, it will generally be perfect by breakfast. By then it will have developed only a slight sourness to it,
which is how I like it. Too sour and it is not as enjoyable.
By the way, another way to thicken it is to drain it. Cheesecloth is the preferred method, but I have a lot of old coffee filters that I am going to try to use up. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place it in a bowl. Place the yogurt in a strainer and leave it in the fridge for 12 hours. That will give you a thick Greek or Italian style of yogurt.
Removing a lot of the excess moisture is good too if you want to make frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt is a lot easier to make than homemade ice cream and if you ask me, it tastes better too.
Jun 25, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I am so thankful to see how you make yogurt without a fancy machine. I had no idea it was so EASY to do! I live where is has been over 105-110 for weeks now. Can I place mine outside? In the sun or in the shade? What does the vacuum flask do, keep it fresh? What about flavoring your yogurt? If you want to make strawberry, blueberry, peach etc. do you add the fruit after it sits?
Thank you again
Jane M
Jul 20, 2008 at 8:55 am
A friend of mine has been going on about how his mum made yogurt over night in their airing cupboard (nice and warm) and bemoaning the machines and their starter packs. This is obviously how she did it so I will let him know and maybe try it myself (sky+ box is always warm). Thanks for the advise!
Hilary
Dec 2, 2008 at 2:11 am
To make yogurt or any cultured dairy product that is safe to eat there is a lot more to it than just heating the milk until it is warm and then adding the culture.
Although yogurt making is a very simple process it still requires that all food safety and sanitation tips are followed – i.e. not just warming the milk but actually bringing it close to its boiling point.
This website has the best information about making homemade yogurt safely. It is a step by step illustration of all steps involved – photos included.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/cheese/yogurt_making/yogurt2000.htm
Dec 2, 2008 at 2:43 am
That is simply wrong and I would say anyone that makes yogurt on a regular basis will thoroughly disagree with you. I have made yogurt hundreds if not thousands of times. As long as you sanitize your equipment and are using pasteurized milk you will be fine. You should also be sure to wash your hands before each use. If you end up with a finished product that looks or smells funny; get rid of it and start again.
Using milk powder it is possible to vary the thickness of the finished product by providing more or less milk solids. Incidentally, UHT milk will give you unbound goop that tastes like yogurt. And if you drain it through cheese cloth for 24 hours you get a thick yogurt cheese that is perfect for making frozen yogurt.
It is not necessary to bring the milk close to its boiling point and if you do that with the culture in it, you will end up with spoiled milk not yogurt.
Yogurt is basically protein and bacteria. If you have a good culture and you use clean equipment you will be fine.
From the thousands of times I have eaten yogurt that was made from unheated milk, I have NEVER had a problem.
By the same food safety guidelines, most of the world’s best cheeses and real sauerkraut would be unfit for human consumption.
Mar 9, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Interesting! I too heard that milk has its own bacteria (not that it’s unsafe or anything) but when you heat it to near boiling (I heat to 180-200) it kills the bacteria in the milk so that that bacteria does not compete or skew the results of the bacteria in the yogurt for optimum results. I guess this being what I learned I heat it high, let it cool to 105-110 then remove 1 cup worth to wisk in yogurt and them mix it back into the milk in the pan; I put the lid on and cover with a towel (for extra insulation), then I just stick in my oven with a 100 watt bulb on for 7 hours or so (or overnight). Oven does not need to be turned on at all–a 100 watt bulb keeps it just warm enough and I, too, have perfect yogurt, everytime!
PS. I turn on the light in the oven right before I start to prepare the yogurt so as to give it some time to warm the oven.
Apr 20, 2009 at 8:51 am
What if I think PS4s, Xboxs or DVD players are the most useless items in a house? Thank god I bought a 10$ yogurt maker. PS.: the pic you use doesn’t help much getting your point across.
May 14, 2009 at 10:48 pm
C.S. Magor:
1) I happen to be a chemist and am also certified in Food Safety and Sanitation. You can certainly make yogurt by not boiling pasteurized milk but you are still taking a risk since you can never be absolutely sure that the store where you bought the milk has kept it at the right temperature ot that it did not sit for a few hours out at some loading dock before it was refrigerated. You have just been very lucky if you have not gotten sick so far. Some people never wash their hands before they sit down to eat and do not get sick either. Is that a reason to believe that washing hands is not necessary? Let’s be smart about observing proper food safety guidelines so people do not get sick – especially if someone is making yogurt for small children to eat. The milk (even if it is pasteurized) must be brought to at least 180-185 F in order to kill any bad bacteria that the milk aquired AFTER pasteurization (you can contaminate pasteurized milk the moment you opwn the jar – all you need is an airborne spore! So, for everybody out there – BOIL your milk or bring it near the boiling point.
2) I never said that you boil the milk with the yogurt in it. Please refer to the website that I posted – written by a fellow microbiologist. It explains in a very articulate manner why you can not overheat the milk/yogurt mixture. You would be killing the yogurt bacteria!!!
3) Although a yogurt making machune is not necessary (I do not use one either) I still believe that it is one of the most safe methods to make yogurt especially if you feeding it to babies, small children, etc. Yes, the glass jars and all utensils need to be “sterilized” (not just sanitized). Yes, your hands must be clean and you should wear gloves as well. You should also wear a protective mouth/nose mask, just in case you start coughing or sneezing above your milk or yogurt/milk mixture. Again, this may sound extreme but if you intend like many of us to give your homemade yogurt to children you can never be too safe when dealing with cultured dairy products/fermenting milk etc. at home.
People spend years to be educated in food safety and sanitation and come up with guidelines that will keep them safe. You should not underestimate the potential of something going wrong (bad bacteria contaminating your products) by cutting corners.
I still feel that this website has the best and most accurate information for anyone who wants to make their own cheese and or other cultured dairy products at home (including yogurt). Beginners especially can benefit from the safety guidelines and the beautiful illustrations (photos etc) at this website. And, they do not try to sell you anything either!!!
Dr. Fankhauser’s Cheese Page
Yogurt Making Illustrated
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/cheese/yogurt_making/yogurt2000.htm
May 15, 2009 at 1:38 am
Regarding using dry milk to make yogurt:
This is the one and only time that boiling the milk mixture is not a must. However, to be on the safe side, I would boil the water before mixing it with the dry milk powder. Same guidelines as when you mix infant formula to make baby milk. Boiling the water will ensure a more safe milk to make yogurt with.
By the way, whole dry milk powder makes very creamy yogurt – nice and thick velvety smooth texture.
I prefer Nestle’s “KLIM” or “NIDO” whole milk powder. Sometimes, I mix both fresh milk and whole dry milk powder.
If you want to make a heavenly tasty yogurt you can add half and half to the milk mixture. You can even make it using just half and half. This is called “cream bulgare”. It is very rich but you eat a smaller portion since it is soooooo satisfying. Topped with a bit of honey and walnuts it is a dessert made in heaven!..
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