dry ingredients

I made a lot of yogurt the other day, but have not made any more granola, so we haven’t been eating it.  Because of that, I know have a pleathera of yogurt, and not wanting it to go to waste, I began looking for something to make with it. And where better to look, then  The Book of Yogurt.  I had had it for a while, because I thought, when I first go it, that it would teach me how to make yogurt. It does, but only in the beginning. The rest of the book  tells you want to do with the yogurt once it is made.

First thing, was to find something that I had the ingredients for. I chose the yogurt muffins, as they seemed simple enough.

Here is what it called for:

• 2 cups flour (I used rice)
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg well beaten
• 2/3 cup yogurt (I ended up using about 2 cups or so)
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter
• Also: one mashed banana, one cup of blueberries, and 3/4 a teaspoon of xanth gum

the mix

The recipe said it would be lumpy, but with my usual problems with using non-wheat flour, I figured I would use extra yogurt, to make it smoother. It was much smoother, and moister, and actually mixed up rather well. I used the blueberries which had started to be a little on the mushy side, and the banana which was in the same state.

out of the oven

The recipe called for putting it in the over for half an hour at 400F. I tried one batch that way, and the second batch at 350F. 400 worked best.

Other than the muffins not rising, as they so often don’t, they were very tasty. I will have to figure out how to make them fluffier.

Yogurt in training

I had some time this morning, and thought I would make some yogurt. It is very easy, and this would be, what my forth or fifth time making it. I firgured I would make it, and then get to work.

But, oh, I forget why slow food is called slow food. As I heated the milk, I tried to find something else to do. I had to keep an eye on the thermometer, as it is not supposed to go over 180F, so I had to keep walking back and forth.

Finally, it reached 180F, and I could turn off the heat, but then I had to keep checking to make sure it hadn’t gone below 118F. I swear, it must have been easier when people did this in the old days. Did they just know?

I finally took a book, and read, and looked up every so often. It took about half an hour, and I suppose next time I will just know that is how long it takes, and just factor that in. Before, I have had other things going on while I’m making yogurt. I have to remember that next time.

So now, to just wait for it to come out of the Yogothurm, but that will be 16 hours, and that I can time, and do other things while I wait.

It was done this morning, just in time for breakfast, so while I was spooning it into jars, I asked her if she wanted some for breakfast with her blueberries. I scooped some out for her, and asked what I was doing. I explained that I had just made the yogurt and it was fresh. She said it was good, and liked it mixed in with her blueberries.

I told her I liked it with my granola, as well.

It made me feel good to know I was giving her everything super fresh.

On the bread, of her toast, I’d bought. I should have made bread for her visit, as well, but that would have taken more time than I had. Yogurt is nice because you can do other things while it heats, and you don’t have to watch it while it sits overnight.

Milk and dry milk

So, today, I started off with 2 liters, instead of one. What I find funny about the whole thing is that you need powdered, dry milk as well as liquid milk, but this was something that both recipes agreed on.

The first thing one does is to take the milk and heat it up in a sauce pan. What my friend said was to use a wide pan, so I did, which to me, is more a frying pan, but it worked. I set the thermometer in it, and watched as it slowed rose up.

The first time I did this, I watched very carefully, and kept checking all the time. This time, which was the third time I had done this, I chopped up my tomatoes and such for the tomato sauce I was going to make with my new food mill, which I mentioned getting. I chopped, and mixed, and glanced over at the dial to make sure it wasn’t going over 180, which is what it had to be.

Heating the milk

While the milk is cooking, you are supposed to add 1/4 cup of non-fat dry milk powder. I have tried varying this, but haven’t noticed a difference. It is part of what makes the yogurt thick, but adding more didn’t make it thicker. Use a whisk to mix it together. Not sure why a whisk, but it works.

Once the temp gets to 180, turn off the stove, and wait until it is down to 110-115. (The instructions that came with the yogertherm said to let it cool to 118F, so sometimes I would wait only that long. It take a while for the milk to cool, and I was glad I had another project to work on while waiting for it to cool off.

And once it cools off, you put it in the incubator and let it sit for at least 5 hours, according to the Yogertherm, but my friend suggested at least 12 hours, or even 16 hours. The first time, I did 12 hours, and since then I have tried to keep it at 16. Makes it hard, as you have to time when to start it, so that you’ll be around when it is time to move the yogurt into the fridge.

Oh, and I can’t leave off the most important step, the starter. You add that once you have poured your milk into the incubator, but before you close the lid on it.  The first time, I used the special package of yogurt culture, but since then have used my own yogurt  (4 table spoons worth) as my starter.  Apparently though, I shouldn”t do this for too long. My friend just said she used her favorite commercial yogurt as her starter (which seemed to defeat the purpose), but the instructions that came with the yogotherm said the reason to change out the culture was to prvent progressive contamination of yoguert by micororganismls from air, utensils, containers, hands, clothes, etc.

So, next time, I will either use a new culture from the cheesemaking place, or find as pure a yogurt in the market as I can, and use that.

Yogotherm

But, I had never made it before, and wondered just how hard it would be. A friend sent me a recipe she had followed, as well as telling me what hardware I needed. Apparently one needs a yogurt incubator. She gave me the link from the Cheese Making shop. Made me want to learn to make cheese too, but decided to start with yogurt.

What I liked about the Yogertherm, as it was called, was that it wasn’t electric. I didn’t like the idea of having to use electricity to make yogurt.

In addition to the yogurt warmer, I also needed a liquid thermometer and glass jars to keep the yogert in when it was done. I wouldn’t even have though of that, so it was good that my friend listed everything that I would have to have before even starting.

My sweetie kept asking when I was going to start. She knew I wanted to make the yogurt, but I was a bit intimidated. The instructions said things like “It must be 180 degrees” and it “must stay 110 degrees for 10 hours”. Scary stuff. What if it didn’t? would I get food poisoning?