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So. For second breakfast today I had ginger yogurt that I made from scratch last night. In the crock pot. I'm ridiculously pleased with myself.
Home made yogurt is more runny than store-bought, because they tend to cheat and add guar gum or gelatin to thicken their product. I made this batch without so I could sample "unadulterated yogurt." Next batch, I will heat the milk enough to scald it (keep out unwanted critters) and add some gelatin. Then I will cool it to 110F and add my yogurt... We'll see how it turns out. For now, I have a quart of yummy plain yogurt to have for lunch. Tomorrow, I think I'll try mint!
- I got a quart size ziploc screw top container and washed it out. Nuked it for a bit to make sure it was germ free.
- I filled my crock pot with hot water from the tap. It comes out at 120 degrees or so. I then had to wait 20-30 minutes for the water temp to drop to 115F.
- While waiting for the water to cool I added room temperature whole milk (75F) to the "sterile" ziploc container and whisked in a heaping tablespoon of plain yogurt (also room temp) I got at the grocery store. This yogurt is my "starter" just as with a sourdough.
- When the water in the crock pot hit 115F I immersed my milk container in the water bath and then balanced the crock pot lid on top. There was about an inch gap between the lid of the crock and the pot. This is fine because the actual temp I want to maintain is 110F.
- When the temp in the crock pot got to 110F, I TURNED ON the crock pot to the WARM setting. (WARMING is actually set for higher than 110F on the Rival pot I use, but with the lid ajar, I was able to leave it at that setting for 1 hour before the temp started to climb.
- I checked the temp every 1/2 hour and turned the crock pot on or off as needed over the next couple of hours until I went to bed. At that point, I turned the pot OFF and covered the whole assembly with a towel to insulate.
- When I came down in the morning, it was yogurt! YAY! I added my flavorants (ginger root and splenda) directly to the 1 cup I packed for my breakfast. Always remember to reserve 1/2-3/4c of yogurt to make your next batch or you'll have to run to the store for more Dannon or Brown Cow.
Home made yogurt is more runny than store-bought, because they tend to cheat and add guar gum or gelatin to thicken their product. I made this batch without so I could sample "unadulterated yogurt." Next batch, I will heat the milk enough to scald it (keep out unwanted critters) and add some gelatin. Then I will cool it to 110F and add my yogurt... We'll see how it turns out. For now, I have a quart of yummy plain yogurt to have for lunch. Tomorrow, I think I'll try mint!