Eating From the Ground Up

we can always talk about yogurt

by

yogurt

I never get sick of talking about yogurt. My (very kind and brilliant) agent gets on my case about this, so much so that I can hear his voice in my head as soon as I launch into my story about the magic of home culturing with anyone who wants to know how I got into all this crazy homemade stuff. “Enough with the yogurt, already!” But still, I can’t stop. And even now, over a year after the book came out,  most of your emails and comments are about yogurt. I’m glad you still want to talk about yogurt, too.

I’m still making yogurt over here every week, but like any process that lives and breathes from day to day, it continues to evolve. And although I have shared some of these new details in my responses to your yogurt questions, I wanted to bring them together, as well as to create a spot for some ongoing yogurt conversation in the comments. I can only imagine that this process will continue to shift, but for now, here’s a yogurt update.

1. The crockpot. The biggest development in my yogurt making over the last year is that I make yogurt in my crockpot instead of my beloved Eurocuisine yogurt maker. The crockpot makes it possible for me to make a lot of yogurt at once, and although the process is a little different than when I use my yogurt maker, I find it more convenient and forgiving. I’ve outlined how to do it on the site here, as well as on a post I wrote for Food52 last year, and there’s lots of helpful info in the comments of each post as well.

2. Keep the milk at 180° for 10-15 minutes before cooling it. If you’re using the crockpot, this happens naturally because the pot holds the heat in. But if you’re heating your milk on the stovetop, try keeping the temperature at 180° for a bit before you let it cool. This will make smoother, creamier yogurt.

3. Don’t stir your culture into the milk. When I use yogurt as a starter (as opposed to powdered culture), I no longer stir or whisk the yogurt in when I add it to the warm milk. Earlier this year, I was having an issue with grainy yogurt, and this has solved the problem. So when I’m working with the crockpot, I heat the milk, cool the milk, then just plop the yogurt into the milk and don’t stir it in.

3. Powdered cultures. My favorite powdered culture is still the Bulgarian Y1 culture from New England Cheesemaking. When I start out with new powdered culture, often the first batch is a little runny, but then subsequent batches are thick and creamy. And I find that although a culture from store-bought yogurt will weaken after 4-8 generations of yogurt, a powdered culture keeps going for much longer, even indefinitely.

4. Store-bought yogurt cultures. My favorite store-bought yogurt culture isn’t widely available, but it’s fairly new brand of yogurt available in some New England grocery stores called Maia. If you have it in your local grocery store, it makes a great starter culture. Otherwise, stick to a plain, unexpired yogurt that has a flavor you like.

5. Flavors. Although you can absolutely add flavors to your yogurt (like maple, coffee, vanilla, or chocolate) fruit on the bottom is more challenging. Jam works the best, but it has to be heated first, just like the milk. I have instructions for all the different flavors in my book, but I can go over them here too- just ask in the comments. If you want to make fruit on the bottom yogurt, my favorite method is really just to spoon jam, fruit sauce, or fresh fruit into the bottom of a small jar, then put plain or maple yogurt on top of it. It’s not as fussy as actually culturing the yogurt and fruit together. And if you’re making coffee or chocolate yogurt, it’s totally normal for there to be a denser layer of flavor on the bottom.

6. Culturing time. I still find the minimum culture time is about 5 hours. Sometimes I’ll check the yogurt at 5 hours and it’s still quite liquid-y so I’ll give it another hour or two. But I’ve been enjoying the results of longer cultures times as well, even up to 24 hours. A longer culture makes a more sour yogurt. In addition, there’s been a lot talk lately about a 24-hour culture eliminating all the lactose in the yogurt, so if you have a lactose concern, I’d definitely experiment with longer cultures. The only drawback of a long culture is that it tends to produce extra whey, but you can just drain that off and use it to make my favorite dream Indian street beverage.

How’s your yogurt out there in the world? I’d love to hear about your methods and tricks, or feel free to ask (or answer!) any questions in the comments.

 

 

Comments

  1. My friends and family are pretty tired of me talking about yogurt too! Ever since I bought your book, Alana, I have become a homemade yogurt convert (and I am one of those that email you mostly about yogurt!) The Crock-Pot is the only way I do it now and I love it. I have tried many different types of starters but Stonyfield Organic yogurt yields my favorite flavor so far. I keep my yogurt plain and just add a dollop of homemade jam in a bowl of yogurt right before I eat it. That is a nice way to get fruit on the bottom without a lot of hassle. Also, I discovered a quick way to make thicker yogurt and remove some of the whey: after refrigerating the yogurt for several hours or overnight, take the lids off the Mason jars, place a square of cheesecloth (you can fold the cheesecloth in half to make it thicker), screw the bands on the jars and just tip them upside down in the kitchen sink. Leave it for about two hours and then remove the cheesecloth and put the lids back on. You can strain it in a sieve with a bowl underneath to catch the whey, if you want. You can save and reuse the cheesecloth after a good rinse too!

    Thanks for the post, Alana! I’m definitely going to try not stirring the yogurt and experiment with longer culture times. You’ve opened a whole new world for me with this yogurt thing- making homemade yogurt is one of the happiest things I do in the kitchen!

  2. We do yogurt every week here too. I use a yogourmet machine passed down to me by my mom. I always culture overnight and strain off the whey. We usually use store bought plain yogurt as our starter and like you said it eventually gets weak, I’ll have to try the culture you suggested, we weren’t happy with the powdered culture we tried in the past. We also experienced the grainy texture with stirring in the yogurt, glad to know there is a cure!

  3. Alana, thanks to you I now make my own yogurt—you and I have had many conversations through email about it in fact :0) My one thing I did not know was to keep the yogurt at 180 for 10-15 minutes. I have been getting it up there then taking it off to cool. I will try the longer time in the future. Also, I was concerned about the fact that you don’t stir in the culture. how does it get mixed into all the milk if not stirred?
    I haven’t tried the crock pot yet but it does intrigue me quite a bit. I am still using my Eurocuisine and I love the little jars. Maybe this summer I will try the crock pot method.
    Thanks for continuing to talk about yogurt—tell your agent to get over it :0)

  4. Yes, I can always talk about yogurt, too! And eat lots of it. Thanks for the new ideas, I’ll have to give them a try and figure out how to adjust them to my stovetop and jar method. My yogurt is generally not as thick as the store bought kind but I haven’t noticed the starter culture weakening much even though I don’t replace it very often. It would be fun to try some of the other cultures you mentioned, though. Thanks for leading the movement for homemade yogurt. I definitely do my best to spread the word and entice more people to make yogurt at home.

  6. Was it you that referenced some sort of ice cube trick for keeping the milk from burning when you heat it? I can’t remember where it was and can’t find it anywhere!
    We are definitely going to have to try not stirring the culture in…how counterintuitive!

    • Yes! That was a trick I learned from Ricki Carroll at New England Cheesemaking. Here’s how I explain it in the book: Before you even turn on the stovetop,put an ice cube in the pot and move the pot around so the ice covers every inch of the bottom as it melts. When the ice is entirely melted, leave the cold water in the pot and just add the ingredients to it. As long as you don’t touch a metal spoon to the bottom of the pot as you stir throughout the recipe, the milk won’t scorch the bottom of the pot.

  7. This came at the perfect time. I used your recipe to make yogurt with the “mason jar wrapped in a towel in a cooler” method and it worked great with whole milk and a Fage Greek starter. I then sprung for the yogurt maker (it just felt safer somehow). I have been playing around with different milk %s and starters, but can’t replicate the thermos magic. Last week I tried a simultaneous experiment whole milk with a different starter in both the cooler and the maker. Both liquid! Dead starter, I guess. The jar had been opened for a while. I have renewed faith that I can do this!

    One quick question: Does starting with two cups of milk (as opposed to four) doom the process? I am trying to play around to find the perfect recipe without going through a lot of milk. Love it! Thanks!

    • Hi Colleen,
      A few thoughts…
      1. If the thermos method worked for you, I’d go back to it. So much of this process is just finding the exact right combination of elements in your own life and kitchen, and the thermos method is totally safe. 2. Yes- sounds like a dead starter issue with your experiment
      3. You can absolutely use less milk- but in that case I’d use half the starter as well. The one thing to keep in mind though, is that even if you find a perfect system with that 2 cups, it might shift a little bit with double the milk. The results won’t necessarily be totally identical.
      Give us an update when you find the right system for you! ANd let me know if any more questions come up.

  8. After I read your book, I was OBSESSED with the idea of making yogurt at home. My husband talked me out of it though because he can’t stand the idea of another appliance in the house. Men are SO silly about these things.

    I think I will go order this machine and get to making since you have re-inspired me! You would think with the way this man goes through yogurt (2-3 containers/week on his own!) he would have no problem with me making it from scratch!

  9. Thanks for this update post. Just the inspiration I need to get back to making yogurt. I successfully made it 6 times in a row (manual method; no machine) and then failed twice, so I lost heart. By the way, I did learn that the milk from “failed” yogurt makes great ricotta. So, at least nothing goes to waste.

    Icing the pot (which I learned from your book) is such a great trick. Love it!

    The whey leftover from straining yogurt works great in yeast bread (1:1 replacement for water).

  10. Hello! Like so so many others, I was inspired by you to start making yogurt. Though she was skeptical, my partner even bought me a yogurt maker – the same brand as yours because the glass jars were so appealing…I have a couple of questions you may have previously answered. Apologies if so. First, I am making yogurt with freeze-dried culture, and usually adding maple to it. Can I still use some of that batch (with maple) as starter for my next batch? Second, could I add vanilla extract (also home-made – with bourbon!) to the milk when I add maple syrup? Or would the alcohol interfere with the culturing? Would adding vanilla bean be a safer bet? Thank you very much!

    • Hi Zoe!
      I’ve had mostly good, but slightly mixed results when using sweetened or vanilla yogurt as a starter. Usually it works, but it doesn’t see to be as reliable, and I haven’t pinpointed the exact reason why. If you can, make a little jar of plain while you’re making your flavored, and then use that for starter. And yes- absolutely you can use vanilla extract in your yogurt when you add the starter- it works great. It’s also nice to let a vanilla bean sit in the hot milk as it cools.

  11. I have been making your crockpot yogurt from raw milk for about a year now. It’s fabulous, and I think in addition to being a great breakfast food (sprinkled with your granola and our own jam) it also helped me with a gluten intolerance. For about two years have been unable to eat wheat, barley or rye. Just recently, I gave it a try. No problems. Cannot figure out why. I think it’s your yogurt. Thanks so much!

  12. We do a longer culture for our yogurt, usually overnight or at least 12 hours, which usually gives us a nice sour but broken yogurt, which we then strain. Nut I like having yogurt whey for all sorts of things. Thanks for the tips of plopping in the starter, we’ve had the grainy yogurt problem before, it’s nice to know a solution!

  13. I’ve recently become consumed with making my own yogurt and now it’s a regular part of my weekly rhythm. I love your tip on keeping the milk at 180 degrees for a creamier batch- will definitely be trying that with the next one!

  14. Oh wow! My internet connection is making this a pain to post a comment so here goes attempt number 3. My crockpot yogurt turns out a slimy, slippery goo when I use my 3.5 qt. crock. It doesn’t matter what types of milk or starter I use, the result is slime. I’m currently using two 1.5 qt. crocks, at the same time, in order to get a weeks worth of yogurt. I have limited counter space and want to go back to using one. Any ideas, suggestions, tid-bits? Help. And thank you.

    • Hi JoAnn! How much starter are you using in the 1.5 qt, crock as opposed to the 3.5 qt. crock? Also, have you noticed a difference in quality between the two actual crockpots? Does one heat slower?

      • In the 1.5qt crockpot I use 1/4 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup milk powder to 4 cups milk. In the 3.5 qt. I use 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup milk powder to 8 cups milk. They heat up quick and only have one temperature. The larger one takes a bit of time but I usually preheat it about 5 minutes before adding milk. I’ve tried using the larger one on low as well as high temperature with the same results. Thank you, Alana

        • I’ve had a little bit of experience with slimy goo yogurt, and I think its directly related to the heat, although I haven’t totally settled on that yet. But my guess at this point is that it’s about the way your 1.5 cookers are heating as opposed to the 3.5 quart. I’m going to keep thinking about this one, and I’ll get back to you when I figure out more info (or if anyone has any “slimy” yogurt help, jump in!

  15. Instead of using jars, and wrapping them up in towels to keep warm, I use a 1 or 2 quart drink cooler. Pour it in the cooler, screw on the lid, and leave it overnight, works perfectly!

  16. Last year, around this time, I used a hybrid of the traditional and crock pot method. I heated the milk on the stove, got the crock pot warmed up, let the milk cook, put it in the crock pot and wrapped it in towels and a plastic bag to hold it all together.

    Here’s the awesome part…to keep it warm for several hours, I put it in my car, which I was parked in the sunny driveway. I didn’t check the temperature in the car, but it worked great.

  17. Okay, here’s a question from last night’s coconut-milk yogurt experiment: the yogurt didn’t set up (I think I let the mixture cool too much before putting it in the Eurocuisine…), but it did get a little tangy. So now I have nine little jars of tangy-ish coconut milk drink. That is, is it safe to drink something that’s been not-quite culturing for 24 hours or so?

  18. If you have a bit of tang, you’ve got a bit of culture in there. I think it’s probably okay, but I have pretty limited experience with coconut milk yogurt. Anyone out there who can jump in on this one? (Also to help Caroline get a firmer set?)

  19. Not stirring–what a revelation!! I think in at least one of the recipes (is that even the right word?) for yogurt, when I started, it talked about whisking very thoroughly, so even though I am too lazy to wash an additional utensil, I have been stirring it vigorously with a wooden spoon before pouring it into my containers to culture. I have maker similar to a Eurocuisine, but it has a taller cap that allows for tall glass jars, so I do a half gallon of milk with two quart-sized and one pint-sized canning jars. Do you think I could just drop a spoonful of yogurt into each jar after pouring the milk in?

  20. You are right…obviously we can ALWAYS talk about yogurt. I, too, have been making yogurt weekly after reading your book. I didn’t realize that I am part of your yogurt cult. 🙂
    I found an old Graham Kerr yogurt strainer in the basement-must have bought it years ago- and make greek yogurt out of my batch. White gold. Can’t get enough of it.

  21. I thought about you his weekend. We had hamburgers. I made your buns and I put up a batch of ketchup. Both a real hit. But the roasted tomatos I was putting up, stole the show. The plan was to save them in quart ziplocs ad have for future pastas, soups etc. Not so much. My greedy family ate the whole batch WITH THE HAMBURGERS, FRIES AND BEANS. Oh well, I plan another batch next week after my trip to the farmers’market.

    I do have one quick question. My friends who live far off, are clamoring to taste te tomatos. If I cook them down farther, to the dried tomoate stage, do you thnk they would be safe to mail in ziplocs? Thanks so much. Your book has given me hours of productive fun. Natali Nichols, Henderson, Tx

    • Oh yes! The roasted tomato burger. Totally brilliant.

      So… you can certainly mail anything if you put it on ice, but I think in the case of the roasted tomatoes, if you want to mail them without ice you have to truly dehydrate them, which you’d do in a low (below 170 F) oven if you can, or in a dehydrator- either way for at least 12 hours. The result isn’t quite the same, but it’s GREAT on pizza, and you can totally mail it.

  22. I have been making your crockpot yogurt on a weekly basis since I read first found your blog. We LOVE it! My only problem is, even though I do a half-gallon of milk at a time, my teenage son can go through the approximately eight cups of yogurt that I get well before the week is out. I think I need a bigger crockpot!
    We also recently started buying raw milk from a local farmer who comes to our downtown market. We love it and it always runs out before the end of the week as well. The milk makes yummy yogurt, too, although one batch did turn out a little runny.
    I love reading your blog and finding fun recipes to try in your cookbook. Keep sharing!
    Cindy, Columbus, GA

    • I have a similar problem, and I’m thinking about investing in a 1-gallon crockpot. I think it’s time. But I’m so glad the yogurt’s working for you!. If it’s too runny, try to make sure it really gets to 180 or 185 and holds there for 10 or 15 minutes before it starts to cool. You can also whisk in a bit of dry milk powder before you add the culture, and that will thicken it up a bit.

  23. I’ll have to try the not stirring thing, though the tiny grains that show up in my yogurt seem to be just tiny fat globules, not protein, so they melt in my mouth and don’t bother me. I prefer to let the culture sit in my crockpot in the oven for just 5 to 5.5 hours, so I’ve sometimes let the heating part be the overnight step. If I put cold milk in the crockpot before I go to bed, when I wake up the temp is holding at 185°-195°C, and the yogurt turns out fine.

    • Yup- I think that’s a great option, as long as your crockpot heats slowly enough. It seems that every crockpot has a mind of its own, so I think the first step is getting to know how it works.

  25. you know, i so keep meaning to give this a go, but we’ve all-of-a-sudden got this kick-ass (pardon my french, so not me, but seriously, SO good) yogurt coming out of a local dairy, the same on that supplies cream to Jeni’s ice cream, and I just can’t get off that bandwagon. Also, I don’t have a crockpot. But I will listen to you talk yogurt, forever, anyway, because maybe someday. Also, it’s fine listening 😉

    Happy Spring to you, Alana,

    M

    PS: Did I tell you I made the kumquat marmalade? And it totally rocked my world? And then kumquat season was OVER?! The nerve. Still. My first successful jam/marmalade/any such thing, ever. Incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

    • Oh, Molly- I can’t argue with that! As long as you’ve got good yogurt for your breakfast, I’m happy :). And hooray for kumquats! I think that’s such a good intro, because kumquats are just so GOOD- they need very little support. Excellent with your yogurt, too.

      Happy Spring to you too! Making your asparagus and lentil party in a bowl tonight…

  26. Alana, thank you so much for your book. I was really in a rut with cooking, and have found your book inspiring and find myself making yogurt each week. I got the euro cuisine for mothers’ day but also find that the crockpot and mason jar methods work well. So far, the creamiest has been mason -jar- in-cooler-then-strained -with- coffee-filter- yogurt. As half my family is lactose intolerant, I am going to try a longer culture time today. Thank you!

    • Oh, thank you for saying so, Melissa! I’m so happy the book has been good for you. And do try the longer culture- let me know what you think. It does make the yogurt more sour, but I like that.

  27. Ok, that’s it. No more excuses. I will attempt yogurt tomorrow. I have made several recipes from your book to rave reviews from family and friends. I am a fearless baker and food preserver, however, somehow, I am afraid of yogurt. I’m off to the market to buy whole milk and plain yogurt. Wish me luck!

  28. Made my first yoghurt this week with my Thermomix. It was acceptable, but runny. I’m drinking in your tips and will be having another crack at it next week. I’m in Australia, so can’t access your suppliers and I’m just using shop bought yoghurt as a starter. I do like the 24 hour culturing time idea, that’s the first one to try!

  29. have you ever tried incubating it in a styrafoam cooler with a small bit of hot water? that’s my mother’s trick and the next one for me to try 🙂

    thanks for sharing your tricks alana! love hearing what others are trying!

  30. Thanks for a great bunch of info. on yogurt. Now have some new tricks to try.

    Was thinking would be great to have a post like this on growing fruit at home…have apples, pears, cherry, and a fig. Would love to hear what everyone else is doing/trying. Fruit is hard!

  31. Has anyone discovered how to make a thick yogurt with goat milk? My son is very lactose intolerant, but goat milk yogurt seems to always be so terribly thin. I’ve thought about adding gelatin, but would rather not. I may have to try cow’s milk with a long culture and see if that works for him.

    • Jessica, I know that commercially made goat yogurts often use tapioca starch as a thickener. I know it’s not a commonly found item, but I think it’s often in the gluten free section of health food stores. If you can find it, I’d try to add some when you add the culture. And let us know how it goes if you try it- I’m sure you’re not the only one trying to make thick goat milk yogurt out there!

  32. My sweetie, being a guy’s guy, bought the mother of all crockpots (he envisioned giant servings of chili on game day, I imagine). This thing is huge! Can one make a small amount of yogurt in a really huge crockpot? We love yogurt but it’s just the two of us….

    • The mother of all crockpots! Awesome! Unfortunately, I’ve had some bad experiences trying to work with liquid in a crockpot that doesn’t fill at least half the pot. So I’d say if you can get at least half way up, your good. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s going to work. Let us know how it all goes?

    • Don’t give up the idea of making your own yogurt, if you cannot use the crockpot! There is always the traditional stovetop method. It is a little more difficult because you have to watch the temperatures, but I have used it quite effectively for years. I process 2-4 quarts at a time and it is just right for two people. My wife and I eat yogurt almost everyday.
      Give it a try!

  33. Yes, I started making yogurt because of you Alana! I had to experiment forever to get it right but I finally have it down. The best starter I have found is using Berle Farms yogurt (local to the Berkshires). I keep my jars over night in our mechanical room where it is nice and toasty and it never gets sour. It’s sooo good that I just get giddy thinking about it. Thanks for inspiring me to make yogurt! 🙂 Lisa

  34. I LOVE it when you talk yogurt! I make crockpot yogurt every 7-10 days now… more often now that my giant teenagers are home all day, with an extra 21-yr old here for the summer. I have a large oval 5- or 6-quart crockpot and make it with a gallon of organic whole milk at a time. I whisk in the yogurt starter, and the one time I did not stir it in, the milk didn’t culture. I had to whisk it and re-wrap the crock with the blanket.
    I haven’t experimented with flavors; we just flavor as we go: muesli, maple syrup, honey, jam, fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts… up to the individual 🙂 But before the boys were home I had a bunch of extra so I made frozen yogurt with an ice cream ball (http://www.amazon.com/YayLabs-Play-Freeze-Cream-Maker/dp/B000S5XYI2) and took it to a dinner party. The guys kicked it around while the gals finished prepping dinner. Big hit, although I had to warn my friends it would be tart, like yogurt, and not sweet like the fro-yo shops they’re used to. But having too much yogurt is not a common problem any more 🙂

    • Ah, Tess- I wonder why it didn’t culture! I’ve had such success with abandoning the whisking! Now I have a new mystery to work on…

  35. thank you for this piece! It started me on a journey to use my crock pot more. I’ve been making yogurt and have branched out a bit with Cheesecake in the crock pot too. Thank you again for your post and your book!

  36. Hey there! I made yogurt yesterday using Ultra-Pasturized milk, and it turned into the thickest, creamiest, non-lumpiest yogurt I’ve made to date (thanks, Mom, for the tip…funny how that always happens). I used Smart Balance milk (my mom says this one worked best for her, but I’m sure you could use others) for this batch. I put my store-bought yogurt in the bottom of each glass container as a starter, then poured the milk directly on top of it, I DIDN’T HEAT THE MILK!!*, gave it a little stir to mix everything up, and then let it do it’s yogurt thing for a couple of hours (7 maybe?). BAM. Delicious yogurt. Since you and your book originally taught me how to make yogurt, I wanted to tell you right away!

    *NO DISHES! NO WAITING! NO DISHES!

    • Amazing! I tend to make my yogurt with raw or just plain pasteurized milk, but I’ll definitely do some experimenting- just so I can experience this no waiting/ no heating magic! I also know that for some people, ultrapast. is all they’ve got, so this is great for them too. Thank you!

  37. Great article! I have the Euro maker and I love it. My question is that I’ve always thought heating raw milk past 110 degrees will kill the beneficial bacteria. So I’m just a bit curious why you would use raw milk to make the yogurt if you are heating it to 180 degrees.
    I’m most intrigued by the thermos method. Seems a lot less fuss and then can be transferred to a large jar for storage.
    Keep talking about yogurt…I LOVE it!
    I bought your book for my kindle but I think I need the real deal now…It’s totally addicting! Thanks ;0)

    • Hi Stephanie, I have made raw milk yogurt quite a bit- just heating to 110 degrees. But in order to get the thick and creamy yogurt I love, I’ve got to heat it all the way to 180! I know it’s killing some of the good bacteria, but it’s also really great, local milk, and I think it makes great tasting yogurt even if it’s been heated.

      And thanks so much- so glad you’re enjoying the book!

  39. Hi! I’m sitting in Norway reading this. I started making my own yogurt this weekend With two Thermos flasks. I’m uaing full fat organic milk, and a plain organic yogurt starter (which has milk powder added to it). I heated the milk to 85 degrees C and then cooled it Down to 46 degrees C. I didn’t add milk powder (because I read it’s unhealthy), but i did stir in about half a teaspoon of agar powder as a thickener to the heated milk.

    After 8 hours the yoghurt was ready. I gave it a whisk to get rid of the ‘lumps’, which made it quite runny, but after a night in the fridge it was nicely thick. It is a little bit sour for my taste, which from reading Your blog makes me think that it could be down to being in the Thermos too long. As Your seem to be an expert on this I hope you don’t mind me askign some Qs:

    Grainy yogurt- The yogurt is quite grainy. I read that this could be because I heated up the milk too quickly. What do you think? Is it also because I whisked the yogurt starter in?
    I want to make the yogurt even creamier but milk powder- is this healthy? Is agar a good substitute? Cream here in norway is so expensive that I want to avoid using it.
    Crockpot- I’d love to try this method as I have a Le Creuset casserole, but how do I insulate it for long enough?. I don’t want to have to leave my oven on all night, I don’t have a cooler. I do have a hot water bottle, or two! Do you have some short instructions for crockpot method (sorry- I would love to buy Your book but I don’t think it’s available here).

    Thank you!!!!

    • Hello Katie in Norway! (Makes me so happy to talk over such long distances- sometimes the internet is GRAND.)

      Let me try to tackle each question on at a time:
      1. Grainy Yogurt. Yes- you’ve got the two possible culprits there. Try heating as slowly as you can, and then just plop the yogurt in when it’s time to add the culture. Don’t whisk it in. I’ve found this to be the biggest factor in smooth yogurt.
      2. Creamy yogurt: Try heating slower and cooling slower. I think you’ll find this creams up the texture without using any additives. Also, do you have access to non-homogonized (cream on top) milk? That will up your creaminess, too.
      3. Yes, I’ve got a whole post on the crockpot! It’s here:
      http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/2012/05/crock-pot-greek-yogurt/

      Let me know how it goes! We’ll find your perfect yogurt- It’s always out there…

  40. Hi,
    I’ve been trying to solve this problem for a while, so maybe you can help me.
    I make my yogurt with 2% milk and store-bought yogurt as a starter, incubate it in the oven with the Proof setting on which keeps it warm. Usually for 7-8 hours.
    The problem is that lately every time it turns out with a disgusting consistency, like slime. When I take a spoon and let it pour it comes down in a stringy, mucous stream. The taste is not bad buy I just can’t eat it like that. I lost count now of how many batches have gone down the drain.
    First I thought it was maybe using ultra-pasteurized milk as opossed to just pasteurized but I haven’t found that to be a problem in any of the internet sites, then I thought it was maybe the fact that in order to get the temp to 180F I can’t avoid the milk to come to a boil, could the boiling be causing it?
    I’d aprecciate any insights you or anyblidy else have on this.
    Thanks so much.

    • Yes- snot yogurt! I know it well. There are a couple of possible culprits, so a little more information would be helpful for me: 1. Which yogurt are you using as a starter? Are you reusing your own yogurt, or buying a new one every time? 2. Are you culturing anything else in the kitchen while you culture yogurt? 3. Is this ALWAYS happening? Or just in most batches?
      We’ll solve it. I promise!

  41. Like so many others, The Homemade Pantry inspired me to someday, try making my own yogurt! Well, that day has just about arrived! Today, I found a Moulinex 379 yogurt maker at a thrift shop. I am soooooo excited to give it a try!!! The machine looks like it was never used, but I didn’t get an instruction manual with it. But I will figure it out! 🙂

  43. Love your website. I have been making yogurt for many years and never tire of learning more about the process. I’ve read the comments about yogurt slime and want to share my experience.
    I recently moved to Tucson, AZ, with its 110 F heat in the summer. So, I experimented with incubating the yogurt out on the balcony for 8 hours. (In 16oz cottage cheese containers.) Sooo creamy, or maybe some would say slimy. It tasted great, however, so I started adding it to my smoothies instead of milk. To die for! Try it 🙂

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