Basic Food Storage--Making Thick, Creamy Yogurt

I have been making yogurt for years.  It's very easy to do with dry milk powder; and for some reason, it doesn't actually taste like powdered milk.  You have the health benefit of getting those natural live cultures into your system, which is a huge plus when you've got to take antibiotics.  And you don't need any special equipment--just some kind of thermometer and a crockpot, or thermos, or cooler, or oven, or even just warm towels or blankets.  Oh, and you need the yogurt starter, either commercially prepared yogurt, yogurt you saved from a batch you recently made, or a freeze-dried starter.  (The link goes to Amazon just to show you what I'm talking about here.  I'm not part of an affiliate program, so I don't get any benefit if you choose to buy it from them).

However, even though I've made yogurt for over thirty years (not often, mind you), I hadn't ever been truly happy with the results.  And so that's why I haven't posted about making yogurt until now.  I want to make perfect yogurt, or at least really good yogurt.  I want it to be thick and creamy, but not firm.  If it could taste just like Noosa, that would be a huge plus. And that would be quite the trick, since the dry milk powder we store is non-fat.  And I don't like tangy yogurt, and I don't like firm yogurt that a lot of whey has separated out from.  I already mastered making yogurt I don't like.

I finally decided it was time to master making yogurt my family and I do like.

For best results in achieving the kind of yogurt you want, begin with a commercial brand whose plain flavor you do like.  The various bacteria used to culture yogurt impart their own subtle flavor to the yogurt.  Truth be told, there are zillions of recipes for making your own yogurt all over the 'net.  And most of them are going to tell you the same three things:

• The yogurt you use for a starter has to have live cultures in it.
• In general, the longer the incubation time, the firmer and the tangier or tarter the yogurt. 
• If you want thicker yogurt that isn't so tart, you'll need to strain your yogurt through cheesecloth or muslin or a coffee filter. 

Some of the less commonly known aspects of making yogurt:

• Most commercially produced yogurt has had the whey pressed out of it to make it thicker.  
• Or it has had a thickener like pectin or gelatin added to it.  
• Homemade yogurt is almost always going to be thinner than store-bought yogurt.

Now on to actually making some yogurt.  I spent some time looking around online for the best recipe to try, and for me, that was going to be a thick, creamy, mild yogurt.  I found one to fit the bill, but it called for fresh milk.  I adapted it to use dry milk.  Because the dry milk has already been pasteurized and there isn't any bacteria growing in it, it doesn't have to be scalded, a huge plus in my opinion.

Yogurt
1 envelop unflavored gelatin
8 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups dry milk, more or less, depending on the brand used and the desired thickness of your yogurt
1/2 cup plain yogurt with cultures


Sprinkle the gelatin over 1 cup cold water and let sit 10 minutes.  Then whisk in the cornstarch and stir until smooth.  Set aside.

Using a wire whisk, stir dry milk into 3 cups cool water and blend very well.  There should be no lumps.  Stir in 4 cups boiling water and the cornstarch-gelatin mixture.  Let cool until the temperature reaches 125 degrees.  Put the 1/2 cup of yogurt starter in small bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the milk mixture.  Then add the yogurt mixture to the milk mixture and stir very well.  Pour into jars to incubate. 

Now you've got all kinds of options for incubating your yogurt.  For years, I incubated my yogurt in a warm (not hot!) crockpot, turned off, and covered with towels.  A lot of people make yogurt in a cooler with warm water poured in to maintain the temperature at 115-120 degrees, adding warm water as necessary, and that is probably going to be the best option in a grid-down scenario.  Incubating in an oven with the light on is popular, and some people can set their ovens to 115 degrees, so that works also.  And that is what I did, because first I want to make good yogurt, and then I will work on being able to make good yogurt without electricity.

Yogurt usually incubates 4-12 hours, with 6-8 hours being the most common.  Yogurt can even be left longer; it just becomes firmer and tarter with time.  Do not disturb the yogurt while it is incubating.  When you reach your desired firmness, carefully move it to the refrigerator.  Be sure to set aside some yogurt to start your next batch.  Most yogurt-making aficionados say that subsequent batches must be started within ten days.  I've waited 10-14 days without any problem.  After this time, the bacteria diminish in their ability to culture yogurt.  However, the yogurt itself is still fine to eat.  In fact, properly refrigerated, it should be good up to 45 days.

If you wish to make flavored yogurt, add those ingredients after your yogurt is done incubating.  Otherwise, you won't be able to use your yogurt to start your next batch. 

Links to related posts:
Basic Food Storage--Dry Milk 
An In-Depth Discussion of Dry Milk
Magic Mix
Emergency Baby Formula 
Cheaper and Easier Yogurt Starter  

For more information:
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/homemade-thick-creamy-yogurt-272141
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/yogurt/choosing-a-yogurt-starter-culture/
https://thesurvivalmom.com/try-today-homemade-yogurt-powdered-milk/
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Yogurt-from-Powdered-Milk

 2 august 2019