Author Topic: Making my own homemade yogurt  (Read 11745 times)

naturelover

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Making my own homemade yogurt
« on: January 08, 2016, 08:37:15 PM »
Since Christmas, I have been making my own homemade yogurt. It is so delicious and worth the time to make. I bought an inexpensive incubator, but there are resources online with tips for culturing without one. I wanted my first go at it to have a good chance of success so I went with the incubator. I've tried some fancy milk (regional grass-fed), regular grocery store milk, whole milk, 2%, and it's all so good!

LosAngelesFire

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2016, 12:52:36 AM »
Yes!!! I use the store brand whole milk and estimate my yogurt (strained Greek style) is half the cost of store bought. I would still make it if it was the same cost though - I know what's in it, it's easy, I feel awesome that I can do it, I always have a super healthy breakfast.

Here is the recipe I use:http://www.daringgourmet.com/2015/01/21/easy-homemade-greek-yogurt/

naturelover

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2016, 07:53:43 AM »
Here is the recipe I use:http://www.daringgourmet.com/2015/01/21/easy-homemade-greek-yogurt/

Great recipe. Thanks for sharing!

desk_jockey

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2016, 08:06:32 AM »
We've been doing this since last spring.  We use Chobani plain unflavored as a starter, then go 5 or 6 times just starting from the previous batch.   Each batch probably costs us around 1/4th what a large size of yogurt would cost in the store.

LosAngelesFire

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2016, 08:45:37 AM »
We've been doing this since last spring.  We use Chobani plain unflavored as a starter, then go 5 or 6 times just starting from the previous batch.   Each batch probably costs us around 1/4th what a large size of yogurt would cost in the store.


Do you find your starter gives out after a time? How do we know? I haven't noticed any differences, but have only been making it for a few months (once a week).

desk_jockey

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2016, 09:33:15 AM »
The starter doesn't give out.   I've heard of people using the starter of sour dough bread for 40 years.   The difference is that with yogurt you are not cooking it, so if you introduce other bacteria they could also thrive in the process as you reuse the previous batch.   A couple times I've gone about 10 batches or so batches before restarting with a new store-bought yogurt cup, but personally I wouldn't feel comfortable going for a really long time.

cschx

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2016, 10:32:46 AM »
The starter doesn't give out.   I've heard of people using the starter of sour dough bread for 40 years.   The difference is that with yogurt you are not cooking it, so if you introduce other bacteria they could also thrive in the process as you reuse the previous batch.   A couple times I've gone about 10 batches or so batches before restarting with a new store-bought yogurt cup, but personally I wouldn't feel comfortable going for a really long time.

When baking bread with a natural starter, a portion of the starter is held back and used to propagate the starter. There is no baking of the starter; baking kills all the microorganisms in the dough. (There may be some floating around in the bakery and they may land on the surface of the finished loaves, which is how starters can nevertheless be "stolen" from an established bakery via purchased loaves.)

The process of maintaining a yogurt starter is really not much different, although it's a different kind of culture. You can propagate yogurt culture indefinitely as long as you avoid contamination, typically by yeasts. (A typical yogurt culture is dominated by thermophilic and mesophilic bacteria, most usually acidophilus + thermophilus + bulgaricus + bifidobacteria.) I've been transferring my yogurt culture once a week for the past five years and it's essentially unchanged as far as I can tell. The key is good sanitary practice: I sanitize all the equipment with a one-two spray of vinegar + hydrogen peroxide, followed by a rinse with tapwater and then boiling water.

desk_jockey

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2016, 07:52:46 PM »
I didn't think that implied that one baked the starter, it certainly wasn't my intent to do so.  My point was that at 375 degrees for 25 minutes I wouldn't be worried the contamination in the finished bread product, where as yogurt doesn't have that heat treatment.    I agree that if you keep everything sterilized and you don't have kids taking out their yogurt with used spoons then you can probably use the starter for a very long time. 

pbkmaine

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2016, 08:24:04 PM »
I have used whey to replace milk in baking. It works well.

Jakejake

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2016, 09:03:37 PM »
Do you find your starter gives out after a time? How do we know? I haven't noticed any differences, but have only been making it for a few months (once a week).
I'm not a fanatic about sterilizing and maybe that's my problem, but I have to buy a new starter occasionally. Mine eventually gets too fermenty and when the yogurt zaps my tongue a bit like it's carbonated, I head out to the store for a new plain yogurt.

MMMaybe

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2016, 02:28:57 AM »
I switch out my starter from time to time. Admittedly my starter is commercial yogurt so may not be extremely strong. I do notice the quality of my yogurt declines over time if I don't do this.

cschx

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2016, 03:45:24 PM »
Sorry Desk Jockey, I misinterpreted your post. If the kids are contaminating the yogurt with their spoons, I suppose you could always set aside a bit of new yogurt – in a special container marked DANGER POISON or perhaps COD LIVER OIL – that they will never touch, so it can be used exclusively for propagating the culture.

Another sanitary detail I forgot to mention: I always re-pasteurize the milk to 180º and then cool to 120º before inoculating.

I posted over in this thread about a method for making thick greek-style yogurt without any straining or thickeners. It works really well. The whey is a good source of protein and can be used for cooked grains, or pickles, or sauteed/pan-steamed veggies.

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2016, 04:19:30 PM »
I make my yogurt with the Instant Pot. I don't keep a starter, per se. Rather, I just dump about 1/4-1/3 cup of the last batch of yogurt into the pot. I have been making yogurt 2-4 times a week for the past three months and not had any issues.

I am not fanatical either about sterilizing. Take for instance my straining bag. I just use soap and hot water to clean it and hang it to dry. At best, I sterilize the temp probe before sticking it in the sterilized milk. That is probably the only part of the process where I am fairly vigilant because the milk is now a blank slate and it is every bacteria for themselves until the right bacteria out compete the unwanted ones.

I enjoy making it because it is a pretty versatile high protein, low calorie food (assuming you use skim milk like I do). I can eat it for breakfast, as a snack, use it in place of sour cream in or on basically anything, make tzatziki, and I eat it for dessert fairly regularly. I eat around 1lb of it a day, no kidding. 1lb for a whopping 280 calories and 48g of protein. It is also stupid cheap too right now. I can buy a gallon of skim milk from Costco for $1.65 and get about 4lbs of Greek yogurt out of it.

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #13 on: January 14, 2016, 06:07:14 AM »
I make my own yogurt every couple of weeks- love it!  SO much cheaper than store-bought even if you use the fancy milk.  I heat in a stainless steel pot to 110- put in my starter (I save 1/4c of yogurt from the last batch as a starter), mix it up and then put it on a heating pad, wrap with towels and wait 10hrs.  Voila!  I don't sterilize b/c I buy pasteurized milk (not Ultra pasteurized).  They've already done that for me.

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #14 on: January 14, 2016, 09:09:06 AM »
This forum is so awesome, such like minded people.

Rubic

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2016, 10:02:43 AM »
I use a yogurt maker I picked up on sale at Target:

http://www.target.com/p/euro-cuisine-yogurt-maker-ym80/-/A-10270629#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=yogurt+maker

Each weekend I usually make a batch to take to work.

horsepoor

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #16 on: January 15, 2016, 08:19:33 PM »
Another Instant Pot yogurt convert here.  I've settled on a ratio of 2 quarts 2% milk and a quarter of half and half for delicious creamy yogurt with almost no whey to separate out.  I take out a cup to reserve for the next batch starter, but hadn't considered that it might get contaminated over time, so I'm glad I read this! I've been using local milk in glass bottles so it's a big saver on trash output, especially compared to single serving cups.

Spiffsome

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #17 on: January 19, 2016, 06:08:42 PM »
I've been making mine in the slow cooker.

Run the cooker for 2.5 hours on low to pasteurise, then turn it off for 3 hours to let it cool back down, then add culture and leave for 12 - 24 hours. Strain through cheesecloth in fridge for about 24 hours for thicker yoghurt.

Kitsune

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #18 on: January 20, 2016, 01:40:57 PM »
If you make your own yogurt, you're a step away from homemade cheese. :) I do a variation of the labneh in oil from Diana Henry's Salt, Sugar, Smoke book.

1) Set the yogurt to drain for 48 hours (cheesecloth or coffee filter, strainer, bowl - nothing complicated)
2) Mix with salt, pepper, and herbs (I use dried oregano, but work with your tastes)
3) If the drained yogurt/cheese is solid enough, roll into little balls and drop it into olive oil. If it's not quite that solid, put it in a bowl and cover it with a thin layer of olive oil.

Covered in oil, it'll keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks easily (I've never had it last longer, so I can't speak to when it actually goes bad).

I've worked out the cost of a 2-cup jar of labneh in oil to be about 2.50$, and that's with the milk in Quebec being 6$/gallon... Pair that with some homemade bread as a potluck offering or a quick lunch (ideally with some greens, or some marinated peppers on top of the bread and cheese...) Yum!

relena

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #19 on: January 20, 2016, 02:05:20 PM »
I bought a bulgarian culture from cultures for health and I've been making yogurt weekly for the past 9 months with that strain. It is really good.

cschx

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #20 on: January 21, 2016, 12:10:30 PM »
Since someone mentioned cheese, I'll recommend David Asher's recent book The Art of Natural Cheesemaking as a guide to low-cost, low-tech cheesemaking using homemade yogurt or kefir as a starting point.

Kitsune

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #21 on: January 21, 2016, 12:42:04 PM »
Since someone mentioned cheese, I'll recommend David Asher's recent book The Art of Natural Cheesemaking as a guide to low-cost, low-tech cheesemaking using homemade yogurt or kefir as a starting point.

That looks amazing, and I've made a request for it at my local library. Gawd but I love my local library.

Al1961

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #22 on: January 21, 2016, 02:37:23 PM »
I bought a bulgarian culture from cultures for health and I've been making yogurt weekly for the past 9 months with that strain. It is really good.

I've been using that same culture for two years now. When drained, it makes a superior Greek style yogurt. Those heirloom cultures just keep going...

Al

Tom Bri

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #23 on: January 21, 2016, 07:27:03 PM »
Been doing this for about 15 years. We use a cup of store-bought yogurt as starter. Heat up a gallon of milk until it's nice and warm but not hot, and mix in the starter. Wrap the pot in several old towels/blankets and put it on the kitchen table overnight. By morning it is done. Occasional fails, but not often.
We can reuse that yogurt as a starter, but after several batches it starts to get more sour, so we buy another cup.
One nice thing you can try is to strain away the whey in a coffee filter and make what is basically cream cheese.

GreenSheep

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2020, 12:52:23 PM »
I'm exhuming this thread, which is the most recent I could find of the ones that discuss homemade yogurt. Someone else did the same for the sourdough thread, which I really appreciated. I've always been into home cooking, but since I FIREd, I've been making even more things myself at home. I like the idea of going farther and farther back on the "production line" -- buying flour and yeast instead of bread, dry beans instead of canned, etc. It's a fun challenge for me, and in most cases, it's tastier and cheaper!

I wanted to add this for those who don't consume dairy, for whatever reason.

I've been vegan/plant-based for 4 years, but before that I ate yogurt at every single lunch, day after day, for at least a couple of decades. I haven't really missed it, but sometimes it would be nice to have it. Sure, there's plant-based yogurt out there, but just like most dairy yogurts, it's loaded with sugar, preservatives, etc. And it's expensive! So today I made my own soy yogurt, or at least I think I did -- it's fermenting as we speak. I did buy a $26 yogurt maker for convenience:
https://www.amazon.com/Euro-Cuisine-YM80-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B000EX16RY/

I was given some yogurt starter packets for Christmas, but I think after those are gone, I'll get some probiotics instead. I don't like the idea of starting with a commercial yogurt because of all the other junk in it, but I'd do that in a pinch.

Also, since I was heating up soy milk anyway, I thought I'd try my hand at homemade tofu! And it worked! I guess that's the vegan equivalent of the cheese-making some people here have suggested here. One benefit of doing all this with soy is that it's pretty cheap. I bought 7 pounds of non-GMO soy beans for $17 on Amazon, and although I'm kicking myself for not measuring before using any of them, I've read that that's equivalent to about 34 cups of beans, so using those to make soy milk and then yogurt and tofu is pretty cheap!

moneypitfeeder

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #25 on: January 12, 2020, 05:07:10 PM »
@GreenSheep thank you for reminding me that I wanted to dust-off my yogurt maker this year. I bought a used Salton 5 cup maker a few yrs ago, but haven't made any for quite awhile. I've always just used a plain commercial soy yogurt cup as a starter (I have a few brands available that don't have too much junk in them), but I'd like to try some from Cultures for Health. If you have an Asian market nearby, you might be able to get non-gmo soybeans super cheap if you make your own milk. I think ours are about $1 dollar(ish) a pound.

GreenSheep

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #26 on: January 12, 2020, 05:30:01 PM »
@moneypitfeeder ooh, that's a great idea about getting soybeans from an Asian market. I'm always looking for an excuse to go there anyway! I should have thought of that myself. Cultures for Health is the company my starter packets are from, so we'll see how they do. But apparently yogurt made from them won't work as a starter for the next batch, so I think I'll move on to probiotic capsules after these are gone. (I think they do have some cultures that will work for future batches, just not their vegan one.)

GreenSheep

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #27 on: January 13, 2020, 10:02:00 AM »
The soy yogurt was a success! I had some with my breakfast this morning with some blackberries I picked and froze this past summer. It was a little thinner than I had hoped, but the taste was good, so next time I'll just add one of the thickeners they recommend at Cultures for Health -- probably guar gum, since I already have some. Also, I've read that when you make yogurt with a probiotic and save some to be the starter for the next batch, it does get thicker over time.

CodingHare

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #28 on: January 15, 2020, 04:19:11 PM »
I am also a new convert to the homemade yogurt train.  My goodness, it tastes amazing!  And the texture is a million times better than store bought yogurt.  I've been having mine with a bit of granola on top and it is amazing!  Going to switch over to sliced almonds and honey once the granola runs out to better control the sugar dosage.

I guess I always thought store bought was so cheap it wasn't worth the time to make it myself.  But the quality difference is night and day, and I imagine the probiotics are fresher and healthier, too!

honeybbq

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #29 on: January 16, 2020, 12:44:48 PM »
What recipe have you IP users trusted?

jeninco

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #30 on: January 16, 2020, 08:22:56 PM »
I am also a new convert to the homemade yogurt train.  My goodness, it tastes amazing!  And the texture is a million times better than store bought yogurt.  I've been having mine with a bit of granola on top and it is amazing!  Going to switch over to sliced almonds and honey once the granola runs out to better control the sugar dosage.

I guess I always thought store bought was so cheap it wasn't worth the time to make it myself.  But the quality difference is night and day, and I imagine the probiotics are fresher and healthier, too!

You can, of course, make your own granola to go with it, thereby allowing you infinite control over the sugar/fat/other stuff levels.

(Mine uses 8 cups of rolled grains, a cup of sunflower seeds, a cup of sliced almonds, 1/2 cup pepitas, a cup of coconut flakes, 1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed up) and 1/2 cup honey. Roast in a 375 degree oven, stirring occasionally until it's golden -- watch that the edges don't burn.)

trix76

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #31 on: January 16, 2020, 10:09:15 PM »
Yes to all of this! I started making granola in my instant pot - using a slightly adjusted version of this recipe: https://aileencooks.com/instant-pot-granola/. (Reducing the brown sugar and honey so it’s less sweet.) That mixed with homemade yogurt, also from the instant pot = delicious breakfast or snack.


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Jedi_Monster

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #32 on: January 23, 2020, 12:55:14 PM »
My wife makes our own granola to mix with our cereal or yogurt for breakfast, which in turn makes our cereal last more. We've discussed on making our own cereal. I imagine it should be a similar process and cheaper than buying so any cereal boxes. Anyone have experience in this?

Thoughtful Mule

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #33 on: January 23, 2020, 02:07:15 PM »
Has anyone compared heating up the milk to a simmer vs just heating to 110 degF and going from there? I've read some recipes that say you need to simmer, but there's a lot of evidence that it is unnecessary. Would rather cut out that step myself.

Turkey Leg

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2020, 04:43:48 AM »
What recipe have you IP users trusted?
This recipe is what I use: https://thisoldgal.com/instant-pot-greek-yogurt/

The webpage is soooooo long and full of photos, it’s annoying. Luckily, I have been making this recipe for over a year every week or two, and I haven’t had to look at the recipe in a long, long time.

The strainer she recommends for making Greek yogurt is pretty good. You’ll need two of them if you are using a gallon of milk to make yogurt.

We eat a lot of yogurt and homemade granola in our house.

AMandM

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #35 on: January 26, 2020, 05:29:22 PM »
How do you all save money doing this?  Inspired by this thread, I made a batch of yogurt using 1/2 gallon of 2% organic milk, $2.99 at Aldi. It produced a quart of yogurt, which I can buy for $2.49 at Aldi.

jeninco

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #36 on: January 27, 2020, 09:15:43 AM »
I use a thick yogurt as a starter, so I don't drain. Thus, 1/2 gal milk produces about 1/2 gal of yogurt. I also make mine with fancy grass-fed milk, so the equivalent product (in yogurt) is pretty expensive.

(The milk is not so pricy: we get it delivered. Also, it comes in glass bottles that they re-collect, so there's a waste-reduction element of it for me, too.)

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #37 on: January 27, 2020, 10:40:21 AM »
How do you all save money doing this?  Inspired by this thread, I made a batch of yogurt using 1/2 gallon of 2% organic milk, $2.99 at Aldi. It produced a quart of yogurt, which I can buy for $2.49 at Aldi.
I don't use organic milk.  I buy 4L of 3.25%BF from Costco at $5.79 CAN (I think). I also purchase packets of dry bacterial cultures for $4.30. This makes the equivalent of $19.74 of plain yogurt.  The quality of the yogurt is vastly superior though.  I then add pure vanilla and maple syrup or frozen fruit or homemade jam.  And that type of yogurt with no cornstarch or gelatin would cost me drastically more than the plain yogurt.

horsepoor

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #38 on: January 29, 2020, 08:30:19 PM »
How do you all save money doing this?  Inspired by this thread, I made a batch of yogurt using 1/2 gallon of 2% organic milk, $2.99 at Aldi. It produced a quart of yogurt, which I can buy for $2.49 at Aldi.

I usually only make yogurt when I find milk from our local dairy marked down due to being near sell-by date.  And I was reminded why this week; I stopped in to the new Trader Joe's and picked up some whole milk, supposedly cream top, grass fed, blah blah yogurt and it's terrible compared to home made.

I don't remember when I last posted in this thread, but these days I scald the milk in the Instant Pot, then after it's cooled and the starter is whisked in, I pour it into 8oz Mason jars and incubate it in my fancy toaster oven that has a keep warm feature.  Works fab for having single-serving yogurts.  I put more like 6oz of yogurt in each so there's some room at the top to add nuts or berries.

AMandM

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #39 on: January 31, 2020, 11:29:39 AM »
I can't say I taste a difference between the homemade and the store-bought yogurt, except that the homemade has a less appealing, slightly slimy texture. I am happy for all of you for whom this works!

Arbitrage

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Re: Making my own homemade yogurt
« Reply #40 on: January 31, 2020, 02:18:35 PM »
How do you all save money doing this?  Inspired by this thread, I made a batch of yogurt using 1/2 gallon of 2% organic milk, $2.99 at Aldi. It produced a quart of yogurt, which I can buy for $2.49 at Aldi.
I don't use organic milk.  I buy 4L of 3.25%BF from Costco at $5.79 CAN (I think). I also purchase packets of dry bacterial cultures for $4.30. This makes the equivalent of $19.74 of plain yogurt.  The quality of the yogurt is vastly superior though.  I then add pure vanilla and maple syrup or frozen fruit or homemade jam.  And that type of yogurt with no cornstarch or gelatin would cost me drastically more than the plain yogurt.

I use whole milk, a gallon at a time.  Latest price paid was $3.29.  Makes a gallon of yogurt.  No special cultures or anything, just using yogurt from the previous batch as starter.  Hasn't failed me yet (1.5 years I think so far).  My technique is improving, too, as I'm getting the texture much closer to how I prefer.

 

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