Does anyone make their own yogurt?
I am thinking about getting a yogurt maker so I can make my own. Is it good? worth it? any recommendations on what kind of maker? I tend to be a low or no fat vanilla yogurt kind of person but would like to branch out a little if I am making my own. I read the labels of the zillions of yogurts out there that claim to do so many things, but kind of worry when I can't pronounce half of the ingredients. Thanks for any advice!
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14 Comments:
i make my own yogurt. i use the recipe that comes with the Donvier model (link is here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DE4TY) , however i change it up a bit (add flavors, honey, etc). i normally make my yogurt with organic 2% milk and either use a yogurt from my last batch, yogurt starter (which you can buy in the cheese aisle at better grocery stores), or a store-bought organic yogurt to use as the base. i enjoy making my own yogurt because you can control what you put into it. i used to eat yoplait for years, and one day looked at the list of ingredients and wasn't pleased. i like the stoneyfield farm brand, but since i eat yogurt almost every day, the cost was getting high on those.
french tart at 5:51PM on 07/11/08
I use a Euro Cuisine maker that I bought at SLT. I have been making my own for a few years now and I get great pleasure out of it. Primarily because it is just fun to do and secondly I know that there is nothing in it but starter culture and raw milk. I let it go an hour longer than the recipe says to, but it seems to be creamier and tangier when I do.
jdmcdonald at 8:58PM on 07/11/08
I make my own yogurt without any special gadgets. Bring a half gallon of milk to a boil and let it cool to 37 degrees C, or to the point that you can stick your finger in the milk for 10 seconds without burning. Then add a half cup or so of starter yogurt (I use Brown Cow or my previous batch of homemade yogurt) and stir it in a bit. Then wrap some dishtowels around the pot to slow the cooling and put it in a warm, undisturbed location, like the oven, overnight and you'll have yogurt in the morning. It might be a little watery, in which case you can strain it with cheesecloth or even some heavy duty papertowels. Refrigeration will also thicken it up a bit.
triple e at 9:16PM on 07/11/08
I have been experimenting with yogurt-making this past year. It has been a rather rewarding endeavor. The results have been variable, depending upon the type of milk used. You can read about some successes and some disasters:
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2007/10/homemade-yogurt-batch-3-too-yummy-to.html
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2007/11/getting-my-goat-milk-and-yogurt-that-is.html
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2007/10/curdle-rhymes-with-turtle-homemade.html
izzy's mama at 10:26PM on 07/11/08
I make my yogurt with a yogurt maker (the model I have is Salton, was about $30, but is for some reason not currently available on Amazon, where I bought mine). It is so easy and not fussy at all - and though a yogurt maker is specialized equipment, it's far from fancy and it's worth it to me for the piece of mind knowing that my yogurt will be kept at the correct temperature, especially since I like mine quite sour and thick, so I usually let it go about 10-12 hours.
I originally bought my yogurt maker because I wanted to make unsweetened soy yogurt (which I've never found in stores), and I wanted to avoid using all those plastic containers - even buying it by the quart they really added up. I highly recommend making your own yogurt, if you eat it regularly - it's economical and you have total control over what goes into it.
producestories at 11:15PM on 07/11/08
Never made yogurt, but oddly enough I made home made creme fraiche using yogurt and heavy cream after seeing an episode of Good Eats. I had the cream left over from something else, I had the yogurt on hand, and I needed something sour cream-like, so I tried it. Wow, was that good.
I guess now I need to go the next step and make yogurt.
dbcurrie at 1:47AM on 07/12/08
I had the Donvier and loved it at first (it took a while to get the recipe right: we like it really tart). Then the warming units seemed to go out: my yogurt would never set, and I'd just have sour milk. However, many props to Donvier, who asked me to send in the broken base and then sent me a brand new unit. I ended up giving this away when I thought we were moving overseas.
I wouldn't buy it again myself, because I think it can totally be done without special equipment. Search youtube for the Good Eats episode on yogurt, or just the food network website for his recipe. That being said, I haven't done so.
But homemade yogurt is so much better than the store bought.
renzata at 1:51AM on 07/12/08
When you make your own yogurt be careful not to stir the finished product too much. Home made yogurt doesn't have starch, gelatin or stabilizers like the store bought stuff and if you mix it too much it can become watery!
ag3208 at 8:49AM on 07/12/08
It's important not to use too much starter yogurt in each batch--I use 1 level tablespoon for each quart of milk. More than that crowds the bacillus and produces yogurt that's sour and watery.
lovelybunny at 9:11AM on 07/12/08
renzata, thanks for suggesting the youtube/good eats episode. i'm inspired to go buy a heating pad and a thermometer and give it a try.
cybercita at 12:27PM on 07/12/08
Wow, I don't believe I said "piece of mind" instead of "peace of mind" up there. Obviously I only had a piece of my mind to work with - it was late, I was tired.
producestories at 3:19PM on 07/12/08
I do make my own yogurt but I have never used a yogurt machine. I'm sure it's convenient, but you don't need one at all. The process is so simple already. Get a bunch of milk, heat it till it's boiling, let it cool, mix in a little bit of your last batch of yogurt (or, if you're just starting, some yogurt culture from another source), then forget about it for a day. Voila, yogurt.
stumbler02 at 8:37PM on 07/12/08
After reading this, I decided that I had to try making yogurt. I just put the first attempt in the fridge to chill. I tend to like the thicker Greek-style yogurt, so I might strain it tomorrow. So far, it looks okay and it tasted pretty good for being warm.
dbcurrie at 1:17AM on 07/14/08
Over at the Paupered Chef, two attempts at yogurt making are chronicled. The first time, they had a little trouble, but the second try was a success. You can easily make it without a yogurt maker. Check it out: www.thepauperedchef.com.
July at 5:51PM on 07/14/08