How much powdered milk do you think I should add to the crockpot?
Final verdict: The cake turned out great! I brought it to work to share today, and it was a big hit. (Though some of my co-workers were not familiar with the concept of a cake that did not come from a box of Duncan Hines…)
After leaving the bowl of yogurt soup on the fridge all day, it didn’t get any thicker but it did get more strongly yogurt-flavored. I put half of it in a cheesecloth-lined colandar over a bowl and let it sit overnight.
When I checked it this morning, there was a lot of liquid in the bowl beneath…and lovely, creamy, thick yogurt in the colandar. Just what I was hoping for! I enjoyed a large serving of it with fresh berries for lunch.
I think next time I make yogurt I will add a little milk powder as many of you suggested. And I may invest in a yogurt maker instead of using my crockpot - any recommendations as to brand, etc?
The instructions for my maker says to stir in 1/4 cup into the cold*( skim milk before you heat it.I used about that amount for low-fat and it came out good.
I have made yogurt from low-fat (1%) without powder and it also came out fine, but not as thick.
I’m finding I like my yogurt not so thick.
*I added powder one time to the hot milk and it got lumpy. I strained it, but I won’t do that again.
Amazon.com has a lot of makers on their site you can look at and read about. You don’t have to buy from then of course, but it’s a good place to compare.
Success! I made another batch in the crockpot last night. I added 1/2 cup of powdered milk to the cold skim milk at the beginning, and shortened the wait time after the heating to one hour. I wrapped the crock up real well–used the beach towel and put it underneath so it went all the way around, with another towel on top to hold it. This morning it was nice and thick and yogurty. I actually turned it on warm for about another hour to make it even more tart, but would have been OK without it. I can’t wait to feed this to my kids!
Awesome news - I really want the crockpot method to work, since I think it’s easier than the Chowhound version I found. I’m glad to hear you had success.
Cool, Geobabe. I’m going to have to try that myself, although it sounds like an awful lot of yogurt for a single person. As soon as I find the method upthread, that is.
I added in blueberries again last night, but this time I “popped” most of them. Much yummier, the juice mixed into the yogurt. Pretty, too!
Next; cranberries.