That was pretty much my reaction when I got it. Cool!
I’m making my second batch right now. This time I added some sugar and vanilla to it, to see if it changes anything. I might leave it in a little longer this time, since last time, by the time I was through adding things, it got a little bit runnier (though still nowhere near as runny as store-bought, and still had a smooth, creamy texture… mmmm.)
My husband tried the strawberry kind last night… then wandered back into the kitchen, ditched his bowl and grabbed the jar. He finished it off. I’d call him a piggy, but I… uh… finished off the cherry after he went to bed. Heh. He called me from work today on his break and the first thing he asked was, “Have you made more yogurt yet?” The disappointment in his voice when I told him I hadn’t started it yet and it wouldn’t be ready until late tonight - heartbreaking. Doesn’t matter that I rearranged the furniture and cleaned the place top to bottom today… he thinks it’s nice and all, but when am I going to make more yogurt?
This is the one I bought; $17 through Amazon, and a good product. The inner container fits nicely in the fridge, or you can scoop the yogurt into a commercial 1-quart yogurt container. There’s a recipe for it included, which asks for powdered milk, liquid milk, and some yogurt with live cultures for the starter.
I just took a little sample taste of the stuff out of the bucket in the refrigerator, and it tastes fine. There was a bit of “skin” on the top, but I think that might have been my fault from the earliest stage: I took my eyes off of the milk and, though it didn’t quite boil, there was a skin on top from, I assume, not stirring it enough. Also, it’s a little bit lumpy, again, my fault - before mixing any other ingredients in, I added the starter yogurt, and it just didn’t quite want to fully dissolve. I tried patiently smooshing the lumps against the sides, but it just wasn’t getting it all. Milk too cold, perhaps? Whatever it was, at least they seemed to float on top, so now all the little lumps are sitting on top of the finished yogurt. All I need to do is scrape the top layer off with my little plastic scraper-spoon-y dealie, and it appears that there is delicious yogurt underneath.
I usually thin down the starter to avoid lumps. Add a small amount of your warm milk to the starter, stir it up good, add a bit more milk, stir it up, etc. so it’s thin and lump-free, and easy to combine with the rest of the milk.
Sorry guys! Didn’t realize I was wanted. Here’s what I do, the way my mom used to do it. Warning: home recipe coming.
I use the milk and lemon juice. My aunt recommends vinegar. And you need a little bit of previous yogurt.
Then I put it in the oven in a bowl that doesn’t seal 100% but fairly tight. Mom told me never to put it in a bowl that seals - and wrap it in a shawl. Yes, that’s how I keep my yogurt warm. :looks sheepish: And it always works.
Mmm. Just finished up with my third batch of yogurt. The last batch eh… I thought I was pretty happy with it at the time, but meh. I barely touched it after the first bowl. It was good, but just not quite as good as that first batch. My husband ate it up, though. I didn’t watch the pot carefully enough, and I could taste the scalded milk, so after eating it the first couple of times, I just kept tasting it. This time, I went back to the way I did it originally, and watched the pot carefully. Ah. Heaven on a spoon. Also, last time I added fruit to it, I had chopped up the fresh pieces and thrown them in. My husband kept saying it was tart. I kept tasting it, and I realised finally that he wasn’t saying the yogurt was tart; he was biting into those strawberry chunks. They weren’t the sweetest berries (not quite in season yet, are they?) so that’s what had to be causing any “tartness” he was tasting. The yogurt itself was quite mild. So this time, I took a little zip-top baggie and tossed my fresh strawberries into it in chunks, and smashed them up good. I dumped them into a bowl, and sweetened them with a touch of sugar. Then I added the yogurt to the mushy pile. It certainly made it pinker! I tried it out… well, it started as a little taste test, but quickly turned into several spoonfuls… it’s very good, and no more tart chunks to bite down on. Now I need to figure out what to put in the second half of the batch… I have a fresh coconut lying around… hmmm.
I followed Podkayne’s advice on adding a little of the milk mixture at a time to the yogurt, and it worked beautifully. It is so smooth and creamy, and no lumps at all. I can’t believe I never thought of that, since that’s how I always make my hot chocolate when using a powder to avoid lumps. :smack: Thanks, Podkayne!
Any word on your experiments,** Lissla**? Any delicious results?
