yogurt and granola

[tashabear]

So here is how I make yogurt. Some people like using a crockpot; I prefer the stovetop because my pot won't crack in an ice bath, plus it's easier to clean.

Things you need:

• Big pot
• Thermometer -- I use an instant read thermometer, as I broke my candy thermometer
• Jars -- I use 6 oz Ball or Mason jars (they might be 8 oz), as they're single-serving

Comments

[profesor]

When we make it, we use plastic lids that fit the canning jars but don't seal tight like a regular canning lid would. So we put them on for incubation, just not overly tight.

[tashabear]

Well, you could leave them open, I suppose, but see that part about not wanting to get water in your burgeoning yogurt? You'd probably want to cap them.

[profesor]

We make it very similarly. Our temps are both 5dF lower than yours (180F and 115F). We don't use ice water to cool it, just cold tap water. We also sometimes leave it to set for well over 12 hours.

We don't fill the cooler directly with hot water. We fill the milk bottles we used with hot tap water and put them in the cooler surrouding the yogurt jars.

[palegreyminion]

I'm not super-precise with the upper temperature, but the lower one does have to be between 110F and 120F so I always shoot for 115F. And we do often leave it to set for closer to 20-22 hours. Allows the bacteria to eat up more of the lactose. You do have to be careful doing that because if you over culture it you won't be able to use it as the starter for the next batch.

[palegreyminion]

That's exactly how I make it, except that I don't fill the cooler with hot water. I take the two empty milk bottles (I make a gallon at a time & I get my milk in glass bottles), fill them with hot tap water and put them in the cooler instead.

[tashabear]

My cooler isn't big enough for that, and I haven't been able to justify the expense of buying new lids for my jars when the lid and rings they came with work perfectly well. They're on my Amazon wish list, but I have LOTS of jars.

[tashabear]

You assume I have a functioning dishwasher. I do not. It hasn't worked for over a decade, and is now my wicked fancy under-counter drying rack. So since I handwash, I inspect my lids and rings when I wash them. And thank you, I was aware of that particular property of metal. I might have been an English major, but I did get that much science crammed into my brain. :-P