Final Attempt

Today I began my final attempt at this yogurt thing.  I hope it comes out good for all of you!

I switched it up a bit, and added in some other tips/recipes to my original...

By doing every step in the crockpot I didnt seem to get the thickness which I wished for.
So I decided to boil my milk on the stove top first to allow for some of the water to boil out of the milk, then I continued to mix my starter in like before and throw it in the crock pot to ferment all night/day.

The main difference was that I had to keep a close eye on the temperature, which before I didnt, I think this has made a big difference, so far.

I guess in 7 hours I will be able to tell if this theory has worked or not...

Completion of Round Two!

Round two of making homemade crock pot yogurt, was pretty interesting.

I took some advice from other websites and added it in to my original recipe.

I added gelatin in hopes of making my yogurt a little thicker, so far no luck with that one... But we did notice today that the longer it sits in the fridge the thicker it gets.  Toady my dad made pancakes, french toast and muffins with my first batch of yogurt I had made.  All of which came out very tasty!

So, I am thinking that if I let the yogurt sit for a few days it may thicken. Hopefully...

I also switched it up a little bit with a few of my own touches...
4 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Made a world of a difference to our taste buds!
My dad even ate it and he HATES yogurt!
That must mean I had success with the flavoring then, right?!

The only thing to do now is to wait and see if it thickens in a few days, if not it will be onto round 3 and a new method of thickening yogurt...

Which I hope is not the case!

Round Two...

Today I am beginning round two of making homemade yogurt!  There is a few things that I didnt like about the first batch of yogurt, so I have decided to add a few things.

1. Sugar! My last batch was very tart, so I split it into two containers and added a little bit of sugar to it... It made a world of a difference! Seriously! I will do this again with the batch I am making today.

2. Gelatin... After searching the web for endless hours and looking through all the ideas of how to thicken homemade yogurt, I decided to use gelatin. My first patch literally looked like fruit soup, I guess you could call it.  

So, to add this Gelatin into the mix...

Currently I have the milk heating up on low in the crock pot for 2 1/2 hours just like my original recipe states.  The only difference is that I kept about 1/2 a cup of the milk in a bowl to the side.  About 1/2 an hour into the heating of the milk, I will mix my gelatin into the bowl of milk I kept to the side, and let it "bloom".  Then I will mix this into the crock pot with the rest of the milk, allowing it to all continue warming together until the 2 1/2 hours is complete.

The "advice/instructions" that I found for adding the gelatin says to use around one teaspoon of gelatin per quart of milk.

So, I will be using two teaspoons of gelatin to go along with my half gallon of milk.

Im really hoping that this works, but Im a little hesitant of how it will turn out.

Ill let everyone know how my yogurt comes out in the end, hopefully it isnt soup again!

It's Complete!!

After I finished waiting for my warm milk to set, I took out two cups of warm milk and whisked it into the 1/2 cup of yogurt I bought.  Then I poured it all back into the crockpot and mixed it all back together.  Next, I wrapped the crockpot in a towel and I waited 8 hours!!!!

When I took the lid off after 8 hours, the yogurt was VERY thick, but after stirring it up it thinned out. I decided to chop up and add my frozen fruit to it and then put it in the fridge to cool.

I just checked it 6 hours later and it still is not cool maybe because its such a large container.

But, I can tell you one thing is for sure, the taste of warm yogurt is not the best.

I am going to try putting it in a smaller container and seeing if that cools it down faster, or maybe the freezer... frozen yogurt is always good.

And it begins...

Today I decided to begin my first attempt at this so called "crockpot yogurt".  As I am sitting here for the next 2 1/2 hours letting me milk sit in the crockpot that isn't even on, I am beginning to wonder how this really is gonna turn out...

Anyways, today I went to the store and bought a mixture of frozen fruit, live/active cultured yogurt, and a 1/2 gallon of whole milk.
I took my friend with and I swear she thought I was crazy! Everyone keeps saying, "whats the point in making it why not just buy it"...

When I re read the directions and realized how long this really does take, all I could think to my self is, "Thank god I have the next couple days off from work, to do nothing other than make sure dads house doesn't burn down..." Have I mentioned I am not the greatest cook around... But its a crockpot how hard can it really be, right???

So far I have cooked my 1/2 gallon of whole milk in the crockpot for 2 1/2 hours, now it is turned off and I am waiting for it to sit for 3 hours... 2 hours 20 minutes to go...

When I lifted the cover after the first step was complete, I noticed that the milk had became a little thicker and there was bubbling around the sides of the crock pot.


 

Crockpot yogurt!

Hi, my name is Katrina.  For my micro class we have been asked to make a blog to go along with our fermentation project.  This is my first ever attempt, so bare with me, its gonna be an interesting ride.

I have decided to make yogurt in a crockpot! Whoever thought of this idea originally is a genius. I love how many different things you can make in a crockpot, they are so useful!! I choose to make yogurt, because I like store bought yogurt, but homemade is always better right?! So why not try it out. Plus, I love using the crockpot and learning new recipes for it.

I will be using a recipe from a lady named Debbie.  In order to make this process happen I will need:
- 8 cups of whole milk
- 1/2 cup of store bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt.
- Fresh/frozen fruit
- A thick bath towel
- And a 4 quart crock pot!

In a few days I will take a try at this recipe, hopefully it comes out amazing! But I never seem to get it the first time, so I'll keep you updated!
Wish me luck!