Home made yogurt from fresh or powdered milk

A few months ago I came across a really good deal on milk - well - better than a good deal because it was free.  I had a $1.00 off coupon on milk that went on sale for $1.00. So I "bought" lots of them and stored them in the freezer.

We're a family that likes yogurt.  If it's in the house it disappears quickly and it can be kinda-pricey especially when you get those little individual containers.  I made yogurt once or twice a long time ago but my interest was rekindled when a friend traded me a yogurt maker for some Tattler lids.  She was upgrading to a larger yogurt maker model - that should have been a clue - because after several very successful batches of yogurt we ran into a problem.  At the rate we could eat this yummy yogurt I would have to make yogurt everyday which in my world is just too-much-work!

Enter the food dehydrator and some of my collection of canning jars.  I've used pints in the pictures here but you can use whatever size you like - half pints or the tiny 1/4 pint jam jars work great and then you have the same portability as those expensive personal sizes in the store. You can of course use any recycled jar but it helps if you still have the lid - you'll need them for storage afterwards.

The amounts of milk and yogurt are really not critical which is what makes this so simple.  I started with 3 litres of milk and about a 1/2 cup of either store bought yogurt or leftover home made yogurt.  I buy the plain organic yogurt when I need to start over.  Usually this happens at least once a month when we accidentally eat all of it.  Save some for the next batch by labelling the jar or putting a different coloured lid on it or divide up the original container of yogurt into an ice cube tray and freeze and use one or two in each batch depending on how much you are making.

This is the hardest part of the whole production - heat the milk.  You want to heat it without boiling it.  I watch for the tiny bubbles to start rising from the bottom of the pan and some steam - other people use a thermometer - you need to bring it to 180 degrees.  Over time you will just know when it looks right.  

I have also made yogurt out of powdered milk - a great option for being able to use a shelf stable item and even faster because you can boil the water in a kettle! I used 2 cups of Thrive powdered milk and 6 cups of boiling water.  I added it to my blender/food processor and mixed it on low - it's hot - so be careful!  I used a thermometer to measure when the milk had cooled to 150 degrees (edited to 115-120 degrees - although 150 has always worked for me - just to be on the safe side - see comments), added the yogurt starter and continued as below.  It makes about 4 pints - because that's all that will fit in my blender.

When the milk has reached the right temperature take it off the stove and allow it to cool.  While you're waiting wash your jars in hot soapy water and let them dry.  The milk needs to cool to room temperature or 150 degrees.  Use a funnel to fill your jars.

The jars go in the dehydrator at about 100 degrees for about 6 hours.  Check to see how thick it's getting.  You can leave it longer but it gets a stronger sour taste - which I like.  You can also heat the oven to 200 degrees, wrap the bottles in a towel and turn the heat off leaving just the light bulb on to keep the oven warm.  Some people use a thermos - a great no electricity solution.  I've tried them all but since my dehydrator is convenient and I can put something in it to dehydrate at the same time - it's win-win. 

You might think 5 or 6 pints is a lot of yogurt depending on how many people you have living at home and how much you all like yogurt.  You can of course make less at one time but we always find uses for it!

If you strain some through a clean cloth and let it sit the whey will drip out and you can use the thickened yogurt  to make your own cream cheese.  The whey is really good for you and can be used in place of milk or water in baking or smoothies.  It can also be frozen if you don't need it right away.

I add some Herbamare and some Mrs. Dash to my cream cheese but you can add whatever you like.  It tastes great on toast or used like goat cheese in a salad or anywhere you would use cream cheese.  We also use the plain yogurt as the base for some really outstanding smoothies.  

Yogurt is a great source of calcium, it helps to keep healthy bacteria flourishing in your stomach and tastes great.  Anyone else make yogurt???

Challenge Update & Sauerkraut

The EAT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FREEZER is now in it's last official week and the cleaning continues!  I've been working on using up the items in my "upstairs" pantry.  I found lots of odds and ends that got shoved into the back of the cupboard, packages of dip mixes I got on sale and forgot about, a badly dented can of chick peas, several boxes of lasagne noodles with only two noodles in each box - I guess I should change the recipe so I can squeeze them all in the pan! - some gluten-free cookie mixes that were in the freezer and made their way into the cupboard and STILL weren't used up.

So what's a girl to do...make soup of course!  One can of nearly expired tomato sauce, 1 package of dry soup mix, the dented can of chick peas, some veggies from the fridge that needed eating, some of the peppers I froze last summer, yummy garlic from Michelle and a few other odds and ends.  Supper was served AND my cupboards got cleaned out in one shot.

I also found some small crocks that had been hiding deep in the cupboards so I decided to make a batch of sauerkraut- it is bubbling and nearly overflowing it's container right now.  It's such a simple process.  Chop up the cabbage, press it down in layers into a crock or jar with a sprinkle of salt in between.  Don't fill it too full because it will bubble somewhat when it's at work and you don't want it to overflow.  I have never been able to press enough water out of the cabbage to create a liquid barrier so I just add water until it covers  everything.  I place one reserved cabbage leave on top of everything and weigh it down with a small plate and a jar filled with water.  After it sits for a few days you can see some of the action happening and that's when you taste-test the yummy goodness.


It's been sitting for about a week now and I've tasted it a few times but I wanted it a little more "sauer" and crunchy - maybe tomorrow!

Tomorrow will also be baking day - a job DD usually takes care of with great skill.  She's come down with a cold so that's an automatic ban from food prep and kitchen chores. Now I get to choose what to make!

We've done so well on the challenge that we haven't run out of anything important.  That's pretty neat!  We are looking forward to a shopping trip next week to buy: 
cheese - we ate the last of it today
butter - only 1/2  a brick left
oatmeal - DD got into making oatmeal haystack cookies and used every last bit we have in the house!

That's about it!  We didn't even run out of bread.  We may keep going for an extra week as I have a few more spots to clean up.  I'm on a roll right now perhaps it's best to take advantage of it while I am!

How are all of you doing with your challenges???

Sauerkraut the Easy Way!

A friend of mine in Ohio got me interested in trying sauerkraut when we visited their family last month.  She had a simpler (read: less scary ) method than a huge crock with somewhat smelly contents so I thought I would give it a try.  I'll save mass production for another time!

The first step is to drill a hole in a Canning jar STORAGE LID.  I measured the rubber bung and drew a circle on the lid as a guide and drilled accordingly.  Drilling from the inside of the lid out (which is opposite of how I took the picture) seemed to give me better control of the bit but it still wasn't dead center which doesn't really matter.  I recommend a scrap piece of wood underneath your drilling area or a huge stack of newspapers which is what I did.

This is a common item in wine making stores called an airlock. It gets filled with water to create a barrier so the sauerkraut can ferment and gases escape but no air can get in to cause spoilage.  The airlock is a very "expensive and sophisticated" piece of equipment costing all of $2.50 in total but was free for me because my friend gave it to me!  A way to a friends heart...

Insert the airlock... into the bung... into the hole.. into the lid - sounds like a kids song coming on!  Remove the plastic cap on the top and add water to the line that is midway down the airlock.  Replace the cap.

Grate your cabbage to whatever size you prefer.  I choose to go middle of the road and was able to use my madolin slicer to quickly do the job.  A food processor with an attachment will work as will a sharp knife and a cutting board.

I used a 1.5 litre canning jar for this project and I was able to fit almost an entire head of cabbage in it.  Layer the cabbage with a sprinkle of salt ( I used a combined total of approx. 1 Tbsp.) and use something to tamp it down to help release the juice.  The salt will also help the juices to release.  I was able to repurpose a wooden pestle from from fruit strainer but a wooden spoon or the end of a rolling pin could work too if it fits in the jar. 

The picture above is what it looked like when I just finished packing it.  It needs to be packed down tightly!  I used a leftover piece of cabbage and cut it to form a plug at the top of the jar and then added a little bit of water to get the process going. Then I added the lid and waited.

I was told it would be ready in a few days but I've had mine going for almost two weeks.  I suspect that temperature has something to do with it.  It has been quite cool in the house.  I also discovered that it needs to ferment in a dark place - or be covered up.  Oops I didn't do that but it seems to have turned out fine.  You can leave it as long as you like.

The taste test has revealed a sauerkraut that is far more crunchy and delicious than the rather soggy store-bought-in-a-jar kind.  I like it but I'm going to leave it another week or so and check it again.  When it has reached your desired level of crunchiness you just remove the lid and put on a regular storage lid and keep it in the refridgerator.  It will last for months.

Sauerkraut literally means "sour cabbage" in German.  This traditional method of preservation (in large crocks) was a way to keep cabbage over the winter.  Fermenting also preseves the vitamin C and other vitamins and aids in digestion. 

It's good for you, it tastes good AND it's a great preservation technique - what are you waiting for?