If you follow me on twitter, you know my latest addictions are avocados and Greek yogurt. Not necessarily together, but they do complement one another well. (I've found I prefer the plain, unsweetened, low- or non-fat Greek-style yogurt to sour cream.) The only problem is that Greek yogurt can be pricey, but I love making my own in the crock pot.
I believe I've mentioned it before, but here's a refresher: My BFF's sister (to protect the family's anonymity, I will refer to her here as "Sis"), who succumbed to leukemia about six months ago, was a huge fan of Stephanie O'Dea. Yes, that Stephanie O'Dea, the Queen of Slow Cooking. Sis turned me on to Stephanie's blog and, with a little inspiration from Pinterest, I began slow cooking on a regular basis after I moved from Boston to Oklahoma City. In fact, I believe the first dinner I cooked from scratch in my new kitchen included a crock pot entree.
Since then, I've been hooked. I use my crock pot at least once a week. It never gets tucked into a cabinet, not only because I don't really have the space, but also because I use it so much it makes sense to keep the crock pot handy. And my favorite thing to make is yogurt.
So now that we've come full circle ... A few weeks ago, I found a recipe on Pinterest claiming I could make homemade yogurt in my slow cooker. The recipe was from Stephanie O'Dea's blog. I figured, "how bad could it be?" I hadn't prepared any of Stephanie's recipes yet, but thanks to Sis, I had tasted a couple. So I made certain to purchase milk and plain Greek yogurt when I was at the grocery store. Milk because it's the base, and essentially the only ingredient; yogurt because it's Stephanie's starter of choice; and Greek because I'd never tried Greek-style yogurt before and I've read about what a terrific substitute it is for mayonnaise, sour cream, and other more fatty/less healthy cooking ingredients. (The first time I put Greek yogurt on a baked potato, I swore I'd never purchase sour cream again.)
The only drawback to making your own yogurt is time. You need to be able to devote a good fourteen or fifteen hours to this process. In today's world, that's quite a commitment. But I did the math and figured if I began the process some time around 4:30 in the afternoon, I could sleep through most of it.
As instructed, I poured my (whole, full fat) milk into the cooker and heated it for 2 1/2 hours on low, then unplugged it and let it sit for 3 hours. I added my starter, swaddled the pot in towels, and crossed my fingers. Stephanie's instructions confused me only a little. They said to, "Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours." I really wasn't sure if that meant it shouldn't sit for any longer than 8 hours, so I set my alarm to wake me about 8 hours after I wrapped my crock pot.
Yeah, that didn't work so well. I shut off the alarm and slept for another three hours (which, by the way, only garnered me a total of seven hours sleep). I was honestly terrified to open the pot, afraid of what I might find, afraid it had set too long. So how happy was I when I finally worked up the courage to remove the lid?
Immediately, I was hit with that pungent, tart aroma you encounter when you open a fresh cup of yogurt. I gave it a stir and found the consistency to be a bit richer and creamier than store bought, which makes sense since I usually purchase nonfat rather than lowfat. Honest to goodness, I nearly cried I was so excited. Who knew such a small accomplishment could be so rewarding, so empowering?
I was all over twitter within minutes, showing off my accomplishment and, of course, thanking the Woman Herself for posting the recipe on her blog. When I finally took a few minutes to breathe, I pulled out a large bowl and a colander that I lined with paper towels (you could use cheesecloth) and poured in my yogurt. Then I sat the contraption in the fridge after pulling out enough of my yogurt to use as a starter for the next batch.
In less than 24 hours, the thinner, traditional yogurt was a much thicker consistency and I had a bowl full of whey. In fact, it was just a bit too thick, so I ended up adding some of the whey back in to thin it out just a bit.
On to Yogurt Making 102
Elated, and perhaps inflated, by my success at making whole milk yogurt, I decided that my next batch should be made with almond milk. One of Stephanie O'dea's readers had had success making dairy-free yogurt. She published her process, which was virtually the same, but she went with a probiotic instead of using yogurt as a starter. She also added gelatin later to thicken it. So I decided to give it a shot.
I read up a bit and found that several bloggers had made dairy free yogurt using the same method I had used. Some even went with the basic yogurt starter rather than probiotic. Some, not all, used gelatin to thicken it; some drained the whey. So I put on my big girl pants and headed to the kitchen once again.
This time I got off to a later start. I went through each step: heat for 2 1/2 hours; cool for 3 hours; add starter, swaddle, and let sit overnight. Easy peasy mac 'n' cheesy! Okay, maybe not.
Because of the later start, I actually ended up staying up later than I normally would just to add the starter. This meant I got up in the morning with fewer than eight hours of sleep. So, when the pot had sat for eight hours, I opened it. It smelled yogurty at first whiff, but then it just smelled funky. Had I been more experienced at that point, I would have been wise enough to wrap it all back up and leave it be for a few more hours. I would have realized that the fermentation process was probably working and just needed more time, but my inner Anakin took over and I chose to move forward.
I put together my drainage contraption and stuck the whole shebang into the fridge. I sniffed at it a few times while it drained, but mostly, I just left it alone. It did not smell like yogurt. It didn't really smell like anything, actually.
After 24 hours, I pulled the mess I had made out of the refrigerator and gave it a stir. It was more like a thin ricotta than yogurt. And it tasted vile. I dumped the still-quite-loose mess down the sink along with the whey that had drained and resolved to take smaller steps next time around. By "smaller steps," I mean sticking to cow's milk until I have a bit more experience. Which brings me to . . .
Yogurt Making 101a, the Intermediate Class
This one happened just this week and I feared the worst while it was all going on. Without thinking, and because I was craving a baked potato and hadn't bought any yogurt, only enough to use as a starter, I threw a half gallon of milk into the slow cooker before I did any math. About an hour into the cooling time, I realized that I would need to make a difficult choice.
I had to leave early the following morning and wouldn't be home until mid- to late afternoon. Basically, my pot would have to sit and ferment either for only seven hours or for a full fourteen. (Additionally, I wasn't sure what to expect since I had used 1% milk instead of whole.) Neither sat well with me. But I chose to let it go all night, then all day, and hope for the best.
When I got home that afternoon, just a bit earlier than I thought I would, I steeled myself and unwrapped the pot. It was still quite warm, a good sign. Warm meant it was still fermenting rather than just spoiling. I didn't have a lot of time to deal with it since I had work to do and also needed to figure out dinner, so I poured it into a couple of containers; reserved enough for a starter; and stuck it in the fridge.
It smelled like yogurt, not as strong as the whole milk version had, but I knew I'd done it right this time. It was quite loose, smoothie loose, but that didn't scare me. I knew from experience that it would thicken a bit as it cooled. But the most important part was it tasted like yogurt which could mean only one thing: it was yogurt.
The next day, I figured I'd take some time to drain it so it was more like Greek yogurt. Much to my surprise, it had thickened considerably on its own. Still, I drained off quite a bit of whey and got it to about the same consistency as my first batch.
And here we are, full circle once more. The next batch of yogurt I make will be with the 1% milk again, but with the starter from the last rather than a store-bought yogurt. This will be the test for me.
At some point, I will again attempt a dairy-free version, but not before I try it with nonfat milk. And, coming this summer: fro-yo. I've made ice cream, so frozen yogurt should be a piece of cake. I'll just need to find an ice cream maker that fits my budget. (I'm cheap, remember?)
I really would encourage anyone and everyone who loves yogurt as much as I do to take the plunge and make your own.
Happy Crock Potting!
In less than 24 hours, the thinner, traditional yogurt was a much thicker consistency and I had a bowl full of whey. In fact, it was just a bit too thick, so I ended up adding some of the whey back in to thin it out just a bit.
On to Yogurt Making 102
Elated, and perhaps inflated, by my success at making whole milk yogurt, I decided that my next batch should be made with almond milk. One of Stephanie O'dea's readers had had success making dairy-free yogurt. She published her process, which was virtually the same, but she went with a probiotic instead of using yogurt as a starter. She also added gelatin later to thicken it. So I decided to give it a shot.
I read up a bit and found that several bloggers had made dairy free yogurt using the same method I had used. Some even went with the basic yogurt starter rather than probiotic. Some, not all, used gelatin to thicken it; some drained the whey. So I put on my big girl pants and headed to the kitchen once again.
This time I got off to a later start. I went through each step: heat for 2 1/2 hours; cool for 3 hours; add starter, swaddle, and let sit overnight. Easy peasy mac 'n' cheesy! Okay, maybe not.
Because of the later start, I actually ended up staying up later than I normally would just to add the starter. This meant I got up in the morning with fewer than eight hours of sleep. So, when the pot had sat for eight hours, I opened it. It smelled yogurty at first whiff, but then it just smelled funky. Had I been more experienced at that point, I would have been wise enough to wrap it all back up and leave it be for a few more hours. I would have realized that the fermentation process was probably working and just needed more time, but my inner Anakin took over and I chose to move forward.
I put together my drainage contraption and stuck the whole shebang into the fridge. I sniffed at it a few times while it drained, but mostly, I just left it alone. It did not smell like yogurt. It didn't really smell like anything, actually.
After 24 hours, I pulled the mess I had made out of the refrigerator and gave it a stir. It was more like a thin ricotta than yogurt. And it tasted vile. I dumped the still-quite-loose mess down the sink along with the whey that had drained and resolved to take smaller steps next time around. By "smaller steps," I mean sticking to cow's milk until I have a bit more experience. Which brings me to . . .
Yogurt Making 101a, the Intermediate Class
This one happened just this week and I feared the worst while it was all going on. Without thinking, and because I was craving a baked potato and hadn't bought any yogurt, only enough to use as a starter, I threw a half gallon of milk into the slow cooker before I did any math. About an hour into the cooling time, I realized that I would need to make a difficult choice.
I had to leave early the following morning and wouldn't be home until mid- to late afternoon. Basically, my pot would have to sit and ferment either for only seven hours or for a full fourteen. (Additionally, I wasn't sure what to expect since I had used 1% milk instead of whole.) Neither sat well with me. But I chose to let it go all night, then all day, and hope for the best.
When I got home that afternoon, just a bit earlier than I thought I would, I steeled myself and unwrapped the pot. It was still quite warm, a good sign. Warm meant it was still fermenting rather than just spoiling. I didn't have a lot of time to deal with it since I had work to do and also needed to figure out dinner, so I poured it into a couple of containers; reserved enough for a starter; and stuck it in the fridge.
It smelled like yogurt, not as strong as the whole milk version had, but I knew I'd done it right this time. It was quite loose, smoothie loose, but that didn't scare me. I knew from experience that it would thicken a bit as it cooled. But the most important part was it tasted like yogurt which could mean only one thing: it was yogurt.
The next day, I figured I'd take some time to drain it so it was more like Greek yogurt. Much to my surprise, it had thickened considerably on its own. Still, I drained off quite a bit of whey and got it to about the same consistency as my first batch.
And here we are, full circle once more. The next batch of yogurt I make will be with the 1% milk again, but with the starter from the last rather than a store-bought yogurt. This will be the test for me.
At some point, I will again attempt a dairy-free version, but not before I try it with nonfat milk. And, coming this summer: fro-yo. I've made ice cream, so frozen yogurt should be a piece of cake. I'll just need to find an ice cream maker that fits my budget. (I'm cheap, remember?)
I really would encourage anyone and everyone who loves yogurt as much as I do to take the plunge and make your own.
Happy Crock Potting!
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