tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320167217139525439.post4437872597465999972..comments2024-03-28T09:05:01.843-05:00Comments on The Second Half of My Life: CulturedKathy Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10593849691667606991noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320167217139525439.post-60330222751781450642010-09-23T17:43:49.476-05:002010-09-23T17:43:49.476-05:00kathy,
to cut down on the 'fussing' time, ...kathy,<br />to cut down on the 'fussing' time, heat the milk on the stovetop in a large pan. before you pour milk in that pan, place a small amount of water in the pan and bring it to a boil, roll it around to cover the sides then pour you milk right in with the water. the total amt of water would be about 1/4 c. the heating time will be cut down considerably - as the crockpot heats very slowly - it's primary purpose. while you're waiting for the milk to heat, heat up your crockpot. we've never used the gelatin idea in our yogurt altho' we've heard of it. i won't buy yogurt that i think/know has gelatin (one reason is that it's no longer vegetarian which is important for my MIL, another reason is the texture)(btw, aldi's original yogurt when it first came to our area was full of gelatin and i hated it!!). anyway, the addition of the milk powder which you mix in very, very thoroughly creates a thicker, creamer and more nutritious yogurt. it seems like your original batch might have suffered one of these issues:<br />didn't remain in the crock pot long enough (12-18 hours may be required);<br />milk was too hot or too cold when the culture was added;<br />the temperature of the crockpot wasn't even.<br />the first two are easy to cure. i would tend to discount the third issue. <br />for storage (which is seldom a problem) of any yogurt long term, simply seal it carefully and store it upside down in the frig. this works great for store bought yogurt when it's on sale. if you fall in love with a particular flavor and can get it for a great price, buy 20 of them and store them upside down. they'll store well for months.<br /><br />it takes a couple of tries to learn to make the perfect batch of yogurt. if you know you'll be making it routinely, it might be worth seeing if salton still makes the larger yogurt-maker that makes 5 pints at a time. they hold wide mouth mason jars perfectly. that's what we typically use for making yogurt every 5-8 days.<br /><br />good luck!!jdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01416568690547928500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320167217139525439.post-87418935438559909492010-09-20T09:04:26.132-05:002010-09-20T09:04:26.132-05:00Well that's cool! I'm going to have to tr...Well that's cool! I'm going to have to try that when I break my new crock pot out of it's box.Terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03032627674570787885noreply@blogger.com