Crockpot Yogurt

I have been experimenting lately with making my own yogurt in the crock pot. Most of the recipes I found were for making plain yogurt which no one here will eat (myself included!) so I searched around to find some sweetening tips! I got the basic recipe from http://www.nourishingdays.com/2009/02/make-yogurt-in-your-crock-pot/, but added in some ingredients and tips from other blogs as well.

Crock Pot Yogurt
Recipe notes: This recipe uses a 2 quart crock. In using a 4 or 4 1/2 quart crock I found the yogurt to have a bit of a "springy" texture. I was able to alleviate this by heating the milk an additional 15 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.
• Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk. and 1/2 cup powdered milk
• Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well. Add 1/2 c honey and 1 tbsp vanilla if desired.
• Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.
• Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.
• Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.
• In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
• For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.
Strain if needed using a strainer and coffee filter in the fridge for several hours

The honey and vanilla make for a great final taste (although snow white would disagree! She still prefers the store sweetened yogurt!)

I also found through some trial and error that the yogurt had to be strained for at least 3 hours to get it to the thickness of the yogurt you would find in the store. I made ours with 2% milk and got about 1 1/3 cup of whey from each quart of yogurt strained. I read that whey is a great substitute for buttermilk so if you use buttermilk in you cooking than save the whey!

With my first batch I didn't strain and the children didn't care for it because it was so soupy that it was hard to get from spoon to mouth! However it made for EXCELLENT smoothies!!

I also did a little trial and error with adding fruit to the vanilla flavored yogurt. I had frozen strawberries and I put them in the blender (after they thawed) and then hand mixed them into a quart of yogurt. The taste was OK but they were a little tart so when I tried the blueberries I added just a touch of sugar to them in the blender and the taste was just right! I will try to do the same with the strawberries next time!

Overall I have enjoyed playing around with making just the right product and for the most part the children have too!!

Katie
PS the picture is not of my yogurt or crockpot...I forgot to take pictures of mine!