Yogurt 2nd Attempt

My second attempt at yogurt:

Ingredients:
Milk:

• Amount: 1/2 Gallon
• Brand: Costco's Kirtland whole milk. 
• Other facts: Homogenized, no rBST, Pasteurized, with Vitamin D3 added

Yogurt Starter:

• Amount: 1/2 Cup
• Brand: Home made from the last batch

Incubator Used:

• Cooler

Steps & Notes:

I followed the same directions as the first time:

1. Heat Milk: I warmed the milk to ~ 195 degrees Fahrenheit. This was a little hotter than the first time.
2. Cool Milk: I only cooled it to 130 degrees, which is on the hot side. I've read people going as cool as 100 degrees.
3. Stir in Starter: I stirred  1/2 cup of starter from the last batch into a separate bowl with a smaller portion of milk to try and get a more even dissolution, I then mixed it in with the rest of the milk. 
4.  Pour into containers: One container had cinnamon sugar on the bottom when I poured the milk in, it turned out pretty well.
5. Incubate: I used the cooler with hot water again, the water was a little warmer than last time too, I think around 130 degrees. We tried different sized containers and continued to experiment with putting some in the water and some above. 
6. Timing: I've been reading about timing for incubation. I guess it only needs to sit until the yogurt 'gels'.  The added time apparently changes the flavor more than the consistency. If I remember correctly, the longer it sits the tangier it tastes. I left this one out a while and it was pretty tangy.

Results:

• Mixed outcome, I think I did everything a little too hot and must have killed some of the starter. It seems the yogurt that was submerged continued to be very liquid and never really gelled. It also tasted fairly sour. The yogurt that was above the water or part in the water kind of worked.
• Taste: Not tart, more sour and tangy
• Consistency: Some turned out really liquid and never gelled. Some gelled and set up okay, but was still tangy.
• Rating: 2 start out of 5

Possible Improvements:

• Don't incubate with such hot water
• Don't heat the milk too hot and let it cool off more.
• Mix in some powdered milk w/milk before heating. This is supposed to thicken the consistency more
• Try a different incubator method.

Yogurt 1st Attempt

Small Container Results

I tried making my own yogurt for the first time this past weekend. Below is my log on the endeavor:

Ingredients:
Milk:

• Amount: 1/2 Gallon
• Brand: Costco's Kirtland whole milk. 
• Other facts: Homogenized, no rBST, Pasteurized, with Vitamin D3 added

Yogurt Starter:

• Amount: 1/2 Cup
• Brand: Old Home All Natural Plain Yogurt (Local MN yogurt)
• Ingredients: Cultured pasteurized grade A milk & Nonfat milk
• Other Facts: Live & Active cultures (Acidophilus & Bifidus)

Equipment:

• Digital Thermometer
• Plastic Gladware (sterilized the best I could) I used one large 7 cup container and five 1/2 cup containers.
• Stainless steel pots

Incubator Used:

• Cooler. There are many options I've learned, of which I can write about later. For this round I kept it simple.

Steps & Notes:

I followed the directions of Professor David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. My measurements and temperatures went something like this.

1. Heat Milk: I warmed the milk to ~ 188 degrees Fahrenheit. I did this very slowly. I have an electric stove top and I set it to about 5 out of 10. I didn't want to burn the milk or boil it. This gave me time to think and prepare as it warmed up. It did take a little while, maybe 20 minutes.
2. Cool Milk: You want the temperature to come down to ~ 128 degrees Fahrenheit. I removed my milk from the heat right after it reached 188 degrees and let it cool standing alone. This was going too slow, so I filled up the sink with cold water and dipped the pot in the water. This cooled it off a little too much so I had to re-heat a bit.
3. Stir in Starter: I stirred in my 1/2 cup of starter right into the pot when the temperature was at ~130 degrees Fahrenheit, probably on the hot side. Some people recommend mixing it into a smaller portion of milk, then adding it to the overall batch. I stirred it in pretty well, but when I poured it out, there seemed to be a lot of undissolved yogurt starter still. 
4.  Pour into containers: Not much to note here. Some yogurt starter didn't seem to be mixed in all the way. It might have been from some burning, as there seemed to be a little milk sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Incubate: As mentioned I used a cooler with Hot water. It is recommended to fill with water to just below the rim of the containers. I had different sized containers and did some experimenting. The large 7 cup container had water to just below the lid. I put one small container in the water, I think it was floating/submerged. The other four were not in water at all, just sitting on top of the larger container.
6. Timing note: The time you are to let the yogurt sit varies. From the different recipes I've read appears to be a function of how warm the environment is and the ratio of yogurt starter to milk. Dr. Fankhauser suggests 3 hours for this ratio and incubation method. I finished around 8:30pm and wasn't awake at 11:30pm so it ended up sitting until about 3:30am. I'm not sure what difference the time makes.

Results:

Large Container Results

• It worked! The yogurt 'gelled' pretty well.
• Taste: Mild tartness
• Consistency: Delicate. A little fragile. It wasn't as smooth as I would like and you could describe parts as somewhat curdlely (not in a bad way).
• Rating: 3 1/2 start out of 5

Possible Improvements:

• Try using glass containers that seal better. (Most people recommend these, I still haven't found any yet)
• Mix in some powdered milk w/milk before heating. This is supposed to thicken the consistency more
• Try a different incubator method.
• Mix starter better
• Try just 3 hours.

Yogurt To Cheese

I love eating cheese. Until recently I knew almost nothing else about cheese except that it was produced from Milk. I don't know much about different types of cheeses or flavors. I've decided to change that and have embarked on a great journey to learn more about cheese.
I have a friend from college that used to make cheese. I dropped her a message to get some advice on where to start. She recommended I start with Yogurt. I thought that was odd, but I looked around and several people recommend this, so that is where I've started Yogurt.
My preliminary reading and information on cheese and now yogurt have come from the website of David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Chemistry  University of Cincinnati Clermont College. He has a very wide variety of interests, but I've primarily been reading his 'Cheese Page' which could be generalized to Dairy since he also covers yogurt, ice cream, and some other dairy products. I find it extremely fun that this Professor has essential created a class syllabus that anyone can follow to learn the steps to making cheese. The first course is yogurt so that is where I will begin.

And So It Begins

You might wonder what this blog is about and so this first post comes into existence to explain to all the unsuspecting visitors what it is they have found. This is what could be called a culinary log. A record of tinkerings in the kitchen. It is a public log so that those who visit and know a thing or two more on a subject can give feedback and insight on the endeavor. Those who are in the same situation as the author can learn and feel comforted in the fact that we all have to begin somewhere and it's okay to fail and not have a perfect result the first time.The hope is that some good recipes, information, entertainment, and development will be experienced for all involved.

There will be obvious trends as interests wax and wane and skills develop or falter. You will probably notice a high volume of dairy related posts at the beginning as this is the latest fascination that has brought about the urge to start a blog. Readers are welcome to suggest other areas to explore.

And so it begins...