Hi Sue, I have an old yogurt maker from the 80s. My DH used to say "She tries to make it, I try to eat it."
These days I buy my yogurt, but I can share my old recipes, hints and tips. Something might apply to your maker. Milk - you can use whole, skim or low-fat, evaporated milk or reconstitued instant nonfat dry milk powder. To use evaporated milk, add an equal amount of water. To use powdered milk, reconstitute according to package directions. For a firmer, creamier yogurt, with any type of milk, add 1/3 cup of nonfat dry milk powder per quart before heating. Starter - fresh unflavored yogurt at room temperature. Stir in a little of the warm milk into the starter to thin it down, making it easier to blend into the milk. Stir the starter mixture into the remaining warm milk and pour into the incubating container. If you use the freeze-dried culture available, follow their directions. Make sure your starter is not flavored and does not contain gelatin. The taste of yogurt ranges from sweet to extremely tart. The temperature of the milk when the starter is added and the length of incubation time both influence the taste. The warmer the milk is when the starter is added, the more tart the yogurt will be. The cooler the milk is, the sweeter the yogurt. Long incubation time results in tart yogurt, short time produces sweet yogurt. Yogurt also becomes more tart the longer it is stored. Heat 2 quarts of milk in saucepan until it just begins to boil. Remove milk from heat and cool to lukewarm. (Test on your wrist like a baby's bottle) Stir starter yogurt thoroughly and add 1/2 cup to lukewarm milk, stir well. If a dried yogurt starter is used, follow directions on pkg. Pour mixture into yogurt maker and put the cap on, plug in. Yogurt will be thickened in 5 hours, longer heating will make your yogurt firmer and tangier. It will become firmer after chilling. Another method Put 1 cup low-fat or skim milk in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder and stir until dissolved. Add this mixture to 3 cups milk, heat in a saucepan over low heat to 190F to 210F (90 to 99C). Remove from heat and cool to 110F (43C). In a small bowl, stir 3 tablespoons room temperature yogurt till creamy. Mix about 1/3 cup warm milk into yogurt. Blend until smooth. Stir yogurt-milk mixture into remaining milk. Mix well. Pour into the container, cover. Incubate 3 - 4 hours. Do not disturb. After 3 hours, gently shake mixture to see if it is firm. If not, let stand 1 more hour and check again. Refrigerate as soon as yogurt begin to set. Chill at least 6 hours before serving. For a thicker yogurt, place several layers of white paper towels on top of chilled yogurt to absorb moisture separation. I was always trying for thick yogurt and added a can of non-fat evaporated milk to this recipe. It worked, but I could always taste the evaporated milk flavor, so it was only partially successful. I've been thinking of making yogurt cheese, and now I'm looking at my old yellow maker, wondering if it still works. hmmmm. Hope this helps! Lenore SW Michigan USA http://tatt3r-lace.blogspot.com/ To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com.
