ANY Yogurt fans??

I like it plain. I used to make it pretty regularly when it was harder to find good ones, still do sometimes because one of the local milks is really fatty and the yogurt is tastier, plus I can make it more sour which I like.

I believe the 'greek' refers to the style - some of the water is extracted from it after it's made (centrifuged out?) so it's thicker.

There are 3-4 bacteria that eat the lactose making yogurt from the milk - one of them is 'bulgarian' the others are 'greek', same spot on the world map, which makes sense and I've found that all good yogurts have all of them.

Indeed it's very easy to make - you basically have to keep the milk in the temperature range where these bacteria thrive. Heating it up first changes something with the proteins in the milk (I think) making the conditions better for the bacteria. With unpasturized milk the high temperature also kills any bacteria that may be in there so that they don't compete with the ones you're trying to grow.
Then after it cools off a bit you put a little bit of yogurt in it and let them start multiplying.

I measure the temperature the same way my grandmother and mother did - put my pinky in it and I have to be able to keep it in there for 5 seconds, otherwise it's too hot and will kill off the bacteria I'm introducing. I like it more sour, though, if you let it cool more it will also work but may take longer to set and will be sweeter. It's an easy experimentation.

Then it's a matter of ensuring that it stays warm for number of hours and simply insulating the container works very well (wrapped in towels/blankets/sweaters). I have a 'yogurt maker' which is really a double-walled plastic jar with a very weak heating element inside. I can fit a 32oz glass jar in it and that's what I do. It usually takes 3-5 hours if I use a spoonful of chobani to start it, if you leave it too long it'll just be more sour (more time for the bacteria to eat the sugar in the milk) and it could separate out some of the water. I don't care so I've left it overnight or even for 16 hours when I've forgotten it - I enjoy it just as much :)

Oh, and I use about 1-2 teaspoons of yogurt for a 32oz jar of milk - I first stir it really well in a small amount of milk so that then it can mix well with the 32oz.

See, I just had to get a late night snack :)

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The Maple Hill is a new one that a friend who knows I like it quite sour suggested I try. Just had some and the verdict is that I like it better than Stonyfield and BrownCow.

Gugi
So you are using store bought Yogurt sort of as a culture medium to make homemade?

You don't have to, but since these days I don't make it all the time and may have eaten it all before making new one I just use a starter from a store bought.
In the past when the stores didn't have good ones I had to make sure I save a little bit to make the new one because it was a PITA to make good home made yogurt from a store brand starter - the first dozen or so batches were runny and improving slowly. I think it was about developing the right balance of the bacteria strains but that's only a guess.

With chobani it always works perfectly and it's widely available, so I don't care anymore if I run out of yogurt.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Gugi
So you are using store bought Yogurt sort of as a culture medium to make homemade?

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Bill I have been using Stonyfield for years. Where I live it is the best I can find. Works just fine with regular whole milk from the store. I am sure it is best to use organic milk for best tasting results, unless you can find fresh milk straight from a cow, that will be the top choice.

Will look for stonyfield,My fave is made by Mountain High (Real sour) but has all the good stuff in it.
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It's my start to the day , I believe I'll look for the stuff jimmy posted About , I typically use the Chobani and then I mix in some homemade granola , a little crunch and good stuff , that and my coffe gets me going. Tc

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Will look for stonyfield,My fave is made by Mountain High (Real sour) but has all the good stuff in it.
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What you have there will work too, as long as it has the L.Bulgaricus, it helps the other cultures in the yogurt as far as I know.

Stonyfield is my favorite but I can't usually find it around here so the next best or rather the best available and a very good yogurt is Astro Balkan style yogurt. My preference is always for the strained yogurts because in part I like it nice and thick. Plain to start and then a little fruit or nuts or granola perhaps some maple syrup. It's all good. Now I have to go have a snack.

I will often eat some greek yogurt or cottage cheese with local honey, some blueberries and flax seeds after a workout to fuel recovery. It's great all mushed together.