tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-778487044098443919.post8021809671230085197..comments2023-10-15T15:55:52.817-06:00Comments on The Homestead Laboratory: Our Big Fat Greek YogurtJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05302653400986920552noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-778487044098443919.post-38894151328317145592013-05-13T08:01:05.225-06:002013-05-13T08:01:05.225-06:00Good to hear a cooler with hot water works well, t...Good to hear a cooler with hot water works well, too. Now if we break the oven doing one of our other experiments, we won't have to go without yogurt! :-)<br /><br />We had the same thought about the recommendations of the starter culture companies. Two advantages we can see to going through those folks is that the powdered cultures don't take up as much space in the freezer, and it's possible to get more exotic cultures than what's typically available in the grocery store. Also, the culture from our own batches of yogurt tends to evolve over time and can eventually acquire some off flavors, so having a bottle of the powder around allows us to start a 'culture line' from the powder, make batches from that line for a year or two until it peters out or changes too much, then start over from the powder again. That is to say, that one little bottle of powder can probably last almost a lifetime!<br /><br />Thanks for the comment! (Also, we're enjoying your weekly homestead updates. Keep 'em coming!)Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05302653400986920552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-778487044098443919.post-69667519337899337222013-05-13T07:41:28.009-06:002013-05-13T07:41:28.009-06:00We tried the colander with our next batch, too, an...We tried the colander with our next batch, too, and it worked great. It also got too thick, but instead of adding some of the whey back in, we added a little fresh milk to keep the tart flavor out. Of course, sometimes we like a little tartness, so it's good to have options! Thanks for the comment!Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05302653400986920552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-778487044098443919.post-39643616592069847142013-05-09T16:25:57.381-06:002013-05-09T16:25:57.381-06:00I can confirm that a colander lined with cheeseclo...I can confirm that a colander lined with cheesecloth works perfect. I also found that if I strained it too long and the yogurt got too thick (mine sometimes would get to the consistency of cream cheese,) I could always mix in a little bit of the whey and thin it back down. <br /><br />I've also been taking some of my whey and powdering it lately to save space, although, I need to find some more useful things to do with it, as I have nearly a half-gallon of powdered whey now...Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16663852604103742031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-778487044098443919.post-75368247608273111172013-05-09T06:53:04.613-06:002013-05-09T06:53:04.613-06:00I've made yogurt at home. I used a cooler to ...I've made yogurt at home. I used a cooler to keep the temp correct. I put 2 quart sized mason jars in with the yogurt and 2 jars with hot water to keep the temp up. For a starter I used some Chobani yogurt.<br /><br />I know that the people selling starter cultures recommend against using actual yogurt as a starter, but that seems a bit self serving to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com