We love yogurt in this family. Stoneyfield tubers tend to be a favorite and now we found that Trader Joe's has a tubers brand that the kids like too. The kids look forward to every Wednesday at school cause I pack yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and granola. They really like this Australian creamy style of yogurt called Wallaby from Whole Foods for that . I love Fage and Don will eat any kind. So, like most food in this family we are kinda passionate about it:) I found a recipe for crockpot yogurt and I was intrigued. I thought it sounded way to easy and simple. The first batch I tried...failed. What I didn't know was that you weren't supposed to use ultra-pasteurized milk. What I also didn't know was how hard it is to find antibiotic free, hormone free non ultra-pasteurized yogurt. But, I found it.....Oberweiss. It is $3.79 at the store for 1/2 gallon and when you return the glass bottle to the store, you get a $1.50 refund...that's a steal for the quality that it is. Anyways, my 2nd batch worked. I was WAY too excited about it. It make a whole crockpot full and it will last a little over a week. I cannot take credit for the recipe though. I found it on a crockpot blog. Here it is:
Crockpot Yogurt
-8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized. ( start with whole milk until you get the hang of yogurt-making)
-1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter0
-This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.
-Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, or until your milk reaches almost 180 degrees.
-Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.
-When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.
-Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation. I put mine in the oven (not turned on of course)
-Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.
-In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.
-if you would like a thicker yogurt let the yogurt sit on a cheesecloth over a bowl. The water will drain and you will be left with more of a greek style yogurt.- Blend in batches with your favorite fruit if you would like to
- Chill in container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.
The change of this milk to a yogurt made me realize how cool science is, and what a neat thing for the kids to see. I just hope they like the taste of it. Besides tasting good, it is a great value. A box of tubers (we go through 2 a week) is 2.99, so that is $6.00 a week. Plus the wallaby is over $4.00 for a weeks worth. This is $2.29 a week with extra for smoothies and creamscicles. It will save us over $300 a year in yogurt. I called my dad uber excited about it this morning and he said, " wow, making your own soap and now yogurt, we'll have to get you a horse and buggy to go around in." Oddly, enough..that made me so proud:)
