Friday, March 11, 2011

Yogurt Made in the Slow Cooker

It took me two years to try this recipe and it was one of the easiest things I've ever made.  I have no idea why making yogurt in the slow cooker seemed so intimidating to me.  Maybe I was afraid to waste 8 cups of milk if it didn't turn out?  What I've come to find, is that it's difficult to mess this recipe up.  It's only 7 steps!

This has worked so well that I'll be making yogurt in the slow cooker forever now. We love to try mixing in new things to flavour the yogurt. Our son loves it with honey, daughter a dash a vanilla, hubby loves it mixed with apple butter, I love it plain with granola on top, a mashed banana in it tastes delicious, your options are endless!

I used regular whole milk to make my yogurt and mixed it with Nancy's Plain Whole Yogurt which has pro-biotic cultures.  Do not use milk that's be Ultra- High Paturized such as most Organic milks :(  According to the comments on Shannon's blog, for lower fat yogurt, you could use fat-free half and half then strain it in a cheese cloth prior to putting it in containers to remove the extra whey.  I will be doing this sometime, as I'd like to make yogurt for my mother-in-law who's on a perscribed low-fat diet and will have a fit if I feed her fats.

The basic steps are ~
1) pour 8 cups milk into slow cooker,
2) heat on low for 2.5 hours (u want it to reach 180 degrees)
3) turn off slow cooker and cool for 3 hours with lid on,
4) take out 2 cups warm"ish" (or 110 degree) milk and mix with 1/2 cup yogurt,
5) pour milk/yogurt mix back into slow cooker and mix well
6) cover with towels and leave for 8-12 hours
7) refrigerate for 8 hours

CROCKPOT YOGURT recipe is from Nourishing Days  Be sure to read the comments and recipe notes from her blog for more tips.
I also recommend to pop over to the Cleaner Plate Club's website and read Ali's hilarious post on yogurt making.
Happily submitted to Frugal Fridays over at Life As Mom and Family Friendly Fridays over at Mommie Cooks!

Enjoy!


from the "Girl Scout Handbook"
by Catharine C. Reiley,
illustrations by Eleanor Dart and Alison Cummings
1955, Girl Scouts of the United States of America

9 comments:

  1. I have to admit that I'm intrigued! I didn't know you could make yogurt in the slow cooker either. My boys adore yogurt. Trader Joes has been out of the strawberry flavor for over a month now and Alex is beside himself about it. Maybe what I need to do is just make some of my own and "strawberry" it up for him.

    I hope you're doing well and have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has had a very simliar recipe stashed away for a long time. I think my fear has been the waste of 8 good cups of expensive milk too! Thanks so much for giving me the motivation and confidence :) to "just do it"!

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  3. What a great idea, now this is something I have got to try. We spend a small fortune on yogurt just because I am so fussy about the ingredients. Thanks so much.

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  4. Hi Sarah!!!
    I can't believe you posted this recipe. I've been shameful about making yogurt. I use to make it at least once a month but since finally moving to PA, it has gone by the wayside. I'm going to give this recipe a go. It seems to take a bit longer than when I usually make it. But, I'm more likely to prepare it this way if I just have to pop the ingredients in the crock pot!

    Thank you so much for sharing...I had a wonderful visit:)

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  5. Louise you are so sweet :) I'm actually making some in my crock pot right now. I'm making it with powdered milk this time. The kids love it and I find myself making it every 4 days or so. Thanks for visiting :)

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  6. I just made crockpot yogurt a couple of weeks ago with much success! I only wish I could make the whole batch with a vanilla flavor! You said that your daughter puts vanilla in hers. Does it taste similar to the vanilla flavored yogurt you buy at the store?

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  7. Hi Amber, Our daughter loves vanilla yogurt as well so she adds a couple drops of vanilla extract to her yogurt. She actually likes this better :)

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  8. Hooray for homemade yogurt! If you don't have a slow cooker, a heating pad and towel work great, too.

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  9. Thank you for the tip! I make this every 4 days or so. I haven't had good sucess with powdered milk yet, and find I have to use 2% and watch the temperature closely to make sure it reaches 185 degrees, then down to 110 or so. I also try to use the best starter yogurt I can find.. there are so many filled with junk :( Whole Foods and Azure have good yogurts to use as a starter :)

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