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Learn how to make Spring Wine and aliantha cookies.

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Wyldewode
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Post by Wyldewode »

*groans* Yummy yogurt recipe, and no way to make my own. :(
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Post by Menolly »

You can't do it in the oven, ~Lyr?
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Post by Wyldewode »

Stupid electric oven. . . no pilot light. :(
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Post by Menolly »

So, you do think the recipe calls for a pilot light when it says "with the light on?" :(

ali says it's still doable with an electric oven. I'm going to try it at some point I think.
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Post by Wyldewode »

Hrm. . . must have glossed over that part. Let me know if it turns out. . . I'd certainly like to make my own yogurt for about 1/4 the normal price! :)
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Post by aliantha »

Here's how I raise bread dough in the oven:

* Knead yer dough, put it back in the bowl, cover it with a towel or not, whatever you usually do.
* Put it in the oven with the oven turned off.
* Fill a big saucepan with hot tap water (I usually use my 3 qt. pot) and position the pot directly under the bowl with the bread dough in it.
* Shut the oven door and wait for however long the yeast packet says it will take to rise.

The hot water brings up the temperature in the oven enough to keep the dough warm enough for the yeast to do its thing. And of course there are no air drafts in the closed oven.

The only problem with doing yogurt this way is that the water will cool off before the yogurt is done. (Yeast dough takes an hour or so to rise, but yogurt takes four to eight hours, depending on the type of starter.) That's why I'm saying you might be able to turn your electric oven on "warm" or use the heat from the oven's light bulb (Easy Bake Oven, anyone? :lol: ), and make the yogurt that way.

Really, when you think about it, yeast and yogurt starter -- and beer fermentation, for that matter -- are all working with the same basic process: you're trying to keep the critters warm enough to multiply but not so hot that you kill 'em off.
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Post by Menolly »

aliantha wrote:The only problem with doing yogurt this way is that the water will cool off before the yogurt is done. (Yeast dough takes an hour or so to rise, but yogurt takes four to eight hours, depending on the type of starter.) That's why I'm saying you might be able to turn your electric oven on "warm" or use the heat from the oven's light bulb (Easy Bake Oven, anyone? :lol: ), and make the yogurt that way.

Really, when you think about it, yeast and yogurt starter -- and beer fermentation, for that matter -- are all working with the same basic process: you're trying to keep the critters warm enough to multiply but not so hot that you kill 'em off.
*nodding*

This was why I was wondering if the recipe meant the pilot light when it said to leave it overnight in the oven "with the light on." As I said, I only wondered if that was the case because someone in the comments section on the recipe site mentioned it. Otherwise, I would have assumed the electric light bulb from the start...

Also, after straining, it says you wind up with 1 3/4 cups strained yogurt from 2 quarts of milk. I can accept that, but I would prefer to make a larger batch at once, like 3 1/2 cups from a gallon of milk once a week or so, since I eat about 1/2 cup of yogurt at a time with a banana (and maybe honey occasionally). Would I simply double the amount of starter? Or would the incubating time need to be increased as well?
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Post by aliantha »

Menolly wrote:Also, after straining, it says you wind up with 1 3/4 cups strained yogurt from 2 quarts of milk. I can accept that, but I would prefer to make a larger batch at once, like 3 1/2 cups from a gallon of milk once a week or so, since I eat about 1/2 cup of yogurt at a time with a banana (and maybe honey occasionally). Would I simply double the amount of starter? Or would the incubating time need to be increased as well?
Hunh. Trying to extrapolate from making yeast dough here. The incubation period should stay the same, I think. I believe I'd double the starter -- so, a cup of starter instead of half a cup. (I'm basing that on the directions from the powdered starter. It calls for one envelope of starter per quart of milk.)

And I'd set aside the cup of starter before straining/draining the rest. It'll be easier to incorporate the more liquid yogurt into the next batch.

My only other suggestion is to keep an eye on your yogurt while it's straining, Menolly. The yogurt cheese I have made has the consistency of cream cheese -- very solid -- which I don't believe is what you're after here. If you drain out too much whey, you'll end up with a very large lump of stuff to put on bagels. :) Which is not necessarily a bad thing...but if you were aiming to mix it with a banana for breakfast, you'd be disappointed.

Let me know how it turns out!
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Post by Menolly »

Thanks ali! This recipe only calls for 2 TBS of yogurt per 2 quarts of milk, so I guess I would only need 4 TBS. I'll try it making the smaller batch first, to see how it turns out, then I'll try doubling it.

But damn...Hyperception just reminded me that the oven light probably won't work for us either. Our oven doesn't have a window, so the light goes completely off when you close the oven door, and there is no switch to turn it on.

:( :( :(

He did suggest maybe trying a hot water bottle instead of a bowl of hot water after seeing your suggestion, to try and retain the heat longer. Do you think that would work?

Otherwise I'll have to look into AB's method more seriously, and invest in a heating pad...
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Post by aliantha »

Menolly wrote: He did suggest maybe trying a hot water bottle instead of a bowl of hot water after seeing your suggestion, to try and retain the heat longer. Do you think that would work?
<shrug> It's worth a shot. Again, you might be okay just turning the oven on "warming". But I'd check with an oven thermometer to be sure you're not cooking the beasties.
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Post by Wyldewode »

My oven doesn't have a window either. Stupid cheap 1970's era appliance! :rant:

I may invest in a heating pad, or else try to change the hot water on a regular basis. But it's not going to happen any time soon. . . due to my fight with the insurance company I'm $100 short this pay period, and am skipping shopping for groceries entirely this week. I'm going to see how long I can hold out on stuff in the pantry and freezer before I have to break down and get stuff. :(
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Post by Menolly »

*nodding*

We're in the same boat this week. Hyperception has only been scheduled for one or two days a week at the post office for over a month now, and with rent and utilities due this next week, pantry and freezer meals it is for the foreseeable...
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Post by aliantha »

Yeesh. Hang in there, ladies.
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Post by Menolly »

Thanks ali. :)
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Post by JazFusion »

My mom just sent me her many years old copy of Paul Prudhomme's cookbook for some good 'ol home cookin'. I can't wait to make gumbo!
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Post by Wyldewode »

That sounds wonderful, Jaz! :)
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Post by aliantha »

Okay, last homemade yogurt update, I promise. :)

Got another container of Greek yogurt a couple of weeks ago and gave it another go. I dunno *how* I got that not-tart batch the last time, because this one and the last one taste like regular yogurt. Ah well. It's still very tasty. And it does seem thicker than the Dannon variety, even without straining. But maybe I'm overprocessing it. Who knows? :lol:

However, I believe I've found the source of the increasingly tart taste. The thermometer that came with the yogurt maker kid has a clip to hold it to the side of the pot while positioning the probe in the milk. I was washing the probe every time, but I didn't realize that the hot milk was foaming up around the edges of the clip, so a little bit of milk scum was sticking to it. There wasn't enough detritus to turn the whole batch of yogurt sour -- but if I'd kept going without catching the problem, I'm sure we would've ended up there eventually. :oops: Anyhow, it's fixed now. (The thermometer is digital so, alas, you can't submerge the whole thing.)
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Post by Menolly »

Woo-hoo!!!

Finally! Store brand Splenda equivalent.
I know, some people really don't like Splenda, but it works for me. Now for the price to drop even more...
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Post by aliantha »

Generic Splenda? That's good news! I'll have to look for it.

I toyed last year with the idea of using the Splenda blends in Christmas cookies. I'm sure it would work -- but the girls won't drink diet soft drinks because of the aftertaste, and I was afraid they would reject the cookies for the same reason. Which would leave me with dozens and dozens of cookies to either eat myself or throw out, neither of which I can afford. Maybe I'll try it this year with a small batch and see if anybody can tell the difference.
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Post by Menolly »

I found it at our new Wal-Mart Super Center, ali.

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It is Great Value brand Altern. And I don't notice any difference in taste from Splenda.
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