◄► Easy Homemade Slow Cooker Yoghurt - UPDATED ◄►

yeah ive had loads that were quite slimy in consistency due to this house being so cold.... now that the rayburn is on its been much better and ive deliberately been waiting untill warmer days to make it. have been told by a friend to stick it on the rayburn rather than use the yoghurt maker/ slow cooker so may try that once the workmen have gone
 
yeah ive had loads that were quite slimy in consistency due to this house being so cold.

Oh yep, forgot about the slimy consistency!

:D

I cocked up yesterday, I used my new mini slow cooker and forgot that the temp dial settings are in a different order to my other one.

I thought it was on low but was on high for 2 1/2 hrs. Anyway, I left it for just 2 1/2 hrs to cool instead of the 3 and it came out fine.

I may try that again later, ie leave it on high instead of low, as long as it is warm enough to keep your little finger in there without burning it should be fine.

I will let you know how I get on.

;)
 
Ive not made any for around 2 weeks last batch ended up similar to Ellies one so it must be too cold - only yesterday bought a metre of muslin to strain through I like it thick so going to have another go tomorrow. Think I might need a new slow cooker had this one for ever.
 
Ive not made any for around 2 weeks last batch ended up similar to Ellies one so it must be too cold - only yesterday bought a metre of muslin to strain through I like it thick so going to have another go tomorrow. Think I might need a new slow cooker had this one for ever.

It's probably the weather Chris, do you leave it for the 8 hours overnight or during the day?

I was leaving mine overnight but I am going to change to daytime and see how that goes, as it is quite a bit warmer during the day.
 
Well, I tried an experiment regarding the yoghurt.

My yog hasn't been as thick due to the weather and although it has been warmer over the past couple of days I thought I would change the timings, just to see if it would still work.

I think it has been cooling down too quickly because of the drop in temp in the house, so I tried it this way and it came out a lot thicker.

Set cooker to high instead of low and leave for one hour.

Switch off and leave for 1 to 1½ hrs to cool.

It was still quite warm after 1 hour, I could leave my little finger in there without wincing!

I thought it may have been too hot at first but is seems to be working.

So, I have the whole process down to 10½ hrs instead of 13½.

If you are using UHT milk you only need it to get hot, it is the temp at which you add the starter yoghurt and milk powder which is the main concern.

I may even see how hot it gets after ½ hr and try that.
 
Mine has been straining over night it tastes yum but nowhere near as thick as usual - still better than paying a fortune for 0% in my Co-op is gone up to £2.39 Tesco £2
Thank you for the experiments DWTBFA50! x
 
Mine has been straining over night it tastes yum but nowhere near as thick as usual - still better than paying a fortune for 0% in my Co-op is gone up to £2.39 Tesco £2
Thank you for the experiments DWTBFA50! x

You are welcome!

I'll let you know how I get on with the ½ hr experiment.

:D

I think that someone said that strained yoghurt contained twice as much protein as unstrained so we are onto a good thing Chris if that is the case.

Plus it tastes lovely so it isn't a task to eat it.

By the way, I have tried different brands of UHT milk, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons etc.

The one that I have found makes the creamiest tasting is Moo Milk, available at Home Bargains for about 59p/52p a litre depending on whether you buy skimmed or semi.

;)
 
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Hi All, I've got a slow cooker collecting dust in the cupboard and have decided to get it out inspired by this thread. Just a couple of questions:

1) do you always have to brown off mince / cook onions before you put in slow cooker? If so can you do this night before and throw it in with all the other stuff?

2) are slow cookers safe? I'm a bit weary having an electric item switched on all day whilst I'm out of the house.

3) Id have to switch slower cooker on at 8am and if I want tea at 6pm this would mean its cooking for 10 hours which is too long for some recipes. Does anyone use an electric timer to switch the slower cooker on/off?
 
Thank you we have Home & Bargain do you think thats the same shop? will try it if I can :)

It is this one Chris

hb-logo.png


Home Bargains Online Store

I bought some more this afternoon and it was 59p a litre for semi.

I have changed back over from skimmed to semi now that I am on stab as I like thick creamy yog.

:D
 
Outcome of 1 hour heating on HIGH, ½ hour resting

Ok, I said I would come back and let you know the outcome of my latest experiment :D.

This was the outcome after heating a litre semi skimmed Moo Milk for 1 hour on high, leaving it to cool for just half an hour and then leaving for the usual 8 hours for the live cultures to work their magic.

I then drained it for 1½ hrs to get the thick creamy result below.

I use a large sieve over a pyrex dish and a men's handkerchief instead of muslin.

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I did use a small slow cooker, similar to this model from Argos.

Buy Argos Value Range Slow Cooker at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Limited stock Kitchen and laundry.

I haven't tried it in a large slow cooker as I only make enough for one person.

Not sure if it would work on high in a large crock pot, you may find it gets too hot but, as you can see, it def works in a small s/c.

;)
 
I started my first batch this morning but already made a mistake! I bought Yeo Valley yogurt yesterday to use this morning but noticed it was the vanilla one. It does say to use one as fresh as possible but had one in the fridge I was going to use ages ago and didn't. It has an expiry date of Jan 11 so it probably won't work. :( But decided to go ahead and try anyway.

I bought a yogurt maker from Lakeland yesterday for £19 because my slow cooker is a 6.5 litre one and I thought that might be too big. The yogurt maker looks like a tiny slow cooker so I think it is the exact same concept.

Thank you DWBFand50 for this thread, just hope I can get mine to look like yours! Fingers crossed.
 
I started my first batch this morning but already made a mistake! I bought Yeo Valley yogurt yesterday to use this morning but noticed it was the vanilla one. It does say to use one as fresh as possible but had one in the fridge I was going to use ages ago and didn't. It has an expiry date of Jan 11 so it probably won't work. :( But decided to go ahead and try anyway.

I bought a yogurt maker from Lakeland yesterday for £19 because my slow cooker is a 6.5 litre one and I thought that might be too big. The yogurt maker looks like a tiny slow cooker so I think it is the exact same concept.

Thank you DWBFand50 for this thread, just hope I can get mine to look like yours! Fingers crossed.

An expiry date of January the 11th! :eek: It's the 23rd today, I would def NOT use that yoghurt for anything.

I would wait and buy some Yeo Valley, I buy the one in the green tub.

If you follow the directions then you should get good results.

;)
 
YEY I made it!! Was so easy, and thick and creamy, I tried to make it last year with my old s/cooker that seemed to burn the milk, got new value tesco one and made it perfectly!
 
Hi all

I wonder if anyone can shed any wisdom? Can't remember how many times I have read this thread! I'm following the rules but my yoghurt isn't thick at all, it's runnier than normal yoghurt, like double cream consistency.

I am heating 1lt milk in my slow cooker on lowfor 2.5 hours
- leaving it until 110 degrees (I have a thermometer)
- adding 1tbs of Yeo valley live yog (in the green packaging)
- adding 1tbs skimmed milk powder and mixing
- wrapping it in a fleece blanket and leaving for 8 hours
- attempting to strain, whereby it all drains through the cloth!

I get the same result every time - very runny. The only thing I can think of is that my house isn't warm enough (hot water botter on top of the SC in the blanket?) or that the muslin cloth I'm using is too old and a bit threadbare, therefore too much is escaping.

It's driving me mad... and suggestions very much appreciated! I was so excited when I started too...

Thanks!
 
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Hi Happycamper.

Are you using UHT milk?

When you sc has been on for 2½ hrs, just switch off, unplug and leave for 3 hrs, don't bother checking temp.

The temp shouldn't really affect it now that the weather has warmed up a lot.

It sounds like you may be adding the starter yog when it is too hot so the live bacteria is being killed off.
 
Hi DWTBFA5

Thanks for your reply! :) Yes, I am using UHT milk. I left the milk for 3 hours the first time and got the same result which is why I bought the thermometer.

Maybe I'll leave it til 100 degrees then? Also someone else online suggests 2tbs of starter so might try that.
 
I use 2 tbl of starter and make sure it is at room temp before putting into the warmed milk. I now have a Lakeland yoghurt machine and its money well spent just put milk in and starter 2tbl at room temp. switch on and leave for 8 hours and then strain through muslin - fantastic yoghurt just like 0% Total
 
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