View Full Version : yogurt
Has anyone managed to make yogurt in the woods? Thought I might be able to set it up the night before, and graze in the AM.
So last night at 6PM I stirred 3 cups of skim milk into 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt. Put it in the warmest spot around here, 75*. At 5AM, no action. At 5PM, I stirred it and it was like heavy cream. Multiple questions:
How long after it starts to act does it "clot?"
How do I tell if this is edible after so many hours at 75*?
One of my cookbooks describes making yogurt, heating, 85*, etc. I am trying to simulate the woods. (But I don't want to poison myself either!) Wish I had at least warmed the milk to room temp. This may be yet another of my "sounded like a good idea at the time" frigfests.
skyhiker2
03-09-2007, 23:16
dude??? I've never heard of such a thing..
Just tell him/her to swallow.
Supposed to work in 12-14 hours. I've tried far goofier. Like a collapsible cup back in the 70's. Wee. that was fun.
Two Speed
03-10-2007, 07:10
Yeah, I remember those. Wouldn't have been so bad if the designers had eliminated the random collapsible option. Hot coffee, anyone? :eek:
Back the yogurt thing. Have you considered the "midnight visit by a rodent friend option?" Little bitty raisins in your yogurt ain't good for ya, if you get my drift. :-?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-10-2007, 09:38
How long it takes to make yogurt is directly related to temp control - lower temp = longer ferment time. Since the very lowest temp at which you can make yogurt is about 98F, it is concieivable you could put the container in your jacket at camp and in your sleeping bag overnight (I'd use the screw on ziplock bowls / cups and put that in a ziplock baggie). The problem I could see is that jiggling the milk as it forms yogurt often makes the resulting yogurt thin or bitter (something I didcovered years ago when the kids checked the yogurt in the yogurt maker every 10 minutes to see if it was done yet....). Those little beasties that make yogurt are particular about their environment :D
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_19495,00.html
I dont know how you would get the temperature control, but it is easy to make at home
Fresh Yogurt
Recipe courtesy Alton BrownShow: Good Eats (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/0,1976,FOOD_9956,00.html)Episode: Yogurt: Good Milk Gone Bad (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_20772,00.html) http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/images/spacers/spacer.gifhttp://www.foodnetwork.com/food/images/spacers/spacer.gif 1 quart 2-percent milk
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 to 2 tablepoons honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt, room temperature
Pour milk into small saucepan and whisk in powdered milk and honey. Place over medium heat and bring to 120 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Once milk has reached 120 degrees F, pour into a cylindrical plastic container, reserving 1/2 cup. Whisk in the reserved 1/2 cup into the yogurt and add back to the milk mixture. Place container into a narrow wine bucket, lined with a heating pad. Set the heating pad to medium. Let the mixture ferment for 3 to 12 hours making sure the temperature stays as close to 115 degrees F as possible. After fermentation is complete place into the refrigerator overnight.
max patch
03-10-2007, 10:18
I used to carry a product I bought thru the mail; powered yogurt which you then added milk to. Haven't bought it in at least 10 years and don't remember the name. They used to advertise in the back of backpacker mag. Bet a google search would find something if your'e interested.
Wanderingson
03-10-2007, 10:44
Making yogurt??????
I've never made any, but I certainly have slung some.
Thanks for the info. Don't know why I thought 85* was the magic temp. Maybe wishful thinking. Now if I had a hot spring to camp near.
Gray Blazer
03-10-2007, 19:32
Maybe after you put your campfire out you could somehow make an "oven" out of the heated ground. I'm trying to think of some quart size container with a wide open spout. Pour your heated milk in and put in the starter. Wrap it in some towells and put the heated dirt over it. By morning it should be done. Even under perfect conditions, your yogurt doesn't always take. Seems like a lot of trouble for a backpacking trip. Could be fun for a family campout.
I was hoping I could just mix milk powder with leftover yogurt in a container. Beyond that is in the realm of reflector ovens.
I am wondering now if yogurt can be dehydrated and then reconstituted without losing its tang.....anyone ever try this?
Mudhead,
You can make yogurt with just milk powder, water and some "seed" yogurt.
I've been doing it for years. Twice as much milk powder as the "milk" directions call for, a teaspoon of live yogurt. I mix in a blender. Put in oven, with the light on, overnight.
The "on the trail thing" could be more problematic. I don't know the effect of constant jostling. FD may be right that it turns bitter.
It ought to work in the summer, on a rock in the sun. if you took a rest day.
Miles of Smiles
Tom
I am wondering now if yogurt can be dehydrated and then reconstituted without losing its tang.....anyone ever try this?
I've never tried to reconstitute any. Just drying makes a good snack though. It's like a fruit roll-up but yogurt.
aaroniguana
03-11-2007, 10:47
I worked in a tandoori house (indian cuisine) in FL in the 70s. They made 20 gallons or so of yogurt every other day for sauces and marinades, just left it on the stovetop overnight. They brought the seed yogurt from their restaurant in Toronto, it originally came from India. The idea of eating a milk product that was left on the counter overnight never really appealed to me. But no one ever got sick because they boiled the milk to kill any bacteria, then as it cooled they added the seed yogurt which was (allegedly) pure.