Yogurt on the Trail

[LaurieAnn]

I know that this isn't exactly UL because it uses a thermos not to mention that it takes a little time and planning...

However, I feel compelled to ask... have you ever done it... made yogurt on the trail? Just wondering if there was anyone out here as crazy about fresh yogurt as I am... :D

We do this on some of our 10 day trips :eek:. Shocking, I know, but there are also 3 of us so the added weight of the thermos isn't really a big deal.

[warraghiyagey]

How does one make yogurt on the trail. . . recipe??

[LaurieAnn]

Well it isn't exactly a recipe... more of a technique. Sometimes I will make yogurt cheese but I will explain that technique later.

Trail Yogurt from A Fork in the Trail © 2008

Dehydration Time: none
Makes 2–3 servings

Making homemade yogurt is very easy to do on the trail. You will need a 2-cup, high-quality, very clean, stainless steel thermos for this, and it is one of those recipes actually works better with powdered milk. It is best to make yogurt in the late afternoon the day before as it takes the culture some time to do its job. You should probably test this recipe at home first to get the hang of it. Once you do, you’ll be making fresh yogurt on many of your trips.

8 tablespoons milk powder
1 teaspoon yogurt culture powder
1 3/4 cups water
Honey or vanilla sugar (optional)

At Home
Measure the milk powder accurately and put in a small ziplock freezer bag. Put the culture in a snack-sized sandwich bag and place that in the bag with the milk powder. Be sure to include a copy of the directions below.

At Camp
Boil 1/4 cup of water and pour it in your thermos to warm the metal. Mix 1 3/4 cup water and milk powder together in a pan. Scald the milk by heating it until the edges start to bubble and it reaches the boiling point. Be careful not to boil though. Remove the milk from the heat and cool until the milk is warmer than body temperature but not overly hot. If the milk is too hot, you will kill the culture; and if it’s too cool, the yogurt will not set.

Discard the now cooled water out of the thermos. Then put the yogurt culture in the thermos and add a little bit of the warm milk. Stir until the powder has dissolved. Then pour the remaining milk into the thermos. Stir well and secure the lid tightly. Put the thermos in a large ziplock bag and then inside a cozy. At bedtime take it into your sleeping bag with you. If you are a restless sleeper wrap the cozy in some clothing and set it beside you where you won’t knock it over. Avoid disturbing it as much as possible; do not shake or stir. By morning, you will have yogurt. If you don't like unsweetened yogurt, add a little honey or vanilla sugar to it before serving.

Tips
You need as much milk powder as you would normally use to make 2 cups of milk even though you will only be making 1 3/4 cups. These extra milk solids make for a richer and better texture.

The yogurt may not incubate if you use old culture. Freeze-dried berries go well with yogurt, and it makes a great topping for a bowl of granola.

[bikebum1975]

Cool idea I have made homemade yogurt at home with a yogurt maker and it was so much better than the stuff you get in the store but your thermos idea is pretty neat gona have to copy and save the recipe thanks.

[LaurieAnn]

I'm doing this again on our upcoming trip so I will try and remember to take photos. We are going to have it with berries and granola I think... or maybe some peaches. It's also very economical.

I make it at home all the time just using a mason jar or or plastic container and a warm spot (over the heat vent, on top of the fridge or next to my food dehydrator if I am running it). Works great and you don't need to waste any extra electricity using a yogurt maker. If I make it at home I use 2% milk and add a tablespoon or two of powdered. The extra milk solids from the powder are a great texture boost.

[warraghiyagey]

Thanks for the recipe. . . think I'll try it at home first. . . :)

[World-Wide]

My yogurt intake on trail is usually wrapped around a raisin!! W-W

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:7L_YC2j-vB7hVM:http://www.sun-maid.com/images/products/products_choc_yogurt_s.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sun-maid.com/images/products/products_choc_yogurt_s.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sun-maid.com/en/products.html&usg=__Vz6HrBKdI42go4uc8KvHIyhyCgk=&h=117&w=118&sz=18&hl=en&start=81&um=1&tbnid=7L_YC2j-vB7hVM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyogurt%2Bcovered%2Braisin%2Bpictures% 26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7TSHB%26sa%3DN%26start%3D72%26 um%3D1)

[LaurieAnn]

warraghiyagey - at home first is a really good idea... it's not for everyone on the trail or every trip but it sure is a treat on some

world-wide - I've never seen those before - I wonder if I could make my own in the food dehydrator?

[Toolshed]

Wow... My mother used to make this when we were growing up. She would start with a cup of plain yogurt as her culture, though. My kids don't think it's yogurt unless it tastes like whipped cream, there is fruit on the bottom and/or crunchies in a little cup on top.

[LaurieAnn]

I'm lucky that my 8 year old actually prefers this. His little friends weren't too impressed though... and we do add a little honey to it.

I learned the technique when I was a child - from my friend's Mom who was a really sweet Italian lady insisting that everything be from scratch. She did the same thing as your Mom and used a cup of yogurt as her culture. I do that too... but 1/2 cup with the second and third batches and only at home. I just reserve a little of the plain yogurt and use it in place of the starter. I find by the fourth of fifth use I need to use the culture powder again.

[World-Wide]

world-wide - I've never seen those before - I wonder if I could make my own in the food dehydrator?

If anyone can, I think it would be you!! :D

[LaurieAnn]

Found them in the grocery store this morning... yum! We went to a shop that I don't normally go to... and there they were... staring me right in the face. Thanks for mentioning it (and it was much easier than making my own ;) )

[Wise Old Owl]

warraghiyagey - at home first is a really good idea... it's not for everyone on the trail or every trip but it sure is a treat on some

world-wide - I've never seen those before - I wonder if I could make my own in the food dehydrator?

maybe not as they are tumbled as they dry then are finished with a thin layer of canuba wax and polished.

I often think, if you can buy it inexspensive at the store then let them do the work. You generally don't make tarter sauce, mayonaise, and peanut butter from scratch as an example. I do things on my dryer more to save money and time, I love banana chips and dried tomato's but they are cheap at the store. So I make a higher quality jerky and other things.

[LaurieAnn]

I might make those things from scratch Wise Old Owl. You are definitely right about the raisins though. The yogurt on them seems reminiscent of a confectioner's coating. Better just to buy them as it would require a lot of effort to make that coating. Never having had them before I thought it would be more simple.

Have you ever made your own raisins? I know it's cheaper/easier to buy but I did it not that long ago just to see and they were very good. Not something I would do often but I had some grapes that I need to use up and I hate seeing things end up in the composter so I dried them.

[LaurieAnn]

Here's a couple photos from our trip...

The empty yogurt Thermos...

http://www.gjstudios.com/laurie/yogurt-container.jpg

And the yummiest breakfast treat... fresh yogurt with blue agave nectar and a mix of granola, seeds and fruit...

http://www.gjstudios.com/laurie/yogurt.jpg

[Frosty]

You generally don't make tarter sauce, mayonaise, and peanut butter from scratch as an example.What's hard about making your own peanut butter? You grind up peanuts. The end.

You don't need that salt, sugar and hydrogenated oil, and leaving it out is easy.

[chknfngrs]

There are lots of people who make more things from scratch than you might think.

The stuff we make ourselves is so much better (better for you, better tasting) than commercially available items.

In my house we are starting to hate high fructose corn syrup. It's everywhere!

[LaurieAnn]

There are lots of people who make more things from scratch than you might think.

The stuff we make ourselves is so much better (better for you, better tasting) than commercially available items.

In my house we are starting to hate high fructose corn syrup. It's everywhere!

I've noticed a great trend with people getting back to making their own foods. I even have friends who make their own cheese. As chknfngrs states, it is more common than people think. There is also something really satisfying about making things yourself. It's not for everyone but we also like to have more control over what we eat.

What I love about making my own yogurt is that it isn't sickening sweet like the flavored yogurt you buy and plain yogurt from the grocery store just doesn't seem to have the same flavor. Not sure if that is because of processing or something else but I really do prefer the taste of homemade. I know it sounds complicated but it really is so simple to make on the trail (just don't use soy milk or almond milk because it won't turn out - has to be plain old powdered cow's milk).

I generally try to add a little sweetness - agave nectar this time. That is only because of Tobias (my little boy) as he likes it. For myself, I would just eat it with the addition of the fruit and granola.

Most times I start my yogurt in the late afternoon. On this particular trip we had to have a layover because of our friend injuring his ankle (very bad sprain with some tearing) so I made it around 3 pm. By 10 pm the yogurt would have been ready to consume but I left it over night to thicken a little. In the morning it was separated into the solid and whey. This is normal and I just gave it a stir. You could pour that off for a thicker yogurt.

Sometimes, if there are leftovers, I go as far as suspending the solids from a piece of cheesecloth in the top of the thermos as we travel. By lunch the yogurt is even more thick and I add herbs and garlic and spread it on our bagels. It isn't as thick as cream cheese but thick enough to be spreadable and not run all over the place. It's really nice with some smoked salmon too.

I try to avoid HFCS for the most part (even before I was diagnosed with diabetes). It amazes me what has HFCS and it is often in things like bread and also stuffing mixes as a softening agent as it helps keep the bread feeling fresher for longer. Bleh.

[ithai]

Deciding to treat myself at NOC, I had granola and yogurt for breakfast, and then headed on the trail. It was a hot day. Two hours later I felt so bad, I had to lie down for an hour in the shade. It wasn't a good idea... :(

[LaurieAnn]

Deciding to treat myself at NOC, I had granola and yogurt for breakfast, and then headed on the trail. It was a hot day. Two hours later I felt so bad, I had to lie down for an hour in the shade. It wasn't a good idea... :(

That's odd - was the yogurt off or something... or were you merely dehydrated from the heat?

[wystiria]

I might have to try this some weekend trip when we can afford to carry the weight of the thermos. I haven't ever made yogurt before so i will try it at home first I have a plethora of mason jars since I do my own canning..


this should be fun! thanks for the post I have been in a rut recently and this makes me excited!

[LaurieAnn]

It's fun... but definitely something to try at home first. In fact, I recommend trying most new and unusual recipes at home first.

If you like sweetness in your yogurt you will have to add to it because it is very tangy and slightly bitter without some agave or honey.

I'm going to try and make Kefir on a trip this summer so I'll let you know if that works out.

[budforester]

It's fun...
I'm going to try and make Kefir on a trip this summer so I'll let you know if that works out.

Please let us hear about the kefir experiment. I haven't tried it; but that's a room- temperature ferment, and should be easier to set up than yogurt.

[Grinder]

I used to make yogurt all the time. I used a recipe from "Laurel's Kitchen"

Basically, her recipe is: 1 cup warm water (100 deg F.) 1 cup milk powder 1/4 cup active culture yogurt. mix in blender until just smooth: set on heating pad on medium, cover with towel:leave until set(about 3 1/2 hours) yogurt is set when it resists a light touch at all: refrigerate.

My way, combining several other instructions

twice as much milk powder as package recommends for normal milk (usually 2/3 cup of powder per 1 cup of warm water. Two tablespoon yogurt with active cultures. mix in blender put in oven turned off with the light on inside.
Overnight and it was done.

I used the last of the current batch to seed the next one. Usually made a quart at a time. Two or three tablespoons of yogurt was enough for new batch.

I've never made it on the trail. A thermos ought to work. Just remember "warm, not hot"

[LaurieAnn]

I've never made it on the trail. A thermos ought to work. Just remember "warm, not hot"

Exactly - when you add the culture you want it just above body temperature... hot will kill the culture and your yogurt won't set. I learned that the hard way.

[Jan LiteShoe]

There are lots of people who make more things from scratch than you might think.

The stuff we make ourselves is so much better (better for you, better tasting) than commercially available items.

In my house we are starting to hate high fructose corn syrup. It's everywhere!

Good to hear this discussion, and thank you LaurieAnn for the recipe.
Glad people are starting to read the labels and think about what they are ingesting vis a vis their health.

Sorry for the thread digression, but since my 2003 thruhike, we have developed a small productive vegetable garden and tiny grape and fruit orchard, berries (straw/blue/black), as well as bees. we're building a small chicken house. We can and freeze as much as possible, and that means making meals from scratch.
We're by no means off the grid, just interested in clean food. Man, the crap I ate on my thru-hike! And loved it!
:banana

However, it's getting harder and harder for me to eat stuff with bar codes, and when we do we tend to buy organic/grass-fed. A bunch of us here in town got the local farmers market to expand to our town square. Now we're bringing the movie Food, Inc. to town, and the restaurants that serve local food are rallying around it with pre-movie local food and drinks. Should be fun!

Check out the trailer, and see if it's coming to a theater near you:
http://www.foodincmovie.com/trailer-and-photos.php

Anyway, carry on... and good show, LaurieAnn & Co.
:sun

[LaurieAnn]

Good to hear this discussion, and thank you LaurieAnn for the recipe.
Glad people are starting to read the labels and think about what they are ingesting vis a vis their health.

Sorry for the thread digression, but since my 2003 thruhike, we have developed a small productive vegetable garden and tiny grape and fruit orchard, berries (straw/blue/black), as well as bees. we're building a small chicken house. We can and freeze as much as possible, and that means making meals from scratch.
We're by no means off the grid, just interested in clean food. Man, the crap I ate on my thru-hike! And loved it!
:banana

However, it's getting harder and harder for me to eat stuff with bar codes, and when we do we tend to buy organic/grass-fed. A bunch of us here in town got the local farmers market to expand to our town square. Now we're bringing the movie Food, Inc. to town, and the restaurants that serve local food are rallying around it with pre-movie local food and drinks. Should be fun!

Check out the trailer, and see if it's coming to a theater near you:
http://www.foodincmovie.com/trailer-and-photos.php

Anyway, carry on... and good show, LaurieAnn & Co.
:sun

you are most welcome.

I like what you are doing... that's awesome... and this city girl is a little jealous... can't do the chicken thing in our area and I have a beautiful black walnut tree in the yard that interferes with vegetables... that said I do have mizuna, leaf lettuce, lambs lettuce and spinach growing in my container garden... some day I would like to be completely off the grid both food wise and utilities-wise.

I'm fortunate in some ways... grew up in the middle of the country (heart of Ontario farmland) with older parents (they even had a grandchild before I came along)... money was tight because Dad was illl and we had access to fresh local foods. Mom taught me all about preserving and canning and the like... she had to because she needed help and she had to stretch a teensy budget far enough to feed 4 kids still at home and Dad and her. I learned a lot from those harvest days. I guess that's why I don't mind doing food preservation now. It seems somewhat fitting.

[Tipi Walter]

I've been eating goat yogurt for the last several months, it's plain and I add raw honey and walnuts, and it's good. I just ordered a case of six quarts from my local health food store and would like to take some out with me on my next backpacking trip but it's probably impossible. I have a one liter Sigg thermos but it's too heavy to consider.

The only way I could eat this yogurt on a trip would be to haul out some in a disposable container(burnable), and finish it in the first day or two. What kind of container could I use that won't leak and still be burnable?? I wonder if I could triple-ziploc a quart?? Sounds risky.

[MOWGLI]

I have a one liter Sigg thermos but it's too heavy to consider.


Turning into a gram weenie there Walter? :p I thought I'd never see the day!

I like yogurt - at home and in town.

[LaurieAnn]

I've been eating goat yogurt for the last several months, it's plain and I add raw honey and walnuts, and it's good. I just ordered a case of six quarts from my local health food store and would like to take some out with me on my next backpacking trip but it's probably impossible. I have a one liter Sigg thermos but it's too heavy to consider.

The only way I could eat this yogurt on a trip would be to haul out some in a disposable container(burnable), and finish it in the first day or two. What kind of container could I use that won't leak and still be burnable?? I wonder if I could triple-ziploc a quart?? Sounds risky.

The thermos is heavy and a 1 litre thermos is too big anyway... that's why I am very selective as to what trips I take it on. The fact that this one thermos/yogurt is shared between 3 of us makes it more feasible for us than it would for someone solo-hiking too.

What about one of those lightweight disposable Ziploc containers (not the one with the screw on lid but the kind with the snap lid)? I'd put it inside a ziplock freezer bag just to be safe though. Not sure what the weight would be though.

[wystiria]

I am not going to lie I am pretty excited to try yogurt on the trail LOL and since I always have weight room (our base gear is just in to the Ultra light range) food is what we tend to carry to "replace" that weight.

I told my DH I was going to try this and he was pretty excited. and with all the berries on the trails near us right now we can just pick some for breakfast with yogurt!!! now I just need to find the right thermos.


Janliteshoe - I am JEALOUS of the chickens, we can't even have just hens on our half acre due to our towns zoning laws (trust me I looked in to it) I can't wait to have some land and start farming - it is my 10 year plan :) yes indeed. in the mean time I have turned our 1/2 acre in to a productive little plot. my DH calls it "lawn elimination" lol and it is amazing the things I can grow. what we don't eat/freeze/can/dehydrate I donate to our local food pantry :)

[budforester]

I've been eating goat yogurt for the last several months, it's plain and I add raw honey and walnuts, and it's good. I just ordered a case of six quarts from my local health food store and would like to take some out with me on my next backpacking trip but it's probably impossible. I have a one liter Sigg thermos but it's too heavy to consider.

The only way I could eat this yogurt on a trip would be to haul out some in a disposable container(burnable), and finish it in the first day or two. What kind of container could I use that won't leak and still be burnable?? I wonder if I could triple-ziploc a quart?? Sounds risky.

Plastic peanut- butter or mayonaise jar?
Double- bag a supply and carry it inside your cook pot? Could ya keep the pot upright?

I'd test a small batch first: jostling yogurt in a pack might wreck the firmness... make it soupy.

[Tipi Walter]

Turning into a gram weenie there Walter? :p I thought I'd never see the day!

I like yogurt - at home and in town.

I bought the Sigg thinking it would be perfect for my winter trips--wrong. Stainless steel, double lining, heavy as heck.


Plastic peanut- butter or mayonaise jar?
Double- bag a supply and carry it inside your cook pot? Could ya keep the pot upright?

I'd test a small batch first: jostling yogurt in a pack might wreck the firmness... make it soupy.

Hey, I like the in-the-empty cookpot idea. I could double ziploc it and stash it in my TWO LITER MSR TITANIUM POT!! Eat like a king for a couple of days. And lighten my load by the spoonful.

BTW, what happens if you freeze yogurt?? Can't be good. Then again, frozen yogurt . . . . . . . Take it out frozen and keep it in solid form for a bit and maybe stay fresh longer.

[budforester]

I bought the Sigg thinking it would be perfect for my winter trips--wrong. Stainless steel, double lining, heavy as heck.



Hey, I like the in-the-empty cookpot idea. I could double ziploc it and stash it in my TWO LITER MSR TITANIUM POT!! Eat like a king for a couple of days. And lighten my load by the spoonful.

BTW, what happens if you freeze yogurt?? Can't be good. Then again, frozen yogurt . . . . . . . Take it out frozen and keep it in solid form for a bit and maybe stay fresh longer.


Again, I'd try freezing a small test package. I suspect that freezing would tear apart the gel and make it soupy when it thawed.

Even so, the frozen stuff might still make a great smoothie if you mix in some honey and dehydrated fruit powders.

[LaurieAnn]

now I am craving frozen yogurt... lol... gee thanks :)

[lillyfamily]

If you just like the taste of yogurt (home-made or otherwise) you might try dehydrating rounds of it. We sent these to the kids when they were hiking in 2001 and took some along when we spent time backpacking in Yosemite in 2005. The kids call them yogurt cookies and the taste gets intensified so you definitely need something sweet to go with them. They dry leathery and you can chew them as you walk for a nice change.

[LaurieAnn]

My son loves yogurt leather... sometimes I sprinkle seeds or granola on it before drying.

[wystiria]

FYI folks I have successfuly made yogurt in a wide mouth sig SS water bottle. it's summer here so I think that the temperature would matter on if this works or not. I did use a home made bottle cozy (used foil lined bubble wrap :) )

[LaurieAnn]

Woo Hoo! Glad to see people experimenting. I'm going to have to try using a water bottle if we get back to seasonal temperatures on our next trip.

It is temperature sensitive for sure. It's been coolish up here so the thermos is necessary for me as is the cozy (with those two I can make yogurt until mid-Oct).

[wystiria]

yep - I am going to give it a try this comming weekend in southern VT - figure i can bring it all wrapped up in to the tent with me. worse case if it doesn't work it will be granola and dried fruit for breakfast :)