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Making yoghurt from powdered milk

I finally decided to stop being so lazy and have a go at using milk powder to make yoghurt (as described previously),  instead of relying on the EasiYo packet.  I had a large bag of powdered milk in the cupboard that I bought during the flood-crisis here over summer, so it was time to use it up.  I have now made several batches of yoghurt using only the powdered milk, so I can report that it is just as easy and convenient, as well as being ridiculously cheap.

eight acres: making yoghurt from powdered milk
yoghurt
All you have to do as soon as you finish one batch of yoghurt, is make the next one in the same jar straight away, without cleaning it, so that the remaining yoghurt will inoculate the next batch.  All I do is scrape out most of the yoghurt (for my lunch), tip in the powdered milk (1 cup to 1 L of water), mix in the cold water and pop the jar into the thermos as normal (see other post for instructions on using the thermos).  After 8-12 hours the yoghurt is ready.  You can also use freeze-dried yoghurt culture if you don't have any previous batch to start your yoghurt.

It took me a few goes to work out the right amount of powdered milk, but now I reckon just over a cup of powdered milk makes a nice yoghurt, it just depends how thick you like it.

A 1 kg bag of powdered milk costs about $6 and I made at least 10 L of yoghurt out of it.  That means that it costs about 60c a L, compared to the EasiYo packets at about $3/L each and the tubs of yoghurt at $6/L (although haven't bought one for ages, not sure on that one!).

Anyway, its very cheap and easy (I can't believe I used to waste time carefully washing out the jar!).  I'm hoping that I will have the same success with fresh milk.

Do you make yoghurt?  What's your method?

More about yoghurt:

Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on Etsy, Lulu and Amazon, or email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com to arrange delivery.  More information on my house cow ebook blog.





Reviews of "Our Experience with House Cows"

Kim from the Little Black Cow Blog

Fiona from Live at Arbordale Farm

Marie from Go Milk the Cow

Renata from Sunnyside Farm Fun

Gavin from Little Green Cheese (and The Greening of Gavin)

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Comments

  1. The Professor's WifeMay 20, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    I would love to try my hand at making yoghurt - thanks for the tips! And how exciting that you are getting a cow - so happy for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Papillon GoldMay 20, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Can you use Skim milk powder?

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 20, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    I used full milk powder because I like the taste, but there's no reason why it wouldn't work with skim milk. You can get EasiYo in skim/reduced fat variety. Also, you can use supermarket plain/natural yoghurt as the starter/inoculant if you don't have a batch of your own to use.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ro from EarthdownunderMay 20, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Wow. Mum made yogurt. I've never tried. You make it sound doable!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RoseMay 20, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    I've never tried it this way, thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DmarieMay 21, 2011 at 12:50 AM

    well done!! I have so got to try making my own!

    http://bettermebetterworld.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. BeckyMay 21, 2011 at 1:33 AM

    ve never made that before but ti doesn't sound as hard as my mind is making it out to be... time to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 21, 2011 at 7:43 AM

    Oh, that sounds so very exciting. How much fun is that, your own cow. I love cows, they are so cute.
    Making yoghurt doesn't sound very difficult, the way you describe it. I would love to try it sometime.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. SuziMay 21, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    Great! I've done this before but the old fashioned way of putting a spoonful of yoghurt into slightly warmed milk. I always always always would end up with the finished product being half whey and half yoghurt.

    Do you mix cold water in?

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownMay 22, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    Honestly, it is REALLY easy, I make the next batch of yoghurt before I go to work, as I'm dishing out the last of it to take for lunch! I can't even make decent bread, so if you can manage bread, you can definitely make yoghurt!

    As long as you have the Easiyo thermos you just make it with cold milk/water and put boiling water in the thermos, and leave for 6-10 hours. If you have a different system you will have to follow the instructions or experiment until you get it right. There's lots of ways of keeping it warm enough, just find a way that works for you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fiona from Arbordale FarmAugust 1, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    Wow I think you have just saved me a fortune as I have been buying Esiyo till now and as you say it is cheaper that the store tubs but not as cheap as powdered milk.

    ReplyDelete
  12. yaddyMarch 18, 2014 at 2:36 PM

    wonder how it would go in a slow cooker, overnight?
    What do you think? I may have to give it a go in that!
    Yaddy

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

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