Reader Question: Salty Yogurt

A reader sent a question in to me about yogurt making, and I'm at a loss! She made her yogurt in a yogurt maker, and used 2% organic milk. She also used Fage Greek strained yogurt as her starter and about a half packet of Yogourmet yogurt starter. Here's her dilemma:

MY PROBLEM IS that the yogurt has a salty aftertaste. I love how creamy the yogurt turned out and it is mild enough that I would actually enjoy it plain and the salty taste to it would be fine in a savory dish like in place of sour cream on burritos. But I like a sweetened yogurt for dessert and I don't care for the combo of sweet and salty.

And I'm just not sure if it is supposed to be salty.

Do you know? And if you don't, can you direct to some great yogurt-making resource?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

I have no idea what could be wrong. I've never had Greek yogurt- is it that? I also have never used a yogurt maker, nor added any yogurt starter other than plain yogurt.

Can you help Pam? Leave a comment! Thank you!

Failed Yogurt

Sometimes the yogurt just does not turn out how you want it. It's not thick enough, or it's too tart, or maybe it is the first time you made yogurt and...well, you just don't like it. Or maybe you LOVE it, but made so much that you will not be able to finish it before it goes bad. It happens. When this happens to me, I use it in place of milk in things like pancakes, breads, and mixes. It gives it a bit of a tart flavor, but it is still very good. I made a loaf of cheese bread using slightly runny yogurt in place of milk, and the result was a wonderful bread with a very, very slight sourdough taste. If you use sour milk in your pancakes, failed/abundant yogurt can make a wonderful substitute!

Flavor That Yogurt!

After I wrote about my homemade yogurt, Maggie said:

"Do you add anything after you make it to flavor it, like vanilla? I made yogurt a few times but couldn't come up with a flavor/texture combo I liked. Any suggestions?"

Thank you for your question, Maggie! There are several things we do to flavor the yogurt, including vanilla! Keep in mind that it will not be exactly like commercial yogurt, but most people will find a flavor and texture that they like with a little experimentation.

When we flavor our yogurt, we do not do the whole batch at once. We flavor it as we eat it. Here's some of the things we do-

• add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract (per about a cup of yogurt) and sugar to taste. I love vanilla yogurt. I would start with as little as possible and add more. Everybody has different tastes!
  
• Sugar and fruit. I love cut up strawberries or a handful of blueberries.
  
• Fruit, vanilla extract, sugar, and granola. Mix the yogurt with the vanilla and sugar. Layer yogurt, fruit, and granola in a pretty glass. I serve this for dessert or for breakfast a lot when I have a fresh batch of yogurt or have hit a great sale on commercial yogurt.
• take about a teaspoon of flavored jello (I like strawberry) and mix it in with about a cup of yogurt.
• Add a little bit of jam or jelly in a flavor you like.
• We use the plain yogurt in place of sour cream in casseroles, on tacos, in dips...anywhere sour cream is called for!
  

Readers, how do you flavor your homemade yogurt? Add a comment if you use a method not already mentioned above!

Yogurt Making

Yogurt making is something I got into during the dirt poor graduate school days. A friend had mentioned a few years before that she made her own, but I did not try it until my beloved commercial yogurt seemed too expensive to buy on our limited budget. (We eat A LOT of yogurt.) Yogurt is one of those things that is fairly simple to make, but people are really impressed when you whip out your homemade yogurt! It's also very good in place of sour cream, and good in casseroles.

Here's the recipe I use. There are several variation on the web and in other cookbooks, so if this one does not work for you, there are others you can try. Homemade yogurt is not as thick as commercial yogurt, but it's even more delicious!

Yogurt (makes 2 qts)

Combine in a large bowl:

3 c. milk powder
3 c. warm water

Stir well. Add:

1 can of evaporated milk OR 1 2/3 c scaled whole milk. (I just use skim, and it works. Your yogurt will be thicker the higher fat content of your milk, so mine is thinner than some homemade yogurts.)
Combine separately:

1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt (use yogurt with active cultures- it will say on the carton. After the first one you buy, you can use the homemade as starter if you eat it fairly regularly.)

1 c. milk from the bowl.

Blend until smooth and return to remaining milk. Mix well. Pour into clean glass jars and incubate at 110-120 degrees F until set. Refrigerate.

To incubate: Some people have yogurt makers, but they cost 30-50 dollars apiece, so this may or may not be a cost savings to you. I've been unsuccessfully watching for a yogurt maker at yard sales. Many people use their oven with just the oven light on. I have never had an oven with a light, so I use a cooler filled with hot water. I use a candy thermometer to check the temperature every hour or so, and add a little more hot water as I go along. To get the thickness I want, I usually leave it in 5-8 hours. It works out fine! We mix in jelly, jams, fruit, granola, or sugar to eat as yogurt, and use it to replace sour cream in other recipes.

My latest batch, incubating in the cooler. I close the lid and put a blanket over it, and have not lost a batch yet!