Garden Spot Moments
Small Town View- New Holland, Pennsylvania
More than 5000 people call the borough of New Holland home. Highway 23
Slow Cooker Recipe
Facing the New Week with a Fresh Batch of Slow-Cooked Yogurt!
You can learn a lot from your kids. This is not new. But I was recently reminded when my cousin began telling me about her husband Robert’s Sunday evening ritual.
Somehow as we were wandering along in conversation, she told me about making yogurt in a slow cooker—a practice she and Robert picked up from their daughter who’s off somewhere in the world, but still sending her parents tips. (Yes, this happens, those of you who are right now spooning food into your child’s mouth, or wiping up a sticky trail that your Little Person seems to have had something to do with . . .)
Robert gets out the slow cooker as Sunday winds down. “It’s a 5- or 6-quart one that’s 30+ years old,” he patiently explained to me (you see it here in the photos that Robert sent me). “And since I’m an American Businessman (too bad you can’t hear him guffawing right here), I’m always looking to maximize productivity as well as production!” That means he makes more than 4 quarts of yogurt each Sunday afternoon.
Here’s his recipe for Slow-Cooker Vanilla Yogurt:
●1 gallon 2% milk (“Skim milk works, but the yogurt will not be as thick. Whole milk makes the yogurt even thicker and richer.”)
●1 cup plain, or vanilla, store-bought yogurt (“You’ll need this as a starter because it has live yogurt cultures.”), OR 1 cup yogurt saved from your last batch of Slow-Cooker Yogurt
●Up to 1 full packet powdered milk (packet size to make 1 quart), optional (for thickening)
●Up to 2 Tbsp., or 2 packets, unflavored gelatin, optional (for thickening)
●Up to 5 Tbsp. vanilla, optional (“This is for flavor. My basic formula is 1 Tbsp. vanilla per quart of yogurt, but you can be flexible with this.”)
1. Turn your slow cooker on Low, plug it in, and add a gallon of milk. Whisk in the optional powdered milk.
If you want to maximize production, add more milk until it comes to within ¾” of the top of the cooker, and add a proportionate amount of powdered milk, if you wish.
Cover and allow milk to heat for 2½ hours.
2. When the time is up, pull the plug on the cooker, and do not plug it in again. Keep your cooker covered.
3. Meanwhile, soften the optional gelatin in ½ cup cool water for 5 minutes, and then transfer it to a double boiler.
4. Heat in the double boiler until the gelatin granules are dissolved, stirring continually. Add a cup or two of the milk mixture from your slow cooker to the gelatin.
5. Stir and heat just until warm, being careful not to overheat the gelatin, since overheating gelatin reduces its gelling properties.
6. Whisk this gelatin mixture into milk in the cooker.
7. Cover and then let it sit for 3 hours.
8. When the 3 hours are up, dip 3 or 4 cups of the milk into a mixing bowl.
9. Whisk the cup of live-culture yogurt into the milk in the bowl.
10. Pour and whisk the bowl contents back into the cooker.
11. Cover. Wrap a large towel (or snuggie) around the cooker to keep the warmth in.
12. Let the mixture sit for 8 hours or overnight.
13. Pour one cup of the new yogurt into a jar and refrigerate until your next batch. (This will be your live-culture yogurt for making fresh yogurt next Sunday.) You can add one small store-bought yogurt to each new batch, along with the saved starter to renew your culture.
14. If you wish, whisk the vanilla into the remaining yogurt.
15. Refrigerate your yogurt in canning jars or other containers.
16. You can add fruit or sweetener as you enjoy the yogurt over the next week or so if you like it that way.
Robert’s Yogurt-Making Tips
1. Find the consistency of yogurt that you like best, and then make it that way:
More Gelatin = thicker yogurt
More powdered milk = thicker yogurt
Higher fat content milk (whole vs. 2% vs. skim) = thicker yogurt
2. About sweetenings and flavorings:
I almost always add vanilla extract at the end of the process, 1 T. per quart. Carol [my wife and Phyllis’ cousin] never adds any sweetener; however, I usually add some Splenda. I have poured a cup of frozen blueberries/raspberries/strawberries/blackberries, etc. into the quart jar prior to adding the yogurt, and it turns out well. Generally I just use the vanilla, and add fruit and or sweetener when I’m ready to eat the yogurt.
3. Carol and I both think this slow-cooker, homemade yogurt tastes substantially better than store-bought and far better than the cheaper store brands. Since we make our own, we know it has fewer additives and less sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Plus, it’s fresher.
4. I always add the vanilla at the end of the process; I have to wonder if the alcohol in the vanilla might kill the Yogurt Bugs.
5. Annie, our daughter, often turns this into Greek-style yogurt, by putting the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined colander, and draining off some of the liquid. She’s learned, though, that if she’s mixed gelatin into the milk, the liquid will not drain off, and the yogurt just sits there.
6. It isn’t necessary to use gelatin or powdered milk. If you don’t, the end result is more of a drinkable yogurt, and that’s good, too. I’d probably use whole milk if I didn’t add the gelatin. As you can see, there’s lots of flexibility here.
The magical time is when you get up in the morning, unwrap the swaddling clothes surrounding the slow cooker, and dip in the big whisk to see the creamy smoothness miracle which has occurred overnight.
_______________________
What a restful project—and what good planning for next week’s breakfasts. Thanks, Robert and Carol!
Sounds great! I’ve been looking for a recipe for yogurt! One question, though… How much powdered milk is in a packet?
USE ENOUGH POWDERED MILK TO MAKE ONE QUART.>
So I am trying to find things for my niece who is extremely lactose intolerant. Does anyone know if you can buy “live cultures”? I want to try this with soy milk, she can have that, but I have no clue on how the cultures work. I am sure I could still make it for her, it just won’t have all the “benefits”.
> For Heide(Lactoste alternatives)-
Whole Foods as well as most other Grocery chains now carry soy yogurt in larger and smaller, single serving containers so you should be able to pick up a container that will have the cultures in it to get you started.
You can also use Lactaid or Store Brand Lactose free milk combines with regular yogurt.
Final note, while i am not completely lactose intolerant, i do need to take the lactaid pill with most items, i do not have problems with yogurt which i attribute to the cultures.
Hope this helps!
This is so great! I have a yogurt maker at my summer home, but not with me in the winter while I travel. I do, however, have my slowcooker wherever I go. Now I can have fresh homemade yogurt all the time! Thanks.
We eat lots and lots of yogurt and now we can make our own. I will know what is in it and it will cost mush less than the store brand. Plus my boys can add whatever fruit they want when they eat it.
I make mine with all powdered milk and water. It is thinner but I usually drain it into a Greek yogurt and use they whey instead of milk in bread. For a family of 8 this in not only healthier but cheaper
Kelly – I buy my powdered milk in a canister. Just read the directions on your packaging and add as much powder as it call for to make 1 quart of milk. I’ve done this before and am now reminded of how versitile it is (and delicious).
If you don’t use the vanilla and strain it, you can use in place of sour cream.
I have also put it in the cheesecloth, in a strainer overnight. It can be used in place of cream cheese – it just needs a pinch of salt mixed in. YUM!!
And no preservatives or chemicals that you cannot pronounce.
What a useful post! I’m amazed that anyone can go through that much vanilla yogurt in a week. I make plain yogurt so I can use it in savory applications if need be.
For the option of using whole milk without gelatin nor powdered milk, one would do 2.5 hours on low, unplug for 3 hours, and then add the live culture step? Does the yogurt need to be whisked between the Low setting and unplugging it, if not adding the gelatin?
I am not a cooking scientist, but my theory is that the 2 1/2 hours on low is to sort of pasturize the milk, eliminating unwanted bacteria, as well as heating up the mixture so as to allow the yogurt bugs to grow and do their wonderfull creamy smoothness miracle. Then the three hour cooling off period is just that, to cool off so that the proper temperature for yogurt growth is attained. It would be possible to make this recipe much more complicated, involving thermometers and timers and measuring sticks, but this 2.5 hours on low, 3 hours unplugged and covered seems to eliminate all of that fuss.
I have a question…if I choose to not use the gelatin, do I still have to wait the 3 hours before proceeding to the next step?
> yes, to Patti’s question….
also, I have used a similar recipe for quite a while…but instead of wrapping the crockpot with a towel i preheat the oven to warm and turn the oven light on. Then turn the oven off and put the crockpot in the oven with its lid on overnight. Same results.
I am excited to try this! I’m planning to keep some to eat and freeze some as yogurt pops, to use in smoothies and for baby food! I wonder how long it will keep in the fridge?
I also wonder how long it will stay fresh when refrigerated.
> We have used yogurt from a batch which is up to 2 weeks old. It does seem to get a bit more tart as it ages, and some people like that. Since Carol makes a yogurt based smoothie almost every day at some point, Yogurt just doesn’t last around our house.
Can this be adjusted to a smaller batch? I can’t possibly use 1 gal. in a week!
I have 3 little ones (ages 5, 3, and 8 months) and we love yogurt. I have been making slow cooler yogurt for a while now and am always pleased with the results. If it turns out too runny, I just strain it with cheesecloth. I even add some extra probiotics from a capsule sometimes (warning: it will add tartness!). And I can keep the whey from straining to use for pancakes or other baked goods, as it is wonderfully nutritious.
you can make a smaller batch, I usually make 1/2 gallon, using 1 c dry milk, no gelatin and about 1/2 C yogurt.
it lasts a while, just gets tarter…you can tell if it is bad. My husband likes his yogurt pretty tart.
Thank you Heidi. I can probably use a 1/2 gallon recipe. I’ll try it.>
I am lactose-intolerant and have no trouble with yogurt from the store . I think it has something to do with the cultures. But I cannot eat yogurt ice cream.
Do you heat the crock pot on low or high setting for the heat?
Low, I know that different slow cookers have temperature variances, but if the mix is too hot at the time of adding the live culture, the yogurt bugs could get pasturized and die, and not do their job. How sad would that be?
I tried this recipe last night with instant milk but no gelatin and this morning it is just a runny mess. Is there a difference between instant milk and dry milk? Also, is it supposed to be almost as watery/runny as milk in a gallon jug? I feel like something didn’t go right.
Runny mess……… yes, something definitely did not go right. Perhaps the added yogurt culture was not “live” for some reason, or perhaps the milk was still too hot when you added the yogurt culture and the yogurt “bugs” did not survive. I just checked the box on my powdered milk, and it says “Instant non fat dry milk”. Time to try again.
I would switch to another yogurt brand for your starting culture. I have used a number of different brands, and the cheap store brands, brands that I generally do not enjoy eating, seem to make fine starter cultures.
will this work with almond or soy or rice milk??????????
MY HUSBAND LOVES YOUGURT, AND I FIND IT A NUISENCE TO COUNT OUT AND PUT 20 CONTAINERS ON THE COUNTER. I’M POSITIVE I WILL TRY THIS RECIPE AND RELATE THE RESULTS THANKS!!!
I just made your recipe. Thank you for sharing this. I am so excited about having my own yogurt. I have wanted to try making my own for a long time. Your recipe made it really sound like something I could do. I am mostly pleased with the results. However, mine is runnier than the photos you have. It is not as runny as milk and it did thicken some. The only plain yogurt I could find was the Walmart brand so that is what I used. Based on your comments to other people I am wondering if something went wrong with my live cultures. I followed the recipe closely and used whole milk, gelatin, and the powdered milk. I expected it to be at least as thick and creamy as yours if not more. Any thoughts?
Well, my batch a week ago turned out runny and thin too. I was frustrated, but did not give up. I whisked it up thoroughly, and found that there was more thickening going on in the bottom, so I whisked a bit more starter in and put the lid back on. Before leaving for work, I left a note for my wife to check it and put it in jars later. She completed the process about 8 hours later, and astonishingly, this was probably the best batch we ever made.
What went wrong?
Well, perhaps my live culture was weak. Perhaps the mixture was too cool overnight in my poorly heated kitchen this winter. Perhaps it takes more time for the yogurt culture to do its job with whole milk. Perhaps I had wanted to go to bed, and had not waited the full three hours for my mix to cool before adding the starter, and the starter was stunted by the excess heat. Who knows……..
There are a lot of variables, and our results vary a bit from time to time, but we have enjoyed every batch, except one, which we threw out, way too tart. Every time that I open the crockpot in the morning, and dip in the whisk, I am genuinely surprised that the yogurt miracle has occurred once again.
One last thought, after the yogurt has been refrigerated, it continues to thicken, especially if when using gelatin, (jello anyone?) so it always seems a bit thinner in the beginning than it actually ends up. I say try again………..
I cant wait to try this recipe! Will this work with coconut milk? I really dont like/cant have regular milk.
how long will this keep? do you know the carb count? My oldest daughter has Type 1 Diabetes, and we need to count her carbs for insulin dosing.
Heidi, you can buy culture. Our local kitchen supply store sells it. Its kept frozen to protect the cultures from spoiling. I’ve made yogurt right in quart jars by running a heating pad between them and wrapping them in a towel with the pad on. You need to shut it off after a few hours otherwise it cooks the cultures and you have a mess.
If your milk is too hot, it will kill the live culture. If your yogurt is still runny after 8 hours, you have 2 options… let it keep sitting and it will thicken up if the cultures are alive or you can turn the heat back on the crock pot and make ricotta cheese pretty much the same way you make the yogurt. Just warm it on low until the whey separates from the curds. Then strain it through cheesecloth or a clean, lint free kitchen towel.
For those wanting to make yogurt with other milks (coconut, soy, nut) it will work but it may or may not take longer for it to set. The milk sugars is what feeds the yogurt bacteria so making it with coconut and other lower sugar milks will result in a thinner product, especially if you do not add thickeners to the liquid but you can strain the yogurt to get a thicker product. Straining the whey from the yogurt to thicken it up (greek style yogurt or yogurt cheese) will lower the carb count. It will also raise the protein content. For around a cup of greek style yogurt, you can guess roughly 6-8 grams of carb.
Once I add my starter to the milk, I go ahead and pour the yogurt into my jars, then put them in a cooler, put the lid on and wrap a towel around the outside. The insulation helps hold the heat in and the yogurt sets up better for me that way.
Wish I could have printed it without the pictures
Cut , copy and paste works for printing it off without the pictures.
has anyone used a crockpot with the keep warm function? is it too warm?
I cannot wait to try this. We eat tons of yogurt in our house and this will save me money. Plus I can always have some on hand if needed. The flavor possibilites are endless!
Thanks!
Have made this and my family loves it. My question is we only eat it with oranges added for fruit, can you use orange flavored jello in place of the unflavored gelatine.
Good morning! I just did my very first batch last night. It did thicken some, but not “yogurt” thick…I used 1% milk, so added both the powdered milk and gelatin….my batch is quite gelatinous/stringy….I have poured them into jars and have them in the fridge now, so here’s hoping it will thicken a bit. I am wondering if my Greek yogurt that I added wasn’t viable?
I am still just delighted that this is even possible and will be doing this again. I just had a bowl of granola with my runny yogurt on top and it was great!
I am making this again tomorrow or sat with fresh milk I hope it turns out.
I wonder if this can be made with tapioca instead of gelatin?
Just made this the other day and it turned out great. I used 1 gallon whole milk, 1 1/2 cups instant powdered milk. Instead of gelatin I tried 2 tbls of pectin. Came out great. I think I will increase the powdered milk next time to see if it gets thicker. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
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