How To Make Homemade Yogurt With An Electric Blanket.

                         
 Check out this cool way to make yogurt at home using an electric blanket

  My family loves yogurt and we eat a lot of it. Now when I buy yogurt, it has to be the good stuff. I don't want any gelatin or sugar in my yogurt, all I want is plain healthy yogurt that is filled with all those active cultures. The problem is the yogurt that I like is kind of pricey, like $3.00 and up for a quart container. My solution is to make my own for about .50 cents a quart. Yes, making yogurt takes time, but no more than driving to the store. When I make yogurt, I make four quarts at a time as it stores for up to a month in the fridge. Your first batch will cost slightly more as you will need not only milk but Yogurt Starter Cultures. When you make yogurt again you can just use a cup of yogurt from your first batch on so on. So you can make your own yogurt and save $2.50 per quart! Making yogurt is simple too. All you need is milk, Yogurt Starter Cultures, a slow cooker, a pan, a thermometer, and an electric blanket. A set of Mason jars is another item that you should buy as these are great for storing the yogurt in the fridge. I love Mason jars as they have so many uses in the kitchen.

   I know what you are thinking, what good is an electric blanket for making yogurt? The electric blanket provides the right temperature for the active cultures to do their thing and make the milk into yogurt. The other important item that you will need for yogurt making is a good thermometer as temperatures are very important when making yogurt. If you don't boil the milk high enough or cool it down enough, your milk will not turn into creamy yogurt. I like to use a digital thermometer that gives me an accurate temperature quickly.

Don't have an electric blanket? Then check out this awesome 3 in 1 Thermal Bag. This unique insulated bag can slow cook food and keep food hot for hours. So you can put your crock/pot of milk with the active cultures in this and it will maintain the temperature for 12 hours. The result will be homemade yogurt. This thermal bag is also great for transporting food to parties as it keeps food or drinks hot or cold for hours. The bag can also act like a slow cooker that uses no electricity making it perfect for tailgating. Simply bring food to temperature, place pot/dutch oven in the thermal bag, and your dish will continue to cook.

  Once you learn how easy it is to make your own yogurt, you may never buy it from the store again. There are times when life gets crazy and I need yogurt, I cringe at having to pay that much for yogurt. How can a mom say no to a kid who is asking for yogurt? I will buy the over-priced yogurt at the store during these times and then I remember how easy it is to make it. So then I remember to make homemade yogurt again.

  So onto how to make homemade yogurt. You will need a quart of milk and one package of Yogurt Starter Cultures. Start by determining what setting on your electric blanket is equal to 110 degrees F, if you don't have a fancy digital one. I did this by plugging the blanket and scrunching it up. I started with the first setting and stuck the thermometer in it after it had been on for 5 minutes. I then turned up the blanket, one setting at a time and taking the temperature after 5 minutes. My blanket reached 110F at setting 4. Once you determine the setting, leave the blanket on and set in on the table so it is ready when the milk is done. You can also plug the blanket in when the milk is cooling. Also, place your slow cooker crock and lid on the countertop so it is ready for the prepared milk.



Now pour your 1/2 gallon of milk into a large pan. If you want creamier yogurt, add a cup of powder milk to your milk in the pan. Heat it up over medium-high heat until it reaches 180-195 degrees F, stirring often so the milk does not burn. While the milk is heating up, fill up your sink with cold water. Once your milk reaches 180-195F, take it off the stove and place it into the sink of water. Make sure not to get any water into the hot milk.

  Let the milk sit in the water for about 10 minutes or until it cools down to 105-110F. When the milk cools down to 105- 110F it is time to stir the Yogurt Starter Cultures into it. The yogurt starter cultures are filled with live cultures and they will turn the milk into yogurt. Then pour the milk into your slow cooker crock and place the lid on top.

  Now take your slow cooker crock over to your electric blanket that is turned on and place it in the middle of the blanket. Wrap the blanket around the crock and leave it there for 12 hours, no peeking. After 12 hours under the blanket, take the crock of yogurt and place it in the fridge for 12 hours, again no peeking or stirring it. Just place it in the fridge and walk away. After 12 hours in the fridge, you will have beautiful yogurt. I like to place my homemade yogurt into smaller containers like mason jars or empty store-bought yogurt containers.

  I love using this dried-freeze Yogurt Starter Culture when I make my homemade yogurt. I keep a couple of packs in my pantry so I can make yogurt when I don't have any yogurt in the fridge for a starter. My boys tend to eat the batch of yogurt that I was saving to make more yogurt. This dried-freeze culture also gives my yogurt a better taste along with lots of those live active bacteria. You can use this starter culture with any yogurt maker.

           
Check out this easy recipe for Homemade Greek Yogurt!
http://www.momknowsbest.net/2018/03/how-to-make-homemade-greek-yogurt.html

                           Homemade Yogurt
Makes 1 quart

1-quart milk
1/2  cup powder milk, if desired for creamier yogurt
Yogurt Starter Cultures or 1/4 cup yogurt with active cultures
thermometer
electric blanket set to 110 degrees
slow cooker crock and lid

Pour milk into a pan and stir in powder milk. Heat milk over medium-high to 180-195F degrees and stir often.
Remove from stove and place pan in a sink of cold water, make sure not to get any water in the milk mixture. Let the milk cool to 105-110F degrees, this takes about 10 minutes or so. When the milk cools down to 105- 110F stir the Yogurt Starter Cultures or yogurt into it. Pour the milk into a slower cooker crock and place lid on the crock. Then wrap in a preheated electric blanket. Leave crock under the blanket for 12 hours. It is tempting to look at it while under the blanket, but no peeking, just leave it alone. Then place crock in the fridge for another 12 hours. It is important to not stir the yogurt or move it while it is in the fridge for those 12 hours. This will disturb the process, just simply place in the fridge and leave alone. After the 12 hours, spoon yogurt into containers. This yogurt will be good for about 3-4 weeks in the fridge.