Thursday, June 05, 2008

Houston, we have yogurt!

Captain's Log, Supplemental

Remember my musing about homemade yogurt? (Not that it was that exciting.)

Well, one of Captain Caffeine’s coworkers is moving overseas and needed to get rid of everything, including their yogurt maker. We got it for $27, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

And I made yogurt! And it turned out really yummy! And I didn’t get sick when I ate it, too!!!

Lucky for me, the instructions for the machine were available as a .pdf download from the manufacturer’s website.

The directions were really easy, although I let it incubate for less time than they suggested, 8 hours instead of 10, because in the French Women Don’t Get Fat book, she says you can incubate it for anywhere from 6-10 hours, and the less time, the less tangy.

The yogurt is actually even better than the stuff I get at Trader Joe’s! It’s not as tangy, it’s actually more tart than tangy, if that makes any sense. I can actually eat the homemade yogurt without sugar and not be unhappy, whereas the Trader Joe’s yogurt, while good, is too tangy for my taste to eat without sugar.

It’s also very cheap—if we buy two gallons of whole milk at a time, I can use some for my yogurt and the Captain can use some for his morning latte (up until now he’s been using skim milk with half-and-half added to it, since we drink skim milk and half-and-half has a long expiration date so it’ll keep in the fridge for weeks—sorry, is that TMI?). By buying 2 gallons of whole milk and getting the bulk discount, the cost of the yogurt becomes something like $1.50 for 8 servings (one quart).

I am soooooo proud of myself!


  1. I've never had homemade yogurt...sounds yummy! Did you just have plain vanilla or did you add some fruit to it?

  2. I would never have thought about making homemade yogurt. Sounds interesting. I may look into it.

  3. I had no idea you could actually make your own yogurt. I didn't even know that had yogurt machines...going have to check into this. :)

  4. I'm telling you, guys, the taste alone was worth the cost of the machine. Although, granted, I got it used so it was a bit cheaper. :)

    Shelley, I like adding honey to my yogurt, and/or fruit, and/or Bran Buds cereal for my fiber kick. But I made the yogurt plain first, and added flavor after it was made.


  5. Oooh, wow--that sounds awesome!! Now I've got a yogurt craving... ;)