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Yogurt Notes
Jun. 20th, 2011 07:06 pmMostly for my benefit, but, hey, if you're interested go ahead and read:
Heating the milk in a glass pot on the stove is fine for a quart but won't do for a half-gallon, and I do prefer to work in half-gallon units when I can. And the stovetop method doesn't really save time over the crockpot, nor is the cleanup any easier. I might try getting over my aversion to cooking milk in metal containers (I don't know where it comes from; dairies use metal containers, so it is probably not a rational objection) and see if the induction unit with it's handy temperature setting and timed-shutoff is a better choice. In any case, it appears I need to start the yogurt making either early in the morning or around 4 pm to be awake at both the beginning and the ending of the 8 hours of actual yogurt making (ie, when the bacterium are actively doing their thing). I did not do that today, so we're looking at extra long, what's the word, fermentation? That doesn't seem quite right. Done it before with no ill effects other than a little bit harder time getting the thermos to empty.
I wish there was a dairy nearby I could apprentice at or something, but the nearest one seems to be pretty far. See also, my wish that I could get fresh cream locally. Ah well, once I've had the outlaw bees a few years maybe I'll escalate to a gray area dwarf goat. Or mini sheep. Something.
Speaking of bees, going to get a super and queen excluder on Wednesday. Another milestone!
Heating the milk in a glass pot on the stove is fine for a quart but won't do for a half-gallon, and I do prefer to work in half-gallon units when I can. And the stovetop method doesn't really save time over the crockpot, nor is the cleanup any easier. I might try getting over my aversion to cooking milk in metal containers (I don't know where it comes from; dairies use metal containers, so it is probably not a rational objection) and see if the induction unit with it's handy temperature setting and timed-shutoff is a better choice. In any case, it appears I need to start the yogurt making either early in the morning or around 4 pm to be awake at both the beginning and the ending of the 8 hours of actual yogurt making (ie, when the bacterium are actively doing their thing). I did not do that today, so we're looking at extra long, what's the word, fermentation? That doesn't seem quite right. Done it before with no ill effects other than a little bit harder time getting the thermos to empty.
I wish there was a dairy nearby I could apprentice at or something, but the nearest one seems to be pretty far. See also, my wish that I could get fresh cream locally. Ah well, once I've had the outlaw bees a few years maybe I'll escalate to a gray area dwarf goat. Or mini sheep. Something.
Speaking of bees, going to get a super and queen excluder on Wednesday. Another milestone!
