Oh no! I didn’t realize there was anything wrong with powdered milk. I use it when I make my own yogurt because it makes the batch creamier.

I should clarify—I mostly use whole milk. But adding a half cup of powdered milk makes the yogurt creamier.

Laura -- The link I added to my post about oxidized cholesterol goes to a Slashfood article about yogurt. Mostly it’s interesting for the lengthy debate in the comments section about whether or not dried milk powder really is oxidized and whether or not it’s bad for you.

The comments thread has many links on both sides of the issue, between conventional wisdom (i.e., mainline nutrition-establishment organizations) and the CW challengers (the evangelical Weston A. Price Foundation, mostly).

I gather that the evils of milk powder (if there are any) come from the manufacturing process. I’ve never bought it in pure form and don’t know much about it, frankly. Apparently, the stuff comes in a certified-organic version, because that’s what Nancy’s Yogurt uses.

I just thought all this time that I was buying pure yogurt -- you know, curdled milk -- and I wasn’t. Big disappointment.

I buy Straus, which I love, or Trader Joe’s European Style Organic (I’ve heard rumors that it’s made by Straus; based on the taste/consistency I wouldn’t be surprised). Neither has extra stuff added, both are extremely creamy. Actually, even the non-fat is pretty creamy. But who am I kidding--I buy the whole milk.

But it sure is a lot of plastic containers. I go back and forth thinking I should make it, but have never been able to make it the way I like.

I totally understand the disappointment—it is particularly frustrating that a product that needs to be made only with milk and bacteria gets all sorts of additives. You know, you could write Nancy’s and express your concern. I wrote them when they changed their kefir recipe from having honey to agave and it was too sweet. They wrote back and said they’re experimenting with the recipe and they were happy to hear the input and then they sent me a bunch of coupons for kefir. These days I think it might actually be less sweet.

(Speaking of which—back when I was a vegetarian, I emailed Tillamook complaining about the gelatin in their yogurt. They responded: “Yogurt is made with a stabilizer, which improves the body, gives it a smooth texture, and prevents the yogurt from separating and becoming runny. The gelatin used in Tillamook Yogurt is derived from cattle. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a non-gelatin stabilizer that gives the same texture and body that our consumers have come to expect from Tillamook Yogurt.” I took that to mean: “We don’t cater to freak shows like you—only our loyal customer base. Go eat hippie yogurt.”

I buy the organic dry milk powder. It costs an arm and a leg. If it’s bad for me, I think I’ll just omit it from my next batch of yogurt and see what happens (to be honest, I’ve never made yogurt without it). I’ll let you know if I notice a significant change.

I agree with giovannaz, it sure is a lot of plastic containers, especially when you get the little 8 OZers.

I too make yogurt every week, it takes about 30 minutes of hands-on time. I use milk from a local organic creamery and a bit of the previous yogurt batch as a starter--some batches are not quite as smooth as others, but a good stir usually solves that. I tried adding powdered milk a few times early on, but didn’t see much difference. Organic Valley promotes their dry milk powder production as being a very low temperature process--I wonder if that would affect the oxidation process?

That’s so good to hear, Kathryn. I will definitely try it without the powder.

Caroline--I am pretty sure that Nancy’s uses Organic Valley dairy for their yogurt -- maybe the powdered milk they use doesn’t have the same health issues?

But, making yogurt is easy and it’s true--not much hands-on time. So maybe the answer is to make it at home anyway.

OK, so what recipes do y’all use to make homemade yogurt?

I have a friend whose mom makes yogurt with the aid of a microwave. But I don’t have a microwave, so that’s out.

And I’m willing to believe that milk powder made in a basic way — say, good old evaporation — is perfectly safe. It’d be nice to know more about it.

Finally, speaking of Tillamook, I was pretty much raised on those big orange blocks of cheddar cheese they make. I know, they’re only orange from the addition of annatto — not a big deal. But once I discovered the coloring was purely cosmetic, I decided that orange was, well, weird.

Totally agree about the orange! Although I still buy those big honking Tillamook loafs. But it is strange. Why on earth did orange ever become associated with cheese?

I don’t have a microwave. You don’t need one. Stovetop works just fine. My aunt gave me a yogurt maker a few years ago, which I use, but really that’s not necessary either (plus the whole hot plastic factor is kind of icky/questionable). A good insulated metal thermos should do the trick. The key is keeping the milk at the right temperature for 4 to 10 hours.

recipe for yogurt:
1 quart milk (I use whole milk)
1/4 cup dry milk powder (omit per our discussion)
1/2 cup plain yogurt

I think you might be able to buy “yogurt starter” but that just seems silly to me. I’d start with one of the brands that giovannaz recommended if you want to avoid the milk powder entirely. The most important thing is to use yogurt that has live cultures, but I’m sure you wouldn’t buy anything else anyway.

1. Heat milk to just below boiling. Remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm--about 100 to 110 degrees. This takes a while. I don’t have a thermometer but I use the “pinky test”: if you can stick the tip of your (incredibly clean) pinky in the milk for 10 seconds without pain, you’re good to go.

2. Add yogurt starter and stir gently. Don’t beat or whip it.

3. Put it in the thermos or pre-heated yogurt maker. (Run the thermos under hot water first so that it won’t cool the milk mixture down too much.) Note: I’ve never tried the thermos method myself but I’ve heard it works just fine. Considering that people have been making yogurt without an electric appliance for thousands of years I am sure that that is true.

4. Let the thermos sit for 4 to 10 hours. The longer you let it sit, the more tart it will be. If you don’t think your thermos will retain heat for that long, I’d cut it off sooner. I usually do 6 or 7 hours and just turn it off when I wake up.

5. The yogurt should be partially set when you open it. If not, let it sit for another hour. But the yogurt will thicken in the fridge. Chill for 2 hours. Also, save a 1/2 cup to use for the next batch. (note: you have to use this starter within 5 days).

101 Cookbooks has some more detail: Homemade Yogurt Recipe

Thanks, Laura. I’ll let you know how it goes ...

I use the stove-top method as well, but I usually use 1/2-cup plain yogurt to 2-quarts of milk. Maybe the larger quantity makes thicker yogurt? I may have to experiment later. I do use a preheated thermos. I have been using a wide-mouth, 1/2-gallon plastic drink thermos--very easy to fill, empty and clean, but the plastic issues are making me a little squeamish so stainless may be on the horizon! Anyway, I put my yogurt-filled thermos into a picnic cooler and tuck an old blanket around it for about six hours and then transfer to sterile, wide-mouth quart jars. The cooler/blanket combo keeps the temperature stable and six hours gives me the flavor I like. I usually chill the yogurt overnight. I use plain yogurt for a variety of things, so I don’t add any fruit or other flavoring to the finished batch, but you can if you want!

A couple of things I’ve discovered over the years:

Using bleach to sterilize your yogurt-making tools can wreck the whole batch, apparently it only needs a molecule or so of bleach to kill the culture

You can freeze yogurt to use for starter--use an ice cube tray and then store the cubes in a ziplock; they will last for several weeks, just use them promptly after defrosting.This trick is handy if you don’t want to make yogurt as often as every 5 days or so.

You can incubate the batch in a sterile jar or tightly sealed bowl instead of a thermos. The key is to insulate it so it maintains a temperature around 100 degrees for several hours. I will admit that it is very frustrating to dump a 1-2-gallon batch of organic yogurt that flopped because it got too cool; luckily I have only had to do that once!

Good luck!

I just made my first decent batch of yogurt last night using Nancy’s as my starter, and using the recipe Ed Bruske (The Slow Cook) posted a while back.
http://theslowcook.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-10-29T11%3A57%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=50

I think part of the success of his method is that by heating the milk over a long period, you’re evaporating some of the water out. He also adds heavy cream which makes the texture very smooth. I used pint canning jars in a small, 6-pack sized cooler, and kept one pint jar filled with boiling water in there to keep the temp up. Also, mixed my starter yogurt with the cooled milk in my blender before pouring it into the jars, to make sure the yogurt was evenly distributed. I couldn’t believe how easy it was.

I too make my own yogurt and used to use the Trader Joe’s Straus knockoff as a starter, although when I killed my starter by getting it too hot, I used some buttermilk (long ago cultured with a yogourmet cheese culture bought at people’s co-op) and it made a more creamy, less-separated version that was delicious. amazing!

I use raw milk so I like to keep the enzymes moving, so I only heat the milk to just over 110 degrees, then pour into quart canning jars and mix in the culture (about 1/4 cup for a quart jar; I’ve been told you only need a tablespoon per pint of starter). I cover the jars tightly with some cotton cloth & rubber bands and put in a slow cooker with some water in it. I turn the cooker on “low” until the temperature reaches 110-120, then turn it down to “warm” and monitor the temp of the water. (not monitoring it was what led to the great yogurt killing a few weeks ago)

an Indian friend told me that her family used to make yogurt every day b/c there are so many uses for yogurt in Indian cuisine. I make two quarts every few weeks or so. I keep my crockpot right next to my computer so it’s easy to monitor (and it keeps me warm in these cold winter months ;)

I’m now just as confused by Nancy’s kefir products as by their yogurt. I bought a container of Nancy's organic plain low-fat kefir the other day; the ingredients included “organic milk” and “organic nonfat dry milk.” (I guess those two items together make it a “low-fat” product?)

But if I had bought a flavored version of the kefir, it would’ve contained pasteurized milk. (I don’t care what the labels on Nancy’s website say; the labels on the kefir packages at the store were different.)

So did Nancy’s simply get its labeling confused? Or is their kefir really made with unpasteurized milk? (I’m assuming that the dry milk -- i.e., powder -- is there for thickening purposes. Nancy’s kefir is certainly thicker than Helios kefir.)

As for that milk powder, I happened to be at the Bob's Red Mill store in Milwaukie, Oregon, over the weekend, and yes, you can buy milk powder in bulk there. The label doesn’t say how it’s produced, just that it’s natural.

But since the powder is being sold in the same bulk section with textured vegetable protein made from GMO soybeans grown by Archer Daniels Midland (yes, the label does admit to all this), I’m still skeptical.

It sounds like a labeling mix-up to me. I wonder if they’ve changed the way they’re listing their ingredients (to specify that the milk is pasteurized) but the change hasn’t been implemented across all products. I wonder this because I know they’ve introduced a new flavor (blueberry) and that’s not listed on the website (leading me to think that the pasteurized milk label is the new one). I imagine they’ll use up old packaging before they start in with the new. If that is the case, then the question is: is the adjective “pasteurized” replacing “organic”? And, if so, why are they not using organic milk anymore?

I also used to love Nancy’s yogurt, and I also used to make my own - using a bit of the dried milk, too. But I’ve since discovered White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt at Whole Foods. It’s probably carried elsewhere. Don’t confuse this with Mountain High.
White Mountain Bulgarian has spoiled us for anything else. We use the whole milk version.

Cynthia -- I have a good friend who married a Bulgarian, and she swears that the best yogurt in the world comes from Bulgaria. Will check out the White Mountain stuff next time I happen to be near a Whole Foods.

It depends of what kinnd of powder milk they use. There is a natural, organic powder milk product. In the mean-time make your own, like I will start doing.
thanks for the info. I am sorry. BBJ

by Leona Osman
I use organic greek yogurt for my starter and organic milk. After 24 hours, I strain the yogurt by using cheesecloth. After collecting the thick sour yogurt and place into a glass container in the refrigerator, I use the strained liquid which is milky and has the flavor of buttermilk, for pancakes and other baked items. If I use regular dairy milk, the strained liquid is clear and I dispose of it. I only use the organic yogurt for my starter and have kept it going for months. It continues its great sour flavor.