Sunday, March 24, 2013

Making Homemade Yogurt - for soap of course!


I’ll start out by saying that I’m not a huge yogurt fan, but I love yogurt in baked goods and of course, in soap. The cost of yogurt is always a factor to consider though, so when my coworker recently introduced me to the fact that you can easily make your own yogurt at home, I decided to give it a try. 

It was soooo simple to make and costs substantially less than store-bought yogurt. You do need to start your first batch of homemade yogurt with a small amount of store-bought yogurt, but for subsequent batches you will use your own homemade yogurt as the starter.  

The method my coworker described involved using the oven and taking temperatures, but I searched around on the internet and found that you can use your slow cooker too. The slow cooker method seemed like a simpler option to me and didn’t involve taking temperatures, so that is what I decided to try. The method and recipe I followed is here. 

This particular recipe called for whole milk but I just used 1% as that was what I had in the house, and it worked just fine. Also, I was tired when I was making the yogurt last night and forgot that I meant to halve the recipe, so I ended up using only half of the amount of milk but the full amount of yogurt. Be aware that if you make the full recipe (using 8 cups of milk), that it makes a lot of yogurt! That’s why I chose to reduce the recipe, and it still made plenty of yogurt.

To make the yogurt: I warmed 4 cups of milk in the slow cooker on low for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then I shut off the slow cooker and let the milk sit in the slow cooker for 3 hours. I then whisked in ½ cup (should have been ¼ cup) of plain yogurt into the milk and wrapped the slow cooker up in a towel and let the yogurt mixture sit overnight for an additional 12 hours. This is what it looked like after 12 hours in the slow cooker, before I stirred it:
And here it is portioned out, ready to be frozen into cubes for my next batch of soap:
I was really pleased with the results! And of course, the cost is far less that what you would pay at the store for yogurt.

Like I mentioned above, even though I halved the recipe, I still had plenty of yogurt left over. I’ve set aside some of the homemade yogurt to make these Yogurt Pancakes. I've also made this Yogurt Marmalade Cake from Pioneer Woman before and it's delish, so I'm hoping I have enough yogurt left over after the pancakes to make it also :)  

Speaking of my next batch of soap, I’m planning on using some of this homemade yogurt in the soap that I’m making for the Great CakesSoapworks Soap Challenge for this week - tiger stripes! I’m really looking forward to trying this technique, is anyone else planning on taking part in Amy’s challenges? 

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34 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see your yogurt soap, Cee!
    I also use to make yogurt home, and mostly for using it in soap or for making a home cleanser :)
    And yes, I also plan on taking part in Amy's challenges, they were fun last year so can't wait this year!

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    1. Ah, using it for a facial cleanser is a great idea...I'll give it a try! Looking forward to seeing your creation for Amy's challenge Nat! =)

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  2. I´m not sure if I would go through so much trouble for making yogurt :D And I couldn´t eat that much :) But yogurt makes a good soap.
    In Finland we eat a kind of yogurt called viili. It is easy to make. You just mix a teaspoon of ready viili in a cup of milk and let it sit in room temperature for 12-24 hours.

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    1. Interesting...using viili sounds even easier, I like that method! :D

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  3. I've never tried a yogurt soap - does it go rancid faster than other soaps without yogurt (or cream)?

    I'm going to do the challenge this year, too, and I'm super excited for it! It looks like a fun list of techniques!

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    1. I haven't had any go rancid on me, but then we use it up rather quickly. Glad to see you're taking part in the challenges too! :)

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  4. Wow cool! My sister has a yogurt maker so it makes I think 6 little jars of yogurt. I'm going to have to try your pancake and cake recipes since I don't make CP soaps. :)

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    1. Yeah, I had no idea you could make yogurt so easily...I always thought you had to have a yogurt maker! The pancakes were super yummy...oh, and if you make the pancakes you must try making this super easy maple syrup to go with! -> Simple Maple Syrup

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    2. Make syrup? Hah! Not when there's a Costco nearby. ;)

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    3. Monica, you crack me up...lol! Where's that Little House On The Prairie spirit?! ;P

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    4. My spirit followed my body and went off drinking. ;) To keep the cold away of course, not for any other reason. ;)

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  5. You're a great cook, I see! Here,in the Balkans,many country families still make their own yogurt, especially if they keep any kind of bovine. I know that method used here doesn't involve extra heat,it's more like Nat described. Also,we have two basic types (plus Kefir,plus Mileram,plus many more fermented-milk products),
    - yougurt,which is fluid and sour cream (called 'sour milk'),which is thicker (yours looks like it).
    Can't believe it's not cheap product to buy there.
    I just read Amy's latest post. Well, the one from Macedonia, would be me,people,hi,hi!
    So glad I will be participating!
    Wow,this was a looong comment!

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    1. I do love baking, it's my other passion :) I don't know why yogurt is so expensive here, but it is! I'm going to try using goats milk next time, I think that would make a nice yogurt too. I saw Macedonia mentioned in Amy's post, I thought it might be you! Glad to see you will be participating too :)

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  6. Very interesting... is there a noticeable difference between soap made with yogurt verses milk?

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    1. Hi Andrea! I don't notice a huge difference between the various milk products in soaps; to me they all add a nice creamy richness to the lather. However, I know some people really like using certain combinations of milks and yogurt together in their soap, and they do notice a difference. I have to experiment a bit more with milk combos :)

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  7. How cool that you made your own yogurt! I usually have a tub of Greek yogurt in the fridge. I cook Indian food at least once a week, and I like a dollop of yogurt with it. I have to try yogurt in soap someday. And coconut milk, and buttermilk, and cream ...

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    1. Oh, I forgot to mention that you can make this into Greek yogurt by straining it through a tight-weaved cloth, like a tea towel. I know exactly what you mean Jenny, my list is growing faster than I can cross stuff off it...lol!

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  8. I am big fan of yogurt! It’s my standard breakfast. I mix it with sweetened fruits (e.g. berries) or honey, add cereals and it is really delicious. We used to make it previously: after worming the milk some yogurt is added and pot is insulated with the blanket (to keep milk warm). Not fashionable method but gives good results:) I love yogurt in soap. My favorite combination is with cucumber juice. Hardly wait to see your new project!

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    1. Yap, just to add a note here for all our overseas (and other) friends: we consume lots of yougurt,either for breakfast,or dinner (or both). In soap,I like it with other dairies combined, not on its own. Somehow,I found it inhibits lather,when using alone (maybe it's a subjective impression only)!

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    2. Gordana - I should really try to eat more yogurt, maybe I could incorporate it into my overnight oats :) I had read that some people make the yogurt nightly and just leave it out overnight on the counter like you describe, that would be so much easier! Thanks for the suggestion of using the cucumber juice with it, it sounds like a nice combo :)

      Maja - thanks for your note on using yogurt alone...I think I will try combining it with another milk then, maybe buttermilk.

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  9. That's awesome, can't wait to see what you come up with for the challenge! I love using yogurt in soap too.. however, if I made it myself it might go to waste..and I stink at baking, lol.

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  10. It sure does make plenty of yogurt Kalla! I used all mine up already, but I'm thinking our kids would like it for their smoothies too! No baking required ;)

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  11. That's great Cee! How interesting, I never really thought of doing your own yogurt. That may be a challange for me to try! I may enter the read Amy's post and can't wait to see your creation. I may give it a try as well for tons of fun :)

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    1. I hope you join Roxana, it's a great way to get yourself to try different techniques. So far the tiger stripe has kicked my butt on 2 soaps, I'm working up the courage to try a 3rd :/

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  12. Nunca hice jabón de yogurt, pero dicen que es muy cremoso e hidratante.
    Respecto a lo de hacer yogurt casero, hace muchos años que no lo hago, mi abuela me enseño, pero ya perdí la practica...


    casadapaulina♥jabones

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    1. I hope you get a chance to try it in soap Paulina, it is a very nice addition. I think probably many of our grandparents made their own yogurt...but nowadays, it is just so convenient to buy it from a store!

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  13. I like using yogurt, too. I've been making mine in a thermos lately, which works fine except that it makes only 3 cups at a time....and that's not nearly enough for me for eating AND soapmaking! ;) I'll have to give the crockpot method a try! (Oh, and I switched from 2% milk to whole milk and it's noticeably richer!)

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    1. Oh goodness, I'm only 8 months late noticing your comment! Great tip on switching from 2% to whole milk, thanks Amy!

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  14. Back in 2007 I posted a tutorial making yogurt in your dehydrator, it works perfect and is a lot less time. http://kansasa.blogspot.ca/2007/07/yogurt-tutorial-1-12-cups-skim-milk.html

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    1. I didn't realize you could make it in a dehydrator too, thanks so much for sharing!

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  15. It certainly saves time to make a big batch of yogurt and use it for various stuff. And it really helps if you can make more out of less ingredients for a noticeably lower expense than market costs. Thanks for the post!

    Melinda @ Newport Sea Foam

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  16. I've never tried yogurt soap, but my friend absolutely loves it, so I want to get one for myself. This recipe looks pretty straightforward, I will try it over the weekend. Will this amount last for a long time? I'm thinking of buying some so that I know how it's supposed to look like. http://www.tigerlilysoaps.com/store/c6/Greek_Yogurt_Soap.html

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  17. Homemade Yogurt is a long process if you want to make then you should wait 14 or 15 hours. first take some ready Yogurt in a pot then milk and the you can wait.

    homemade yogurt

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