Homemade yogurt and Yikes the calories! Any tips?

Good morning,

Last night I made my first batch of homemade yogurt, and it turned out Ok.  Not great, but good enough.  I like a firm texture and this was a little runny for my tastes, but the flavor was far and away nicer than anything I have purchased before.  I also love that there are no added crap ingredients and that it will over the long haul save money.  It was super easy too!  But here is where I could use some advice if there is someone out there that knows what they are doing.  I am not much of a cook...

1.  I followed directions using skim milk and 10 tablespoons powdered milk, and let it go for 10 hours.  Not nearly thick enough.  I will let it ferment longer on the next round, but is there anything else I can do to thicken it (and hopefully not add calories)?

2.  Adding the powdered milk added a ton of calories, and my measly little 4 ounces of yogurt pulled 140 calories, and that was before I added in some honey.  Is there a way to make it without the powdered milk and still have it thick?

3.  Any recipes out there that you can recommend?  Right now I am doing 5 mg yogurt starter (and will use my yogurt on the next batch), 42 ounces skim milk, and 10 tablespoons powdered milk.  

Thanks for your input!

There are probably a lot less calories than you calculated.  Once food is fermented the sugar is eaten up by the process.

To thicken it you can strain it through cheese cloth.  Greek yogurt is strained.

Why not use whole milk and ditch the powdered milk.  Just make sure you don't use ultra pasteurized milk.

Oh, I didn't even think about the sugars being eaten. Any idea how I would figure out calories, or should I just use commercial yogurt as a guide?  I just bought a strainer thingy online, so hopefully that will help.  I will also try a batch with a higher fat content and get rid of the powdered milk too- didn't like adding that in, but thought I had too.  Thanks for the suggestions!  

No idea how to calculate.  I would just do as you suggested and use store bought as a guide.

I used  to make yogurt regularly- though with whole milk as I liked the mouthfeel/taste of the fat, and the fat=fullness as well for me. I gave it up when we got rid of our cow share.. but I will still once in a while get the good stuff & make motz & ricotta cheese.

In order to get any yogurt thick- you need to strain it, but the cheesecloth sold in stores isn't usually the kind that works (too loosely woven).. I get my cheesemaking and yogurt cultures here, they have the cheesecloth you need- if not, a good clean white cotton cloth works well too, just slower. Some cultures do set up thicker as well, and some are sweeter/sour. It's a fun hobby! http://www.leeners.com/

Whoops- this is the place, I forgot- these guys carry the better cultures:http://www.cheesemaking.com/cheeseculturesandmoldpowders.htm l

Between the lactose eating bugs, creating lactic acid- and eating that sugar, and you straining out the whey from the yogurt- your end cal count is lower, though no real way to figure how much lower.

Thanks, I will check that out for sure.  With my first batch I ended up just using my kitchen strainer and a bowl for about an hour and even that made a huge difference.  Now it is similar to Dannon Fruit on the Bottom consistency- much more palatable.  I will hunt down the cheese cloth and give that a whirl.  My biggest friggin' problem is that I am so INPATIENT!  

Just started another batch using 3 parts whole milk, 2 parts skim (left over from yesterdays mismeasure), and 4 tablespoons of powdered milk.  I am also using the little jars that came with it, and that is really feeling like a waste of time.  If I am going to just be straining this stuff every time, then the little jars make no sense at all.  Bummer I bought an extra set, but it will make it good for packing lunches I suppose.  

Fingers crossed this doesn't come out as lumpy.  Even batch number 1 was terrific with honey though :)  I love the idea of making cheese and ricotta- next on my list of things to learn how to do!  

Hi. I've been making homemade yogurt for years. Your results depend on a number of things- type of maker (I assume you have individule serving incubator because you mention little jars, yes?), milk, and time. I use skim milk or 2percent. Bring it to 185 degrees (just before it might come to a boil-but not). Cool to about 112 degrees or so, then add your starter. Into the jars and incubate for approx 12 hours. Do not disturb or stir or shake - doing that will deactivate the process. The longer you leave it, the firmer and "tarter" it will be. You do not need anything to thicken yogurt- no powdered milk or anything but the milk. I do not add any sweeteners to mine. I would recommend not adding any until after it has set up in the frige. If I want a Greek yogurt I put a basket coffee filter into a strainer over a bowl and put the yogurt in that. Cover and put it in the frige. The longer you leave it, the firmer it will be- anything from regular Greek to almost a cream cheese. As a rule of thumb, 1 quart of milk will yield 2 cups of yogurt and the rest is whey (give that to your houseplant s . I count 1/2 c. as 15 G protein. I don't figure for the carbs. Don't really know how with the chemical changes involved, but since I know what's in it (just milk), I figure it's all good. Sorry about the length of this post, hope maybe it helps some...

I didn't heat it up that high at first, so I will not skip that step.  On my currently fermenting batch I took it up to 120 degrees, then back down to 105ish before I added the starter.  I will be more mindful of the temperature on the next batch and try it without any powdered milk.  Yes, my maker does individual jars- but it is flat so I can elect to put in a 7 cup pyrex bowl also.  That seems much easier, unless I can get the little jars firm enough to eat right from there.  My first batch only went 10 hours also, so I will increase the time.  Thank you so much for the suggestions!  My overnight batch will be this version.  

Oh- how do you make it not lumpy?  And on my recipe it says to use 6 ounces of yogurt as starter, but the video online said 2-3 ounces... which is it?

Thank you so much for your reply!

This is fun. First, the heating is very important. It removes the possibility of contamination AND prepares the milk proteins for bacterial reproduction. This is what gives you your yogurt. Go with the 6 ounces of starter yogurt. For 7 cups of milk sounds about right. If you save back yogurt for starter you will discover that the potency diminishes over batches. I generally buy fresh after 5 batches or so. I don't know what to say about lumps. I don't get them - maybe that's the dry milk? At any rate, I would try stirring them into the yogurt right before putting it in the frig to set. Good luck. Once you get the feel for it, it's easy-breezy. Taste wise there is no comparison; the commercial stuff tastes bland and cloying to me. I know you'll do great!

Ok, batch number three now... trying to delump!

1/2 is skim, 1/2 is whole milk.  No powdered milk this time.  I was careful with the temperature, and waiting at the moment for it to drop back down to 105.  Fingers crossed!  I bought a thing of fage too hoping that maybe the difference in the cultures may help.  That will put it at about 5 ounces for the starter, so hopefully that is enough.  Thanks again for the help!