How Warm do Most Yogurt Makers Become?
If you are a fan of making homemade yogurt using a yogurt maker, you must know how important it is to know how hot the machine becomes. To do this, you should test your yogurt maker.
If it is your first time using the yogurt maker, you should ensure that you test it out before you start making yogurt with it. This will help eliminate any problems you may come across.
Testing Your Yogurt Maker
1. You need to heat water using a pot or kettle and ensure it gets as hot as 110°F.
2. Take out your yogurt maker and fill it with hot water. You want to ensure that the water is full enough; otherwise, you may not get an accurate reading.
You should note that most 2-quart yogurt makers need at least 1 quart of liquid to have a good reading temperature. Also, suppose you have a yogurt maker that comes with serving-size containers. In that case, you must ensure the jars are full as it helps achieve an accurate culturing temperature.
3. Turn on the machine and allow it to run for 6 to 8 hours, just as if you were making real yogurt.
4. Every hour or two, use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water. The temperature should remain constant throughout and only vary between 7 degrees or less.
Reasons for Inconsistent Temperature Readings
Suppose you find that there is a significant change in the temperature readings. In that case, your yogurt maker will not function properly enough to make good yogurt. Aside from a faulty unit, there are other reasons why your machine’s temperature is inconsistent.
- The lid is not properly closed. If this is the case, the temperature will fluctuate because heat is escaping.
- Your yogurt maker is not plugged in. You’d be surprised how often you think an electric appliance is faulty, only to realize that you didn’t plug it in.
- Your yogurt maker is in a very cold room. Suppose the machine is in a room that is colder than room temperature. In that case, the yogurt maker will struggle to maintain the right temperature.
- Another common mistake is using milk that was not preheated. If you use cold milk from the refrigerator, you will not get accurate temperature readings.
- Lastly, the thermometer itself may be faulty. You want to check that it is working well by recalibrating it. Otherwise, you’ll keep getting incorrect readings and end up with poor-quality yogurt.
- To ensure that your yogurt maker works well, you can also preheat the yogurt incubators before using them. Having a warm incubator and warm milk is a great way to start the yogurt-making process.
As you make your yogurt, ensure that you protect yourself while doing so. Contrary to popular belief, yogurt makers are not constructed so that the bowl’s walls are insulated. This would be a lot of effort just to make yogurt without fear of burning your hands while stirring. You can prevent this with the use of a heat-resistant spoon.
