My Nesco/Yogurt Maker!

     I have made some really yummy yogurt over the past couple years with my crock-pot and also experimenting with other methods but I have always longed to own a yogurt maker. The main reason is so that I could keep a consistent temperature and allow for a longer culturing and more probiotics in my yogurt, especially as we are preparing to go on the GAPS diet. Right now there are other expenses and honestly if I bring one more kitchen gadget into this house my husband might have a slight fit.

     I know that many people use their Excalibur dehydrator to make yogurt but when I was dehydrator shopping the Nesco was the one in our price range. Don't get me wrong, I love my Nesco and I think it is a great dehydrator. I have only wanted an Excalibur for its space but now I am even more in love with my Nesco. Two days ago I had an "Ah Ha!" moment and I can't believe that it took me so long to see the possibilities.

  I found a way to turn my Nesco into a yogurt maker!!!

     I would like to call this a stroke of genius but if I was a genius I would have figured this out last year. It was last summer that I was trying to dehydrate some peppers from the garden but they were too big. I took two trays that had a few broken spots and completely removed the inner portions with wire cutters to create spacers between the trays. As I was cleaning my dehydrator the other day, it just hit me..."will any of my jars fit in with spacers?" Well, no I had to go out and buy some but I am always up for buying more jars! I loaded up the kids and we went into town and I drove them crazy over my indecisiveness over which jars to purchase. I finally decided on the wide mouth half pints and they turned out to be perfect. While I was at the store I looked at prices and if I had not had the broken trays a pack of 2 trays for my model cost about $10 and the jars were $9, so to make a yogurt maker out of your Nesco would only cost about $20.

Delicious and thick yogurt that has cultured for 24 hours at 110 degrees.