Need help making yogurt.

[Chicken butler]

Hey! I just started making yogurt a few weeks ago. I started a new batch yesterday but didn't have enough yogurt for it, so this morning the yogurt was runny. I figured if I left it for a while it would be fine, my mom suggested that we heat it up just a tiny bit to maybe Kickstart it. Long story short it got to hot and separated. And now I have yogurt smelling cheese curds. Is there anything I can do with it? And also can I make yogurt without a starter, like, how did the first person make yogurt ?!

 

[Sally PB]

I don't know if you can "fix" your yogurt. If you heated it too hot, the culture might have died. You could drain it in cheesecloth, and see if the solids left behind taste good...? Maybe like a soft cheese?

A lot of commercial yogurts use gelatin to thicken their yogurt. (Boo hiss.) Greek style yogurt has some of the whey drained out, that's why it's thick.

When I make yogurt, I drain it and it loses 1/3-1/2 of the volume in whey. But oh, man! is it thick!

I used to take some to work in a pint jar. I'd stand a spoon up in the middle of the jar, and say to my coworkers, "Can your yogurt do that? Well, how about this!" And then I'd turn the jar upside down.

Here's an interesting site with a lot of helpful information.
https://brodandtaylor.com/blogs/rec...lk to 110,kill any unhealthy microbes present.

 

[Chicken butler]

I don't know if you can "fix" your yogurt. If you heated it too hot, the culture might have died. You could drain it in cheesecloth, and see if the solids left behind taste good...? Maybe like a soft cheese?

A lot of commercial yogurts use gelatin to thicken their yogurt. (Boo hiss.) Greek style yogurt has some of the whey drained out, that's why it's thick.

When I make yogurt, I drain it and it loses 1/3-1/2 of the volume in whey. But oh, man! is it thick!

I used to take some to work in a pint jar. I'd stand a spoon up in the middle of the jar, and say to my coworkers, "Can your yogurt do that? Well, how about this!" And then I'd turn the jar upside down.

Here's an interesting site with a lot of helpful information.
https://brodandtaylor.com/blogs/recipes/the-science-of-great-yogurt#:~:text=Will heating milk to 110,kill any unhealthy microbes present.

Thank you so much Sally PB for your advice and your story, made me and my Mom laugh.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

When I make yogurt, I make it in the crock pot. I heat the milk to 180 degrees, which takes about 2 hours on high. I let it cool for 3 hours and then add half cup of yogurt from the last batch (store bought if it's the first batch). The best tricks I've learned to get yogurt with great flavor and consistency are:

1. While the yogurt is culturing, put it in the oven with just the oven light on. Somehow, that puts it at just about the perfect temp for culturing, and you don't have to worry about actually heating it. It works great every time.

2. Use a FLOUR SACK towel to strain. I used to use cheese cloth and it was such a mess and some of the actual yogurt would strain into the whey. Now with the flour sack towels (I bought organic ones on Etsy), I get a nice, clear whey and I don't have to keep buying cheesecloth. I let it strain in the fridge overnight. Sometimes it gets too thick that way, but it's no big deal because you can just whisk some of the whey back in.

 

[ThatsMyPurseIdontknowyou]

I work with a lot of Indians (dot, not feather) and I asked a coworker how he makes yogurt.

Very simple stuff.

1. Full fat Vit D milk. Heat a gallon to almost, but not quite, boiling on your stove very slowly, while stirring to prevent any burning.

You can add some powdered milk at this point, if you want it thicker. You don't have to, and frankly I didn't feel like it did much for it.

2. Let it cool to room temp.

3. Add a spoon full of your last batch of yogurt OR some store bought active culture yogurt. Very very important its active culture, you need those cultures. You can also buy just the cultures online, if you really want, but its way cheaper to just get a pint of active culture yogurt at the grocery.

Stir in that culture.

4. Put on a lid.

5. Put it in your oven, with the oven off but the oven light on. You have to use a normal oven with a normal 40 watt incandescent oven light, none of this fancy pants new fangled stuff with LED lights. You need the warmth from the light. Make sure the door is shut.

6. Let it sit 18-24 hours.

Congrats, you have yogurt!

If you want it thicker, strain it in a flour sack or cheese cloth.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I work with a lot of Indians (dot, not feather) and I asked a coworker how he makes yogurt.

Very simple stuff.

1. Full fat Vit D milk. Heat a gallon to almost, but not quite, boiling on your stove very slowly, while stirring to prevent any burning.

You can add some powdered milk at this point, if you want it thicker. You don't have to, and frankly I didn't feel like it did much for it.

2. Let it cool to room temp.

3. Add a spoon full of your last batch of yogurt OR some store bought active culture yogurt. Very very important its active culture, you need those cultures. You can also buy just the cultures online, if you really want, but its way cheaper to just get a pint of active culture yogurt at the grocery.

Stir in that culture.

4. Put on a lid.

5. Put it in your oven, with the oven off but the oven light on. You have to use a normal oven with a normal 40 watt incandescent oven light, none of this fancy pants new fangled stuff with LED lights. You need the warmth from the light. Make sure the door is shut.

6. Let it sit 18-24 hours.

Congrats, you have yogurt!

If you want it thicker, strain it in a flour sack or cheese cloth.

Funny, that's pretty much exactly my recipe that I posted above, right down to the oven light and flour sack towel tricks! Lol. I do mine in the crock pot so I don't have to watch it as much, but it's doing the same thing.

I can attest to the fact that this recipe makes some delicious yogurt.

 

[ThatsMyPurseIdontknowyou]

Funny, that's pretty much exactly my recipe that I posted above, right down to the oven light and flour sack towel tricks! Lol. I do mine in the crock pot so I don't have to watch it as much, but it's doing the same thing.

I can attest to the fact that this recipe makes some delicious yogurt.

If its too tart, you can add some sweetener. But I found berries really made it pretty darn good.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I also heat to 180°F in a large pot (use candy thermometer) and hold at that temp for 5 to 10 minutes. Cool in an ice water bath (in the sink) to 110 then whisk in my culture. I use powdered starter, whisked into a few Tbsp of the cooled milk first. Then I pour into clean half-pint canning jars, put the lids on and place in the oven. Oven has a bread proofing setting so I use that. I leave it alone for at least 6 hours. To check, I tip a jar to see if it has firmed up. If yes, I move jars to the fridge and leave them overnight. Important not to shake or jiggle the jars. To sweeten, I may put a Tbsp of maple syrup (or now, sugar-free version) on top before eating. By making individual jars, the whey does not separate as I take out each serving from a gallon container.