raw milk yougurt making

[zenith1]

I have just found a local source of fresh cows milk. New York makes the farmers jump through all the proverbial hoops in order to sell raw milk to the public. Now that said, I was thinking through the process of making yogurt with this great product in order to get all the benefits from it. Yogurt starter cultures are of the  thermophilic variety. I would like to retain all the benefit of using the fresh raw milk( enzymes and bacteria). I do not want to destroy the product by heating above 110F. Would that lead to using a mesophilic starter? It seems that whether you are using a commercial DVS starter or other product like Dannon or Stoneyfield it would be thermophilic. If that is the case the working temps would be incorrect. Also I have read that raw milk yogurts tend to be thinner(from not heating to a higher temp?). What process besides straining if any can lead to a thicker raw milk yogurt?

[DeejayDebi]

Congrats Zenith!

Anything else would not produce yogurt but some form of cheese. Yogurt by nature is a formed by heat loving bacteria. Raw milk makes wonderful yogurt by it requires heating to work well.

I believe the issue with destroying milk comes from homogenization process not the pasteurization process. Unless of course you are talking the ultra pasteurized product. I would not worry about the heating of the milk but cool it down quickly by putting it in a cold water bath if you are concerned.

[Alex]

Zenith, here is the way you should make yogurt from raw milk, don't hesitate with the high temps:

1 liter milk
3 ts plain yogurt (the freshest possible)
1 drop enzyme

Pasteurize the milk at 88-92 deg C

Cool to 45-47 deg C in your sink filled with ice water

Add the yogurt and stir well

Add the enzyme and stir thoroughly for 5 seconds (enzyme is not necessary)

Cover the pot with a lid and wrap the whole "package" all around with a wool blanket or two (depends on the blanket).

Leave to incubate for 6-7 hours; more time left, you'll get a sourer yogurt or even "labne'h".

Now you have to refrigerate the freshly made yogurt.

The addition of the enzyme will make a thicker yogurt as you preferred.
I wouldn't take the chance not to pasteurize the milk.

[DeejayDebi]

Zenith, here is the way you should make yogurt from raw milk, don't hesitate with the high temps:

1 liter milk
3 ts plain yogurt (the freshest possible)
1 drop enzyme = rennet

Pasteurize the milk at 88-92 deg C

Cool to 45-47 deg C in your sink filled with ice water

Add the yogurt and stir well

Add the enzyme and stir thoroughly for 5 seconds (enzyme is not necessary)

Cover the pot with a lid and wrap the whole "package" all around with a wool blanket or two (depends on the blanket).

Leave to incubate for 6-7 hours; more time left, you'll get a sourer yogurt or even "labne'h".

Now you have to refrigerate the freshly made yogurt.

The addition of the enzyme will make a thicker yogurt as you preferred.
I wouldn't take the chance not to pasteurize the milk.

[zenith1]

I thought that we should continue this a little further. The heating of the milk  to those temperatures will in all probability destroy a lot of the raw milk benefits. I have attached a couple of articles to further the discussion.

[MrsKK]

Members of the Keeping a Family Cow forum (http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?) have had frequent discussions of raw milk yogurt.  I would guess that a minimum of 90% of the members there use raw milk directly from their cows, but I don't remember anyone having very much success with making raw yogurt.

The thing that stands out in my memory is that the results can be rather slimey.  Never an appealing quality in any food, IMHO.

The biggest issue with using raw milk to make yogurt is that the naturally occurring organisms in raw milk will compete with the live yogurt-creating organisms, thus giving you a product that might not be optimal.

While I enjoy drinking raw milk and eating raw cheeses, butter, sour cream, etc., I use the method of heating my milk to 180* F and holding it there for 20 minutes before cooling it off to innoculate with culture for yogurt.  That method consistently gives me wonderful, thick, smooth yogurt every time.  I drain it, too, when I want it to be dessert-quality.

Okay, so before posting, I decided to do a search on KFC for info on raw yogurt making.  Here's a link to the thread where some members have had some success with making it at lower temps:  http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=milk&action=display&thread=10175

Good luck and let us know what your results are.

[milkprotein_fat]

Heating milk would have following advantages:
* It adds more body to yoghurt (makes it bit thicker) by denaturing whey protein. If you don't heat milk, make yoghurt and drain out whey..you would lose all the whey proteins (good source of protein and some essential amino acids)
* You create a suitable environment for your starter culture to grow without any competing flora. You can use a probiotic strain if you are too enthusiastic about healthy food!

If you want a thicker yoghurt without heating milk, either add milk powder, or add cream and homogenize milk, or add gelatin or corn flour / starch.