Yogurt Making - General Discussion

[steffb503]

I have culture from Dairy Connections for my goat milk. I can't find how much culture and when I add it.
I make yogurt by bringing the raw milk to 180 then down to 115. I usually add starter culture from previous batch . This time I want to use the one from Dairy Connections.  Do I add now or when the milk is cold?
Thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

Don't add the culture until the milk has cooled back down to 110-115F.

I add 4 tablespoons of tapioca flour per gallon of milk as a thickener.

[MarkShelton]

I've wondered what a good thickener would be. I've stopped making yogurt because my girlfriend likes the thicker yogurt, which I haven't been able to reproduce.
Does raw milk need to be heated so high for yogurt though?

[linuxboy]

Yes, Mark, read my explanation of whey protein denaturing to find out why. https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2924.0.html 185F for 30 mins is best. Tapioca is a good thickener, you can also add dry milk powder, and gelatin. That will give you a thick product. Corn starch works okay if you don't have tapioca, but IMHO, not as good of a mouthfeel. I like tapioca, then potato starch for thickening anything with dairy in it.

[DeejayDebi]

I find with raw milk I don't need a thickener

[BigCheese]

can you describe your process Debi? Does your final product get close to store-bought thickness?

[MrsKK]

I searched for good starter yogurt and tried many techniques and finally came up with yogurt I really like by using the method described by linuxboy and using Greek Gods yogurt as my starter.  I do not add anything as a thickener and I use raw milk from my own cow. Because I like my yogurt super-thick, I drain it for a couple of hours in cheesecloth, until about half the volume has drained out as whey.

[Ozark Lady]

I used a yogurt culture, and make up the first bunch, then use it to start succeeding batches.
Once my yogurt has cultured and is done making, I often use jam that I have made and the pectin and thickness of the jam will often set it enough.  If not, I just add some plain gelatin to it.  If you use alot of gelatin, it gives it a jello texture, so go very easy on how much gelatin you add.  I did notice that I had to decide while the milk was warm if this was a culture to save some from for another batch, or one to add gelatin to. 

If I just want a fast yogurt, I just mix a box of regular flavored gelatin, of whatever flavor I want, then instead of the cool water, I let it cool naturally a bit, and add the finished culturing but runny yogurt in place of the water, suggested, then I match the amount made with just yogurt, in this way, it is sweet, flavored and more yogurt than jello, this is one my kids really liked for dessert.

I am about to try my very first batch of yogurt using store bought plain yogurt, I hope it doesn't have so much stabilizers in it to be an issue in culturing.  Experiment time!

[BigCheese]

Yes Mrs KK, I bit the bullet and did the denaturing process yesterday. Great results! Thicker, tastier yogurt with no thickener and only 10 hours incubation compared to my previous method with thickeners and 16 hours incubation.

More time consuming, but seems to be worth it!

[MrsKK]

I'm glad you got good results with your yogurt! I like the shorter incubation time, too, as I don't like my yogurt to be really tart.

[BigCheese]

Yup, I have got another batch going now. Its not raw, but I mix the culture with raw milk and hope that those good bacterias replenish the yogurt for the most part.

It seems like all the batches will be consistent now, too, which is a huge plus.

[DeejayDebi]

I find that I get the best yogurt from 2% milk or raw milk I skim before making it. I have been using yougurt cultures from Dairy Connections lately as it seems they don't like to sell small jars of plain yogurt here.

Yogurt - Deejays Method

Ingredients:
½ gallon of milk
2 heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt
(it must state - active yogurt cultures – I use Dannon it's readily available)
1/3 cup of carnation powdered milk  or tapioca flour to thicken (optional)


Procedure:
Set the milk out at room temperature for about an hour to warm it up. This will make heating the milk go faster.
Take your pot and place it on the stove.
Pour in the milk I the pot and heat it on medium high
Add In the powdered milk and mix well
Heat the milk to 185°F and hold it for 30 minutes to kill off any bacteria or germs that may be in there. This also sets up the protiens making the milk firmer. Stir to keep the milk from burning on the bottom.
Let the milk cool to 100°F
Warm your oven at it lowest setting  and turn it off leaving the light on.
Place 1 heaping tablespoon of plain yogurt in a small bowl.
Add some of the warm milk to the yogurt and mix well. This will make it thinner ad easier to add to the warm milk.
Add this mixture to the warm milk and mix well.
Place the pot in your warm oven with the light on and leave it for 4 to 8 hours without disturbing. After about 4 hours it will be thickening. I leave it overnight and check it in the morning. You want to keep it at about 90° while it ripens.
By morning you will have a pot of nice plain unflavored yogurt! Congratulations! Chill it for a few hours and it will be wonderfully tart yogurt you made all by yourself!