Re: Salvaging yogurt?

November 14, 2004

Every recipe I have ever had for yogurt, with or without the culture says to add 1/4 cup dry milk. I use Milkman dry that is 2%. I don't think it hurts the raw milk to add it and it does thicken it up. But, I do have the Yogotherm to keep everything at the desired temp. I've also noticed that the recipe that uses culture (or starter) tells you to heat the milk pretty hot, but not for any length of time. It says to heat to 180, cool to 116 and keep it there for at least 6 hours or until the yogurt sets to a thick cream. I've noticed that I do have to leave it for much longer, like about 12 hours to get it thick enough. At 6 hours, it is like thick cream, but I like a stiffer yogurt.

There is a reason for heating the milk. I don't know exactly what it does, but it has something to do with killing some of the bad bacteria and leaving some of the good flora.

Hope this helps.

K.C.

Salvaging yogurt?

I tried once again to make yogurt... this time with pasteurized,unhomogenized milk. (My daughter won't drink the raw milk, even when I'msneaky.) I followed the instructions in a yogurt cookbook I have, I figuredthere was nothing to be lost in heating it up to "proper temperature" sinceit was already dead. I used a really yummy yogurt called Seven Stars Farmor something... the only one I've found that has NO fillers. I put the jarsin a cooler in appropriately-hot water, and I purposefully did not lift thelid until 4 hours had passed, because I didn't want to let any heat out withneurotic checking. So... I checked at 4 hours and the water was tepid. Ididn't use the thermometer, but I'd be shocked if it was over 80 degrees.Crud!! I boiled a kettle-full of water and poured that in, bit by bit,measuring the temp. It took the whole kettle to get it over 100 degrees.I'll check it again in 2 hours... is there any hope? I looked at one jarand it had some thickened stuff on the very top, but the rest was pureliquid.Is it possible to 'restart' yogurt? I used so much milk... I was just sureit would work this time... and I have no idea what to do with it if itdoesn't turn into yogurt. Any ideas for that?Bekki in SCPLEASE BE KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of information!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/

November 15, 2004

Bekki, With the change in weather ( the house is colder, and therefore the water bath for the yogurt gets colder) I have had more than my share of failed yogurt. I drink it as a yogurt drink. They charge big bucks for those so called yogurt smoothies in the market. You haven't made a mistake, you have made a delicacy. I just add a touch of maple syrup, or honey and slurp it right up. YUM! I love my yogurt drink, but I did break down and buy an electric yogurt maker for the winter from Hoegger supply catalog. Kim ----- Original Message ----- From: Bekki Kirby To: RawDairy Is it possible to 'restart' yogurt? I used so much milk... I was just sureit would work this time... and I have no idea what to do with it if itdoesn't turn into yogurt. Any ideas for that?Bekki in SCPLEASE BE KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of information!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/PLEASE BE KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of information!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

November 15, 2004

You may already know these things. (I’m

new to the group so forgive me if you have oodles of prior posts on this).

I use unflavored gelatin to thicken my

yogurt, not powdered milk. It needs to be dissolved in a little hot water

before adding to the milk. (Add a bit of milk to cup then dump back in to ease

the temperature change). Then add yogurt starter.

You can get Knox brand at most grocery

stores or vegan & kosher at a health food store but it is more expensive.

There is a place here in Michigan

that will ship vegetarian kosher gel; www.clnf.org.

(No affiliation to me. I’ve just bought from them for a long time). They

also have all natural liquid flavorings that we enjoy; lemon, banana,

strawberry, cherry, maple, etc. I suppose any brand would do. Watch for

chemicals though.

Both gelatin and liquid flavor can be

added before incubation.

My yogurt maker is the best and cheapest that

I have seen. It has served me well for almost 10 years and is still going

strong. It’s a Salton, 1 quart container for about $15. Here is a link. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004SUHY/104-3427395-2791955?v=glance

.. I’m not affiliated with this company. I only put it here for you to see

what mine looks like. Shop around.

Kefir is a nice cultured beverage that

tastes much like yogurt. It has much more active culture and is supposed to be

better. No heat and no machine is needed. Just dump the starter/grains into raw

milk, leave out at room temp overnight and it’s usually ready the next

day. We refrigerate it before using.

I am not positive why yogurt needs that initial

high heat and kefir doesn’t. I’ve read that it changes proteins so the

yogurt is thicker and whey doesn’t separate; which may explain why kefir

is a beverage. It may also have to do with enzymes. Has anyone incubated raw

yogurt without heating to that high 170*-200* first?

Peg

From: Tinybabe

Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004

11:13 PM

To: RawDairy

Subject: Re: Salvaging

yogurt?

Every recipe I have ever had for yogurt, with or

without the culture says to add 1/4 cup dry milk. I use Milkman dry that

is 2%. I don't think it hurts the raw milk to add it and it does thicken

it up. But, I do have the Yogotherm to keep everything at the desired

temp. I've also noticed that the recipe that uses culture (or

starter) tells you to heat the milk pretty hot, but not for any length of

time. It says to heat to 180, cool to 116 and keep it there for at least

6 hours or until the yogurt sets to a thick cream. I've noticed that I do

have to leave it for much longer, like about 12 hours to get it thick

enough. At 6 hours, it is like thick cream, but I like a stiffer yogurt.

There is a reason for heating the milk. I don't

know exactly what it does, but it has something to do with killing some of the

bad bacteria and leaving some of the good flora.

Hope this helps.

K.C.

Salvaging yogurt?

I tried once again to make yogurt... this time with pasteurized,

unhomogenized milk. (My daughter won't drink

the raw milk, even when I'm

sneaky.) I followed the instructions in a

yogurt cookbook I have, I figured

there was nothing to be lost in heating it up to

" proper temperature " since

it was already dead. I used a really yummy

yogurt called Seven Stars Farm

or something... the only one I've found that has

NO fillers. I put the jars

in a cooler in appropriately-hot water, and I

purposefully did not lift the

lid until 4 hours had passed, because I didn't

want to let any heat out with

neurotic checking. So... I checked at 4

hours and the water was tepid. I

didn't use the thermometer, but I'd be shocked if

it was over 80 degrees.

Crud!! I boiled a kettle-full of water and

poured that in, bit by bit,

measuring the temp. It took the whole kettle

to get it over 100 degrees.

I'll check it again in 2 hours... is there any

hope? I looked at one jar

and it had some thickened stuff on the very top,

but the rest was pure

liquid.

Is it possible to 'restart' yogurt? I used

so much milk... I was just sure

it would work this time... and I have no idea what

to do with it if it

doesn't turn into yogurt. Any ideas for

that?

Bekki in SC

PLEASE BE

KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!

Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of

information!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/

PLEASE BE

KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!

Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of

information!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/

November 15, 2004

Hi, Peg.

I never heat the milk up before adding the culture to make yogurt.

I simply mix the milk and yogurt (i.e. some from the previous batch),

put it in the yogurt maker, and let it go for about 12+hours. Works really well.

The yogurt maker I have is also a Salton but the kind with five separate

glass cups… it’s old.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I am not positive why

yogurt needs that initial high heat and kefir doesn’t. I’ve read that it

changes proteins so the yogurt is thicker and whey doesn’t separate; which may

explain why kefir is a beverage. It may also have to do with enzymes. Has

anyone incubated raw yogurt without heating to that high 170*-200* first?

Peg

November 15, 2004

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks!

I did heat this batch up to 180 degrees before adding the culture (store-bought yogurt). Last time I didn't do that, but since this was already pasteurized I didn't see the harm in it. Anyway, I managed to completely forget about my yogurt overnight- was supposed to check on it around 11 pm. Maybe that was a good thing. I think it turned out ok. A teeny bit thinner than what I'm used to, and more tart, but good stuff.

BTW, I won't add powdered milk to anything- I think the stuff is poison. The powdering process involves such high temperatures that it turns the fats into toxins. That's just what I was told....

I might try the gelatin, though... it'd add a bit of protein, and that's a good thing for pregnant mamas like me.

Bekki in SC

November 15, 2004

The next time you are at the market, check out the pudding isle and get some rennet and try that as well. I get the liquid rennett that is derived from animal, but has no animal rennet in it at all. A couple of drops and POOF, great firmness and texture. There is also vegetable rennett and you can also use ager-ager (spelling is probably wrong), which is made from seaweed, is tasteless and clear when used. My sister, the veggie, uses it for thickening yogurt and other stuff.