Re: Yogurt making problem

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Then we pour the mixture into a

> mason jar, wrap in a towel, and put into an insulated container and

> let sit for 24 hours.

Unlike room temperature ferments, yoghurt needs to ferment at at least

around 100-105 degrees if not a bit warmer. Otherwise it just won't

work reliably or consistently.

-

[Guest guest]

> Unlike room temperature ferments, yoghurt needs to ferment at at least

> around 100-105 degrees if not a bit warmer. Otherwise it just won't

> work reliably or consistently.

>

> -

,

Do you recommend using a yogurt maker to keep it at this temperature? Any

particular

brands you like?

Chris

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Do you recommend using a yogurt maker to keep it at this

> temperature? Any particular

> brands you like?

I use a Yogourmet. Works like a charm.

-

[Guest guest]

> I use a Yogourmet. Works like a charm.

>

> -

Is the interior container plastic? If so, do you think there's any concern

about leeching?

Chris

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Is the interior container plastic? If so, do you think there's any

> concern about leeching?

Lucy's Kitchen Shop sells glass jars for the Yogourmet. Because of

the time, temperature and acidity, yes, I'd be concerned about

leeching, so IMO it's well worth the extra few bucks for the glass

vessels.

-

[Guest guest]

> Lucy's Kitchen Shop sells glass jars for the Yogourmet. Because of

> the time, temperature and acidity, yes, I'd be concerned about

> leeching, so IMO it's well worth the extra few bucks for the glass

> vessels.

Perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

If you want to avoid the expense and the problem of only being able to

make a quart of so of yogurt at a time, you can easily use an insulated

bag such as the ones they sell at Sam's or smaller lunch type ones for

your yogurt.

We heat the yogurt to 110, we also preheat the mason jars when needful

(if the jars are very, very cold and your place is cold you can be

surprised at how much heat is lost in transferring the yogurt into the

jars), and place the yogurt in the jars with the starter, shake, put a

big towel in the freezer bag, place the yogurt in the bag, if cold in

the house place inside a mason jar or two of hot water (110-120), fold

the towel around everyone, and let them be cozy together overnight.

Save on a yogurt machine and one electricity perhaps, and we can make

up to 8 quarts at a time;)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

In what way are sour cream & yogurt different? My first guess would be

bacteria vs. enzymes, yet I suspect there is more to it than what the label may

read. Jim

louisvillewapf <louisvillewapf@...> wrote:

If you want to avoid the expense and the problem of only being able to

make a quart of so of yogurt at a time, you can easily use an insulated

bag such as the ones they sell at Sam's or smaller lunch type ones for

your yogurt.

We heat the yogurt to 110, we also preheat the mason jars when needful

(if the jars are very, very cold and your place is cold you can be

surprised at how much heat is lost in transferring the yogurt into the

jars), and place the yogurt in the jars with the starter, shake, put a

big towel in the freezer bag, place the yogurt in the bag, if cold in

the house place inside a mason jar or two of hot water (110-120), fold

the towel around everyone, and let them be cozy together overnight.

Save on a yogurt machine and one electricity perhaps, and we can make

up to 8 quarts at a time;)

Well done is better than well said..., Jim Igo

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

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total

Access, No Cost.

[Guest guest]

I make my yogurt in glass mason jars, 1/2 gallon and put them in a

picnic cooler to " ferment " . Before I place them in the cooler I put

about a quart of boiling water in the bottom. This keeps the cooler

nice and warm. Another thing about yogurt is that it doesn't want to

be bothered, needs to be in a place where it won't be shook or moved

around.

My question to you is why you bother with raw milk if you are heating

it to 180?

Belinda

>

> We're having a strange problem with our yogurt making lately. The

past two or three batches

> have not soured or thickened like they normally do.

>

> We've followed exactly the same procedure we always follow, which is

to heat raw milk to 180

> degrees, allow to cool to 110, add 1 TBS. of starter (we normally

use a locally-produced

> organic, artisanal yogurt, but we have tried two different brands to

rule out the possibility

> that there weren't enough cultures in our normal brand). Then we

pour the mixture into a

> mason jar, wrap in a towel, and put into an insulated container and

let sit for 24 hours.

>

> The first several times we did this it worked very well. The last

three times, however, it has

> not become sour or thick. Nothing else has really changed - if

anything, it's warmer in the

> kitchen and I would expect fermentation to go faster.

>

> Anyone experienced something like this before? Any ideas what might

be causing the

> problem?

>

> Thanks,

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

>

> We're having a strange problem with our yogurt making lately. The

past two or three batches

> have not soured or thickened like they normally do.

>

> We've followed exactly the same procedure we always follow, which is

to heat raw milk to 180

> degrees, allow to cool to 110, add 1 TBS. of starter (we normally

use a locally-produced

> organic, artisanal yogurt, but we have tried two different brands to

rule out the possibility

> that there weren't enough cultures in our normal brand). Then we

pour the mixture into a

> mason jar, wrap in a towel, and put into an insulated container and

let sit for 24 hours.

>

> The first several times we did this it worked very well. The last

three times, however, it has

> not become sour or thick. Nothing else has really changed - if

anything, it's warmer in the

> kitchen and I would expect fermentation to go faster.

>

> Anyone experienced something like this before? Any ideas what might

be causing the

> problem?

>

> Thanks,

> Chris

>

We make our yogurt with raw milk and a Yogourmet, raising the milk

temperature to just 105. Heating raw milk any more than that destroys

the naturally occurring enzymes and heat sensitive vitamins, e.g.,

Vitamin C. The only time I've had a problem with it setting properly

is when we ran our dishwasher while the yogurt was incubating on the

counter above. As another post said, yogurt doesn't like to be

disturbed. We also make sure the container is pre-warmed and filled

with hot water, to minimize the chance of any temperature drop.

[Guest guest]

--- In , " louisvillewapf " <louisvillewapf@...>

wrote:

>

> If you want to avoid the expense and the problem of only being able to

> make a quart of so of yogurt at a time, you can easily use an insulated

> bag such as the ones they sell at Sam's or smaller lunch type ones for

> your yogurt.

>

> We heat the yogurt to 110, we also preheat the mason jars when needful

> (if the jars are very, very cold and your place is cold you can be

> surprised at how much heat is lost in transferring the yogurt into the

> jars), and place the yogurt in the jars with the starter, shake, put a

> big towel in the freezer bag, place the yogurt in the bag, if cold in

> the house place inside a mason jar or two of hot water (110-120), fold

> the towel around everyone, and let them be cozy together overnight.

> Save on a yogurt machine and one electricity perhaps, and we can make

> up to 8 quarts at a time;)

>

Actually this is exactly what we have been doing. However, the last three

batches did not

work this way.

I believe the Yogourmet makes up to 2 quarts at a time, which is plenty for us

for one

batch.

[Guest guest]

I do the same thing, but I fill the cooler with more water (to just below

the lip of the jars) and I check back in a few hours to make sure I don't

need to add some boiling water to bring the water temp up. Works great.

-Lana

On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 8:54 PM, labelleacres <bilherbs@...> wrote:

> I make my yogurt in glass mason jars, 1/2 gallon and put them in a

> picnic cooler to " ferment " . Before I place them in the cooler I put

> about a quart of boiling water in the bottom. This keeps the cooler

> nice and warm. Another thing about yogurt is that it doesn't want to

> be bothered, needs to be in a place where it won't be shook or moved

> around.

>

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> I believe the Yogourmet makes up to 2 quarts at a time, which is

> plenty for us for one

> batch.

Yep. It has a half-gallon container.

-

[Guest guest]

> We make our yogurt with raw milk and a Yogourmet, raising the milk

> temperature to just 105. Heating raw milk any more than that destroys

> the naturally occurring enzymes and heat sensitive vitamins, e.g.,

> Vitamin C. The only time I've had a problem with it setting properly

> is when we ran our dishwasher while the yogurt was incubating on the

> counter above. As another post said, yogurt doesn't like to be

> disturbed. We also make sure the container is pre-warmed and filled

> with hot water, to minimize the chance of any temperature drop.

>

I'm aware that heating raw milk destroys the enzymes and heat-sensitive

vitamins; however,

I still think that raw milk would still be a better choice because some of the

nutrients would

not be destroyed by the heat, it's not homogenized, and it's generally less

processed. I also

much prefer supporting local, raw dairy farmers to large dairy corporations.

Chris

[Guest guest]

> We make our yogurt with raw milk and a Yogourmet, raising the milk

> temperature to just 105. Heating raw milk any more than that destroys

> the naturally occurring enzymes and heat sensitive vitamins, e.g.,

> Vitamin C. The only time I've had a problem with it setting properly

> is when we ran our dishwasher while the yogurt was incubating on the

> counter above. As another post said, yogurt doesn't like to be

> disturbed. We also make sure the container is pre-warmed and filled

> with hot water, to minimize the chance of any temperature drop.

>

I forgot to ask you for clarification on this. I've never used a Yogourmet, so

I'm not sure how

it works. But are you saying you don't heat the milk up to 180 and cool it down

to 105

before putting it in the Yogourmet? You just put in the cold milk and bring it

up to 105?

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> I'm aware that heating raw milk destroys the enzymes and heat-

> sensitive vitamins; however,

> I still think that raw milk would still be a better choice because

> some of the nutrients would

> not be destroyed by the heat, it's not homogenized, and it's

> generally less processed. I also

> much prefer supporting local, raw dairy farmers to large dairy

> corporations.

If the raw milk (and/or other dairy) you get is fresh enough, there's

really no need to heat the mixture to 180 degrees before culturing.

-

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> I forgot to ask you for clarification on this. I've never used a

> Yogourmet, so I'm not sure how

> it works. But are you saying you don't heat the milk up to 180 and

> cool it down to 105

> before putting it in the Yogourmet? You just put in the cold milk

> and bring it up to 105?

That's what I do. I pour in a quart of milk, a quart of cream, add

some yoghurt starter, soften it, mix it up, put it in the Yogourmet,

take it out 24 hours, and voila, raw yoghurt.

-

[Guest guest]

>

> Chris-

>

> > I forgot to ask you for clarification on this. I've never used a

> > Yogourmet, so I'm not sure how

> > it works. But are you saying you don't heat the milk up to 180 and

> > cool it down to 105

> > before putting it in the Yogourmet? You just put in the cold milk

> > and bring it up to 105?

>

> That's what I do. I pour in a quart of milk, a quart of cream, add

> some yoghurt starter, soften it, mix it up, put it in the Yogourmet,

> take it out 24 hours, and voila, raw yoghurt.

Sound great! Only problem with that for me is that raw cream is exceedingly

difficult to

come by around here, and when it is available it's about $11 for a tiny little

jar. Perhaps I'll

mix the raw milk with pasteurized cream, or just stick with 100% raw milk.

Do you use cream to produce a thicker yogurt?

[Guest guest]

,

what do you use for yogurt starter and how much?

>

> Chris-

>

> > I forgot to ask you for clarification on this. I've never used a

> > Yogourmet, so I'm not sure how

> > it works. But are you saying you don't heat the milk up to 180 and

> > cool it down to 105

> > before putting it in the Yogourmet? You just put in the cold milk

> > and bring it up to 105?

>

> That's what I do. I pour in a quart of milk, a quart of cream, add

> some yoghurt starter, soften it, mix it up, put it in the Yogourmet,

> take it out 24 hours, and voila, raw yoghurt.

>

> -

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

when it's done, is all the cream on top? do you just stir it in before eating

it?

>

> Chris-

>

> > I forgot to ask you for clarification on this. I've never used a

> > Yogourmet, so I'm not sure how

> > it works. But are you saying you don't heat the milk up to 180 and

> > cool it down to 105

> > before putting it in the Yogourmet? You just put in the cold milk

> > and bring it up to 105?

>

> That's what I do. I pour in a quart of milk, a quart of cream, add

> some yoghurt starter, soften it, mix it up, put it in the Yogourmet,

> take it out 24 hours, and voila, raw yoghurt.

>

> -

>

>

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Do you use cream to produce a thicker yogurt?

To boost the fat content and reduce the carb content, but that's not

important for everyone.

-

[Guest guest]

Carolyn-

> what do you use for yogurt starter and how much?

Natren, per their recommended dose.

-

[Guest guest]

Carolyn-

> when it's done, is all the cream on top? do you just stir it in

> before eating it?

The top is fattier than the bottom, but there's not a discrete cream

layer like you'd find in Brown Cow or other commercial yoghurts.

Perhaps that's because of the dramatically higher fat content of my

yoghurt.

-

[Guest guest]

>

> Chris-

>

> > Do you use cream to produce a thicker yogurt?

>

> To boost the fat content and reduce the carb content, but that's not

> important for everyone.

>

> -

Sure sounds good to me!

[Guest guest]

Yogurt making update:

Picked up a Yogourmet Thursday. Poured a quart of raw milk without heating it

first into the

container, and then mixed it with a bit of commercial (local, organic) yogurt as

a starter. Let

it go for 24 hours.

It came out quite lumpy. Certain parts are still milk-like in consistency, and

then there are

" chunks " of yogurt-like consistency in there. Perhaps it will be better if I

stir it up a bit and

refrigerate it for a while.

For those of you not heating the milk before you put it in the Yogourmet... do

you get thick,

creamy milk with an even consistency? Do you use fresh starter each time?

Thanks again,

Chris