Help Jogeephus

[CottageFarm]

I made a batch of yogurt Thursday night. It was a complete failure :frowns:

It never thickened so I used some gelatin to thicken it. That worked out fine.
But now it just tastes like thick milk, doesn't have any of that the distinctive tang.
Not sure what went wrong but I suspect my active cultures aren't very active.
Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

I'm going to try a new batch with a different starter, but I wanted to ask a few more questions.
I was intending to give this with homemade granola for Christmas, but now time is getting short so I need to know if it can still be ready for Tuesday, or should I start coming up with a plan B. Is this time frame still feasable? How long will it normally take to start thickening.

Sincerely,
Your eager pupil :lol2:

 

[Jogeephus]

The only time I had a failure - which sounds just like your failure - was when I used a yogurt starter that was supposed to be top end stuff but the culture has been killed by additives. I use Dannon All Natural Yogurt and be sure it states "Contains active yogurt cultures including L. acidophilus. This is the tang you want. Its amazing how many yogurts contain dead cultures.

The only other thing could be if the milk has been super heated with that new system. Forgot what its called. But it should work with any milk as long as the cultures are live.

 

[Jogeephus]

UHT pasturized is the milk you can't use. Here, Walmart's milk is done this way and it won't work. Don't know if they actually specify the type pasturization on the label though so you may have to try different brands.

 

[CottageFarm]

My half & half says ultra pasteurized, so I figured if the milk was it would say so, too. Maybe not, though. I'll run out to pick up some different yogurt right now. I'm hoping our little market here will have something. Maybe I'll pick up some different milk to play it safer too. Am I still okay on the timing, though, if I make a batch tonight?

 

[Jogeephus]

My half & half says ultra pasteurized

Pretty sure that is the same as UHT which stands for Ultra High Temperature Pasturization. It does something to the milk and makes it where its no good for this.

Also, be sure to leave it in a warm place 80F for 8 hours to get the culture working. Here, I just leave it in the kitchen overnight but our temps are warmer than yours. As long as you have a live culture and a milk that's not stomped on and the right temp for the culture to grow it CAN"T not work.

Good luck with it. Sorry you had problems.

 

[CottageFarm]

Thanks, Jo!
I could have been a temp problem. My house is never 80 degrees this time of year. The overnite temp runs about 50 degrees. I'll put it on one of my germinating mats overnite this time. That should keep it about the right temp.

 

[I luv herfrds]

How about sharing that recipe Jo?
I have got milk coming out my ears. Crazy cow is putting out 3-4 gallons a day.

Looking at trying my hand at cheese making too.

 

[suzorse]

I have a yogert maker and use Mountain High plain yogert,2 TB to a quart of 80 to,85 degree milk
warm from the cow works great, you just need to keep it at 80 to 85 for 12 to 24 hours , qt jar wrapped up so it stays warm will work
Suzanne

 

[Jogeephus]

Here is what I sent Cottagefarm. I don't think she read carefully what I wrote because it sounds like she did one of two things wrong. Don't use the ultra pasturized milk cause it will not work. Don't get the milk from walmart because it will not work. Be sure the yogurt says contains active live cultures or it will not work. If you keep these things in mind and follow these instructions it cannot NOT work. Its painfully simple. All you are doing is warming the milk and inoculating it with the bacteria and you keep it warm and the bacteria will multiply and form the yogurt in 8 - 12 hours. There are a few things you can do to thicken it some but if you follow these directions and use the right ingredients you will have some very good yogurt if not better yogurt than you can buy.

This is painfully simple.

Take a gallon of milk. It can be fat free, 1%, 2%, skim or whole. I use whole because its creamier.

Put the gallon of milk into a glass or stainless steel pot and let it come to room temperature - or leave the jug out.

Once you pour it in the pot take 1/3 cup of powdered milk and dump this in there and mix it well. You don't HAVE to do this but its better if you do.

Heat the milk to 187F and keep it there for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool.

When the milk is about 80 - 100F add two heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt to the milk and mix it well by whisking it or whatever. It is vitally important that the yogurt you use contains live active yogurt cultures. Also, stay away from Walmart milk or any milk that has been UHT pasteurized.

Once you've done this you have made yogurt. What you need to do now is just leave the milk out at room temperature (75-80F) and leave it untouched for about 8 hours or overnight. The next morning chill it in the fridge and it will really thicken.

If you use skim milk or something like that its going to be thin but you can thicken it by adding a pinch of unflavored gelatin or you can add some more powdered milk.

Once you've made one batch you'll never have to purchase yogurt again and it will only cost you about $3/gallon.

Its too simple to make and sell legally without lots of government intervention.

 

[pdfangus]

Jogeephus....

now I am confused....

it has been a while since I was in th edairy business but way back in the infancy of UHT I worked for Dairymen Inc which owned the Flavorich brand and pioneered UHT milk.....UHT processing involved bringing the milk to a high temp,,,,I have not gone back to research but I wan to say 185 and holding it for several seconds,,,again I want ot say twenty or thirty....

the process may have changed but I do not see how that is different from 187 for thirty minutes....

now i got to go and look it up....

 

[pdfangus]

okay....

now for UHT they are taking it up to 280 degrees farenhite for at least two seconds....
at least some processors are taking it that high.....

I am not sure why this would affect yogurt as the premise of yougurt is the reintroduction of desired bacteria and the milk should stillbe an excellent growth medium for bacteria especially at temps approaching body temperature. My speculation would be that the UHT temps somehow effect the sugars in the milk making them less available to the culture.

 

[Jogeephus]

I don't know why it won't work but I just know it works better if you don't use this type milk.

 

[CottageFarm]

I really did read your instructions, I promise!
I still don't know for certain whether I used ultra past. the 1st time. It didn't say that it was, so I'll never know.
The part that I missed was keeping it at 80+ overnight. But, for my second attemp, I changed all of the products to play it safe, and kept it on a heating mat for about 15 hours. Anyway, so here's how it turned out.

It still wasn't quite as thick as I would like and I didn't feel like (or have the time for) straining it, so I thickened with gelatin and blended with fruit purees that I had left over from the Bellini syrups I made. Strawberry, blueberry and peach. I also added some preserves to the peach. Then I made a bunch of granola to go with the yogurt. It was a big hit with the recipients. Thanks again, Jo!

 

[pdfangus]

looks good enough to eat.......

 

[CottageFarm]

If the UHT is heated to 280+ I can see where it could have an effect on both the sugar and protien molecular structure enough to where it could create metabolic issues for the bacteria.

I had assumed that it would be labeled as UHP, the way my half & half is.
I ended up using an overpriced Organic variety that I figured was most likely to not be UHP.

 

[Jogeephus]

That does look good. I don't understand the Why of the other but I've found that anytime they use catchy words like Ultra or something on those lines you are getting short changed somehow. Don't know the bran milk I last used but it turned out as thick as mud.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Ok stupid question for you Jo.
Can I use raw and/or pasturized milk?
I have both. My counter pasturizer goes up to 159 degrees.

This will be my own milk.

 

[suzorse]

I use raw all the time ,I do not pasturize but I am licensed threw the state to sell raw milk for human use , I also make cheese and butter ,still not pasterized, but I have heated it up to the higher temp
before and then let it cool down before adding the yogert, but I do not do that any more ,most of my custumers can not drink store bought milk as it makes them sick,at least that is what they tell me,
they also make lots of Keifer, but to get a consistant product you could pasterize it first since you have a pasterizer,I may try Jo's way as this link also talks about it held at the higher temp for a time ,for thick yogert http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cg ... read=45603 Suzanne

 

[I luv herfrds]

Last time I looked it is illegal to sell raw milk in Montana.
I do sell my pastureized milk to family and friends. Got one friend who's daughter breaks out in hives if she drinks store milk. No foolin! But she can drink my milk no problem.

 

[Jogeephus]

So how do you get licensed in Idaho to sell milk? Or are you doing a cow share deal?