Comments on: Homemade yogurts as the most exquisite dessert

By: G.

G. — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:08:24 +0000

I am making my first batch right now and am very excited! I am French and have lived in the US for 10 years and just found out about making yogurt. I did fully boiled the milk though before cooling it down. Did I kill the good bacteria? I sure hope not. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

By: vania big fun

vania big fun — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:26:21 +0000

I am Bolivian and I recently made my first yogurt.. a friend told me how and it worked… I have a yogurt maker but I used it without plugging it and a thermos/cooler too… so the milk boiled and I waited 5 min. and I added 2 1/2 cups of yogurt , mixed it .. and I put in into the glasses (with tight covers) of the yogurt maker, after I cover it with a soft blanket and finally with a big plastic….
and I also put the rest in the thermos… and the day after I had yogurt….
and I haven’t even plug the yogurt maker…

By: Denise

Denise — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:51:11 +0000

I am an American that has been living in France for the last 4 1/2 years and have just returned to California. Unfortunately, I have been frantically searching for good yogurt since my return 3 weeks ago. I have decided that I will need to make my own to get the quality that I am used to in France as the American way seems to be non-fat everything (which is not really healthy, but that is a whole other topic). With using the Greek yogurt as a base does the yogurt turn out more like a Greek yogurt? Also, have you used full fat milk and not 2%? If so, how does that turn out?

By: Ketosis

Ketosis — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:03:30 +0000

I have made yogurt for years, the original way, using a warm oven with the door cracked, and a towel over the bowl. I now use a yogurt maker and as I like my yogurt firm, I vent it 2x to let the excess water escape and ferment it for 24 hours.

It is very hard to make a spoiled yogurt. I imagine it can happen, but the laco bacillus is pretty aggressive at attacking or preventing pathogens from contaminating the yogurt. Forget about talking about sterile, as it is yogurt, Sterile does not play in this picture. We are using bacteria to make the yogurt. I wash my glass ware in a dishwasher and it is done with the other equipment.

You can pretty much get away with mixing milk and culture at room temperature and then putting it in a warm area covered with a cloth and still get ok results.

If the yogurt culture starts, it is pretty automatic. People have been making yogurt for years in really dirty areas.

My dad grew up on a dairy farm during the depression. He used to say, “their is no such thing as milk that goes bad, it only changes state.” Meaning when the milk curteled you got sour milk. I grew up loving chunky milk. This does not mean to say you cant get sick from contaminated milk.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 18:10:06 +0000

Thanks for the advise. I also make my own yogurt, but in a crock pot, and then just measure the temperatures myself. I also use greek yogurt as a starter. What I would like to know, is how the French get their yogurt’s consistency – it is solid, nearly like a panna cotta. I also need to strain mine, which I do not believe the French do. Is it just a different culture they use, or is it a different process?

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:51:54 +0000

I agree with Renee – my husband’s family is from Greece, and mine from the former Yugoslavia; I have relatives in both countries, Bulgaria and I myself was born in Argentina. Never, ever did any of the people I grew up with or visited in the aforementioned countries use anything else other than their pinky fingers (yes!) to measure the proper temperature and the yogurt was always left out the entire night – all are still alive . . . In fact cheese is made with unpasteurized milk throughout all of Europe and stored outside of the refrigerator, something that drives scientists in the USA raving mad . . . perhaps there are things they don’t understand, yes?

By: Karina

Karina — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:26:51 +0000

This has been a great help to me in my first attempt at homemade yogurt – thank you! one question: is it alright (and safe) to incubate the yogurt for longer than 10 hours? I have read that 24 hours will make the yogurt lactose-free and unless mold appears, is perfectly healthy. is this true? i incubated for 13 hours yesterday (by mistake) and am wondering if the yogurt is safe to eat thanks again!

By: Renee

Renee — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:02:27 +0000

My mother is Lebanese so I grew up with her making laban (yogurt) every week. The traditional way was to bring the milk to a soft boil, cool it down until your thumb could stay in the milk for 10 seconds without burning. Add the starter (first add milk to the starter to bring up to temp), then pour into a clean bowl, cover with a plate and wrap with towels to keep warm. Wait about 5 hours and check to confirm that it set. Then cover with paper towels to remove excess liquid. Refrigerate at the end of the day. This is what occurred everyday in Arab houses. Let me see if this gives a food scientist I know a heart attack :>)).

By: Alexia

Alexia — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:43:49 +0000

Julie, I am sorry – I just noticed that you let the milk cool down to 35-45C. Yogurt bacteria become inactive at temp lower than 37-39C. Also, if you add “cold” culture (yogurt straight out of the refrigerator) to the lukewarm milk – let’s sat at 45C – the temp of the mixture will probably drop way below or close to the temp that bacteria become inactive (37-39C). To be on the safe side, bring the culture at room temperature and add it whwn the milk has cooled down to 48-50C. You also need to take into consideration that even in the cooler, the temp will drop a few degrees during incubation. The most important thing is to maintain an incubation temp of 42-46C. To summarize, yougurt bacteria becomes inactive below 37-39C and is destroyed at temp 53-55C and above! The other thing that you may also want to try is to add 2TBS of dry milk powder per QT of milk. It icreases the protein consentration in the mixture and produces a much thicker yogurt. It also adds more calcium. Also, please make sure that your culture is as fresh as possible (at least 10-15 days to the expiration date listed on the store bought yogurt – this goes for the milh too). I use FAGE TOTAL (it comes out the best) or PLAIN DANNON Yogurt as my culture. Avoid yogurts that have pectin, preservatives, or gellatin.

By: Alexia

Alexia — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:19:16 +0000

Julie, please check this website. It comes with easy to follow instructions and many helpful photos. I think this is the best method to master the basics regarding yogurt making. Once you make it using this recipe then you can experiment with varying the incubation time and temperature – the longer the time and the higher the temperature the more tart the yogurt becomes. Using a crockpot is not a good idea unless it has a setting for 105-115 degrees F (proper incubation temperature range). If you incubate at temperatures much higher than that your yogurt comes out like sour cottage cheese. Also, if you incubate at temp lower than 100-105 F your yogurt will not coagulate or it will come out watery. Please have all your equipment ready beforehand so that you do not allow the temp to drop too much after adding the culture. If you do not want to fuss with the water cooler method as Dr. Fankhausser illustrates, you may just put one glass jar with boiling water inside the cooler (be careful not to let it touch the yogurt jars). Place a trerrycloth towel over the jars, close the cooler, and then wrap the cooler itself with a blanket or two keeping it away from any air drafts. Here is my favorite recipe and method. The only thing that I change is the incubation time. I like tart yogurt, so I incubate for 8-10 hours. Good luck!!

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/yogurt_making/YOGURT2000.htm