Making Yogurt

Mudman · July 19, 2011

I started making yogurt this week and was hoping to get some advice from others who have done it. I have made two batches very successfully. One from whole milk, one from skim, and there is one in the making from goat milk. They taste great but the skim one was a bit chalky tasting. Is this from the type of milk that I used or was it a problem in the setup? I would rather make it from skim but the texture grossed out my wife and one of my kids.

Mark0820 · July 19, 2011

I've only made it from whole milk. I have never tried skim milk.

Mudman · July 19, 2011

Greek yogurt is made with skim and then strained I think. That is what I did and used a store bought Greek for the starter and it turned out just like the original but chalky.

DiggingDogFarm · July 19, 2011

Without the fat, its going to be 'chalky'. Commercial yogurts have additives to mask the 'chalkiness'.

Authentic Greek yogurt is full fat, I think that the low-fat and fat-free is pretty much an American thing.

Mudman · July 19, 2011

The stuff I have is fat free made with skim and yogurt cultures with no additives. And not chalky.

desertlzbn · July 22, 2011

Try putting it in a food processor and blending it a bit. I also have "hung" mine in cheese cloth then processed it with some molasses YUMMY!

roper2008 · August 4, 2011

I use to make yogurt. Just recently I discovered Kefir. Taste a lot like
homemade plain yogurt.

Tania · February 12, 2012

I also recently discovered the milk kefir grains - they work wonderfully, no effort is required other than putting the kefir grains into a fresh milk every morning. A fresh batch of kefir is ready by dinner time (or by next morning if you like more sour taste).

Love it!

Much easier to deal with than scalding the milk for Greek style yogurt and then keeping it at 110F for hours.

I also have Fil Mjolk mesophilic yogurt culture which only needs 70-78F (room temperatures) to set over 12+ hrs, but it is less 'thick' than kefir or any thermophilic yogurt.

**nctomatoman** · February 12, 2012

We love our yogurt - it tastes fine no matter what type of milk (well when we were drinking cow milk...but that's another story). We have an inexpensive yogurt maker - use commercial yogurt as the starter - piece of cake.....we used either skin or 1 or 2%. Eat it with a bunch of our home made granola on top. Yum.....

**mdvpc** · February 12, 2012

I make soy yogurt, and its a little trickier than with milk, but still tastes good to me.

**nctomatoman** · February 12, 2012

Michael, we'd love to know how you make it....do you just use the soy yogurt from the store as a starter? Different starter? thanks in advance!

RobinB · February 12, 2012

The recipe that we have used for over 10 years has powdered milk and some finished yogurt added to whatever version of cow's milk you use. I've never used anything but cow's milk, so can't comment on how that works. We use non fat or 1% milk and the powdered milk is non-fat. The finished yogurt is never chalky. We also "chain" yogurt... that is use some of the last batch in making the next batch. No yogurt maker, we make it in quart mason jars on top of an old heating pad. No muss, no fuss, and it never fails. Greek yogurt is thick because it has been strained in cheesecloth to eliminate some of the whey. Strain it longer and you have yogurt cheese.

Mudman · February 12, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

Much easier to deal with than scalding the milk for Greek style yogurt and then keeping it at 110F for hours.

I have tried the kefir water but not milk. And keeping the temp. for the yogurt has not been a challenge for me. I cook the milk, mix in the culture, then store in a small cooler half filled with warm water over night. I have had a 100% success rate with this process. But yes, it is a little more work.

RobinB · February 12, 2012

Tania, I've never heard of milk kefir grains. Where do you get them?

Whatever method you use will work as long as you can keep the temperature constant. We put our soon-to-be-yogurt in glass jars, set them on a heating pad under an inverted stock pot for about 8 hours, and it has never failed. I've heard about using a cooler, but haven't ever tried it! We go through a lot of yogurt and make multiple quarts each week. Okay, so now I'm craving yogurt...

Mudman · February 12, 2012

Yeah, now I have to make some.

July 19, 2011	#1
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Making Yogurt I started making yogurt this week and was hoping to get some advice from others who have done it. I have made two batches very successfully. One from whole milk, one from skim, and there is one in the making from goat milk. They taste great but the skim one was a bit chalky tasting. Is this from the type of milk that I used or was it a problem in the setup? I would rather make it from skim but the texture grossed out my wife and one of my kids. __________________ Mike

July 19, 2011	#3
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Greek yogurt is made with skim and then strained I think. That is what I did and used a store bought Greek for the starter and it turned out just like the original but chalky. __________________ Mike

July 19, 2011	#4
DiggingDogFarm Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New York State Posts: 286	Without the fat, its going to be 'chalky'. Commercial yogurts have additives to mask the 'chalkiness'. Authentic Greek yogurt is full fat, I think that the low-fat and fat-free is pretty much an American thing. __________________ "The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can shoot and trap out of it!"

July 19, 2011	#5
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	The stuff I have is fat free made with skim and yogurt cultures with no additives. And not chalky. __________________ Mike

February 12, 2012	#8
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	I also recently discovered the milk kefir grains - they work wonderfully, no effort is required other than putting the kefir grains into a fresh milk every morning. A fresh batch of kefir is ready by dinner time (or by next morning if you like more sour taste). Love it! Much easier to deal with than scalding the milk for Greek style yogurt and then keeping it at 110F for hours. I also have Fil Mjolk mesophilic yogurt culture which only needs 70-78F (room temperatures) to set over 12+ hrs, but it is less 'thick' than kefir or any thermophilic yogurt. __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

July 19, 2011	#2
Mark0820 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 907	I've only made it from whole milk. I have never tried skim milk.

July 22, 2011	#6
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	Try putting it in a food processor and blending it a bit. I also have "hung" mine in cheese cloth then processed it with some molasses YUMMY!

August 4, 2011	#7
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	I use to make yogurt. Just recently I discovered Kefir. Taste a lot like homemade plain yogurt.

February 12, 2012	#9
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	We love our yogurt - it tastes fine no matter what type of milk (well when we were drinking cow milk...but that's another story). We have an inexpensive yogurt maker - use commercial yogurt as the starter - piece of cake.....we used either skin or 1 or 2%. Eat it with a bunch of our home made granola on top. Yum..... __________________ Craig

February 12, 2012	#10
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	I make soy yogurt, and its a little trickier than with milk, but still tastes good to me. __________________ Michael

February 12, 2012	#12
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	The recipe that we have used for over 10 years has powdered milk and some finished yogurt added to whatever version of cow's milk you use. I've never used anything but cow's milk, so can't comment on how that works. We use non fat or 1% milk and the powdered milk is non-fat. The finished yogurt is never chalky. We also "chain" yogurt... that is use some of the last batch in making the next batch. No yogurt maker, we make it in quart mason jars on top of an old heating pad. No muss, no fuss, and it never fails. Greek yogurt is thick because it has been strained in cheesecloth to eliminate some of the whey. Strain it longer and you have yogurt cheese.

February 12, 2012	#15
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Yeah, now I have to make some. __________________ Mike