Comments on: Our Favorite Homemade Yogurt

By: Shirley

Shirley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:06:43 +0000

I always go by the consistency of the yogurt and not by the amount of time, but I usually have yogurt ready to be refrigerated within about six hours. It really depends on the temperature. I keep mine in warm water so the temperature fluctuates between water changes, but if yogurt is left too long it WILL taste sour and somewhat bitter. We make yogurt for our dogs too, only our dogs are tiny chihuahuas. :o)

By: MJS

MJS — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:48:44 +0000

If I leave my oven light on the oven maintains a perfect 100 degree F temp for incubation. My first batch I left for 10 hours (overnight) the consistency was perfect but very sour – how many hours should I incubate my next batch if I want it less sour. BTW I am making this not only for the family but for our 4 enormous dogs – it was costing a fortune so I thought I would give it a go myself. Thanks in advance! Love your site.

By: Irene

Irene — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:30:43 +0000

Hi,
Love this site. I would like to respond to the yogurt makers with problems.

1) If you want thick yogurt more like the commercial variety, add non-fat dry milk powder to the milk. It gives more protein solids to the yogurt. I don’t remember exactly how much to add per quart of milk, but this information is easily obtained on the web.

2) The “sourness” or tang in the yogurt is related to the temperature and fermentation length. The culture will be WAY less tangy if given a short ferment at a low temp. Conversely if your yogurt is TOO tangy, give it a much shorter fermentation time. I have had the yogurt come out both ways, and I would suggest that the temperature was too low or the fermentation time too short. But I HAVE eaten yogurt which was sweet and creamy as described. Still alive and never got sick either. Perfectly fine.

3) If yogurt is disturbed or jiggled during fermentation it will not set properly – by that I mean that it won’t have that solid coagulation like you see in commercial yogurt. It will be thick and soupy instead. Again perfectly fine.

4) The type of milk used affects the texture of the final product. Skim milk produces the firmest yogurt, especially when nonfat dry milk is added. I think whole milk would account for much softer yogurt. In areas such as Greece and the Middle-East they use full fat milk AND add cream!

Been a while since I’ve made it! But I did enjoy it. Very tasty. I stopped because it was not cost effective for me as my local stores sell plain yogurt for cheap.

Hope this helps!
Irene

P.S. I would love to have your oatmeal bread recipe, if you wouldn’t mind sharing. :-)

By: Ivonne

Ivonne — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:36:15 +0000

Hi!

i found this site with tips for yogurt making. I just bought a Donvier yogurt maker and I have tried making yogurt twice but somehow it comes out too liquid. I am using as a starter plain bought yogurt from the store with live cultures. I am following instructions to the letter. I am not sure what is going on. The machine has a timer and it is working right. I have left it once for 10 hrs and another time for 14 in hopes that maybe the consistency would change.

If anyone has a tip or a suggestion please let me know. I bought it because of health reasons and I was so excited that it would work :(…I am sure it is me doing something wrong but just wanted to hear suggestions.

PS> I wait till the temperature is right before adding the two tablespoons of the starter yogurt and mix it first in a small amount of the meilk and once it is completly mixed I pour it with the rest of the milk (as instructed in the booklet)

Thanks so very much

Ivonne

By: Shirley

Shirley — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:24:22 +0000

I have no idea why your yogurt would turn out like that… except it almost seems that the yogurt you used as your culture wasn’t “alive”. You should have the taste of yogurt if you have a good yogurt to start with and keep the proper temperatures. I don’t know about the safety of eating milk that has sat for ten hours without turning into yogurt. I am overly cautious about anything like this, so I don’t think I would eat it.

By: Antonietta

Antonietta — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:43:56 +0000

I tried making yogurt for the first time and I incubated it for about 10 hours. It seemed like yogurt but was softer than I wanted it to be and had a lot of separation from they whey. However, since it incubated for so long, I thought it would taste sour, instead it tastes very creamy. I even took some and squeezed out the whey with a cheesecloth and I got a very thick cream that tastes like ricotta and butter.

Now, where did I go wrong as far as getting the taste of yogurt? And is it still safe to eat?