homemade yogurt - a bit runny and stretchy!

sarahs999

I made my own yogurt for the first time last night; used a warm oven. The yog tasted nice this morning but it's a bit thin; I used a muslin but it just all sort of came straight back through the cloth, which didn't seem much good. Also it's kind of stretchy - almost like honey in the way it has 'ribbons' coming off it when you take a spoonful. Any pointers as to how I can improve it next time?

PennyGSD

I make a lot of yogurt, but in a pre-heated food flask placed in an airing cupboard rather than an oven.

However, at the beginning I got a bit of stringyness a couple of times and I can only put it down to the temperature of the milk - I think it is the 'skin' on the top of the milk being stirred back into the finished yogurt.

I always let my pre-boiled milk cool right down now (it's the heating that kills off the bacteria), then remove any skin and gently warm it back up to 43 degrees, no higher. I also pre-warm the flask with warm water rather than boiling and haven't had this problem since.

I don't know if this helps?

sarahs999

Thank you. I like the idea of making it in a flask, I might try that. I did let the milk cool down but I used my finger (the recipe I was using said it was the right temp when you can hold your finger in it for 20 seconds. Maybe it was a bit hot. Couldn't find my thermometer!

PennyGSD

For reference, all the sites I searched before starting also claimed that 43 degrees was only cool enough to hold your finger in for a short time - but unless my thermometer is wrong, it actually feels just luke warm to me.

I would definately go with cooler - and perhaps leave it for longer if necessary - cooler over a longer period seems to get a better result than warmer over a shorter period. I leave mine in the airing cupboard for up to 16 hours - normally because I forget about it the next morning!

sarahs999

Thanks Penny, only just seen this reply. I may try again over the weekend.