Yogurt not set???!!!

DEBTMONKEY1A

Mornining all,

Have invested in a vio 7 x 180ml jar yogurt maker( £16 eBay!). Have made yogurt before just using a thermos flask.

OK.....1st batch, UHT whole milk, 3 tbsp yogurt(Saintsbury Greek style)....simply whisked together, no heating/boiling as milk UHT, put in jars, set for 9 hours ( as kitchen a bit cold), LOVELY!

Main reason I got yogurt maker was convenience of jars to store and NO faffing about with boiling/heating. Yogurt was thick like the sainsburys Greek style yogurt but not ' strained yogurt , Greek style thick ( realise cheesecloth and straining is needed for proper thick Greek strained yogurt). Very mild taste, lovely!

Batch 2, put on last night, + 3 tbsp skimmed milk powder (will be visiting local Asian store soon for full fat not skimmed powder soon).

So.....starter was a 6 day old 1\3 pot of last batch (opened & other half eaten 24 hrs prior, I guess around 3tbsp used for 'new' starter).. So set for 10 hrs.....a little (about a third of way up pot) warm water poured in, 42 degrees, default setting.....not set!!!!!!! Have put on again for another 9 hrs.....don't hold out much hope!

Guessing starter too old??????

Don't want to be paying for freeze dried cultures (checked eBay/Amazon and cheapest is 55 p a sachet.....sort of defeats the moneysaving aspect!)....unless anyone kows of an urber cheap supplier?

Also.....might freeze 3 tbsp of next batch straight after its made-as a starter.....according to some websites this works just as well?

Any thoughts/help would be fsb! Thanks!:beer:

Farway

Probably because low fat powdered used instead of liquid full fat milk

I use the starter from newly opened pot, then eat the rest, not other way round. Maybe contaminated when left open overnight

Try going back to UHT and see how it goes before getting powdered full fat to use

PS,my instructions require all milk, except UHT, to be heated to 95C before allowing to cool. Seems this kills all the bugs first. Maybe just mixing powder with warm water is not the right way to go? Try again by heating it to 95c, allowing to cool, then add starter

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi, batch 2 (non setting one) made with whole milk UHT PLUS 3 tbsp dried skim milk. Not entirely powder. Now 6 hours later ' I think' showing signs of setting.

Will update thread soon. Any ideas on freezing fresh yogurt as a starter? Thanks for replying!

SilverBird_2

Having never made, or eaten, Greek style yoghurt I'm unable to comment specifically on this but have made 100s of litres of yoghurt using the ingredients/method as mentioned below and have always been pleased with the yoghurt produced.

I use an electric yoghurt maker that makes 1 litre, originally purchased from Q-Vee-Cee but similar design was being sold elsewhere at the time. A 1 litre container was included and I also purchased an additional container.

The recipe provided was 3 tbps skimmed milk powder, 3 tbps live yoghurt and a 1 litre carton of uht whole milk, mix together in the container, place container in yoghurt maker, switch on and leave for 8 hours.

I use half a 150g pot of yoghurt (Ye0 Va11ey natural bio yoghurt works well - btw, they also sell a Greek bio yoghurt) to make the first batch, then the other half a few days later to make a second batch. After that, I use some of the yoghurt made as the starter for further batches - usually okay for at least 5 or 6 times from each of the two batches originally made - when the yoghurt starts to get thinner then I purchase a new pot of starter yoghurt and begin again.

Keeping the unused portion of the starter yoghurt fresh has never been a problem, just run your finger around the edge of the lid to reseal and then store in the fridge.

Nargleblast

I have a yoghurt maker that is a heated container with seven small jars. My last batch of yoghurt, using a new starter, was runny so I decanted it all into a jug. Then I split a new pot of yogurt (full fat) between the jars along with a teaspoonful of dried milk, then divided the runny yoghurt between all the jars and stirred them well. Back in the heated container for a good eight hours and this time it set beautifully.

SilverBird_2

Nargleblast wrote: »

I have a yoghurt maker that is a heated container with seven small jars. My last batch of yoghurt, using a new starter, was runny so I decanted it all into a jug. Then I split a new pot of yogurt (full fat) between the jars along with a teaspoonful of dried milk, then divided the runny yoghurt between all the jars and stirred them well. Back in the heated container for a good eight hours and this time it set beautifully.

Good to know - thanks for sharing this tip.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi! Update.....now set really well! Total of 22 hrs but still tastes mild and creamy! Lovely and thick....but as always thickens on cooling. Assume yoghurt starter being 6-7 days old, 1/3 full.....depleted live cultures. SO GLAD did not bin it!

Would still be interested if anyone has successfully frozen starter?

purpleivy

I do mine with 3/4 tbsp measuring spoon of starter per 500ml yogurt jar, in the Instant pot for 8 hours. You would think it owuld make better using more starter but it doesn't. Somewhere on the internet there's a tutorial/experiment showing examples using different quantities.

I use yeo valley or some of my own if it's not too old. My yogurt still tastes very good after 2 weeks, but I'm meticulous over clean kit etc

I Use whole UHT most of the time. No milk powder, didn't seem to make difference. If I want it thick I strain it.