Home made yoghurt

[Poochy Pie]

Hey

I love eating yoghurt but am aware as to the amount of sugar it contains. I don't eat soya so thought I would try making my own yoghurt from the various types of alternative milk. I tried carton coconut milk and also unsweetened almond milk and followed the method of heating, adding some live yoghurt then leaving overnight in a thermos. Neither the coconut milk or almond milk worked, they kind of separated! I then tried with dairy milk and it did work so my method is ok.

Is there something lacking in the alternative milks that won't allow it to solidify? I looked up various recipes but they tend to use additives and cornflour!!!!!!

Anyone advise.........

Thanks

Poochy Pie

[Green Aura]

It splitting isn't necessarily a problem. You can either stir it back together, although non-dairy yoghurt tends to be much thinner than dairy. The other thing you can do which deals with both problems is pour it through a coffee filter (or couple of layers of clean cotton tea towel, or similar) until it's as thick as you want it.

[Poochy Pie]

Thanks Green Aura - i did stir it together but it was still like water and just tasted like the original milk alternative, just a little sour!

[Green Aura]

I haven't got a recipe to hand but my daughter makes coconut milk yoghurt using the contents of probiotic capsules and leaving it to ferment, at room temperature, for a day or two. I can't remember any details other than it's done at room temperature. It's really nice though.

I'm sure she used a recipe she found online so that might be worth further exploration. Look at vegan websites, they're generally the ones exploring alternatives like this.

[Poochy Pie]

thanks GA - will try that method,

Poochy

[CookOnFire]

I have made home made yoghurt from milk for years. Recently though I've had a problem getting it to work. Has anyone else noticed a change?

[Green Aura]

What culture do you use? Welcome to Ish btw.

[bonniethomas06]

Hi CookOnFire

Welcome to our merry band.

[CookOnFire]

I just use the cheapest small supermarket yoghurt carton I can get. It always used to work!

[diggernotdreamer]

It may be worth trying a pot of good quality organic yoghurt with live cultures actually stated on the pot and seeing if that makes a difference

[Green Aura]

Definitely try dnd's suggestion. I'd also check what milk you're using - cultures won't grow particularly well on UHT milk, fresh will always give a better result.
Also it might be worth considering other options - if you have to buy a new pot of yoghurt each time you want to make some, cheap or not, the cost tots up over time. So it might be worth considering buying a proper starter that will be a bit more expensive but (if you look after it) will outlive you.
There are loads of different mesophilic starters which don't need heat just add milk and leave on your kitchen worktop for a day or two, then save a prtion to add to the next batch. As long as you keep them fed with milk regularly they'll keep going forever. Viilli, piima, filmjolk etc all come into this category and taste beautiful, smooth and creamy.
Kefir is another option - slightly tangier than yoghurt but my favourite and it's almost impossible to kill. Ask around, someone will have some grains going spare - they multiply regularly and folk are often keen to get shut of some! Or have a look on Freegle (?) or Ebay.

[bonniethomas06]

When I was wwoofing once my host made a fresh batch of yoghurt every day. She used to heat the milk in a thick casserole dish in the oven to blood temperature, and then just take the pot out and leave it to cool very slowly, covered in tea towels. In the morning she had loads of really lovely creamy yoghurt, from which she reserved a bit for the next day.

Keep meaning to get into the habit, might well have a bash this weekend.

[Green Aura]

I always had trouble making thermophilic yoghurt, such as you describe, Bonnie. Even with a proper yoghurt maker successful yoghurt was very hit and miss - I still have no idea why.

Starter from supermarket yoghurt also doesn't usually last very long - after 3 or 4 batches it starts to get really runny and feeble. It would be interesting to know what starter your friend used if she could re-use it daily.

[CookOnFire]

Thank you all for the interesting replies. I just wondered how come it used to work and now it doesn't. I cook using a solid fuel Rayburn so there is a gentle warmth available overnight and I am always on the look out for ways to make use of it besides drying the washing in wet weather! Drying apple rings is good too at the right time of year.

[Green Aura]

That sounds like a new thread "101 uses for a warm Rayburn"

I'll start it off.

1) Overnight porridge
2) Slow cooked chicken broth

However, back on topic, it could be all sorts of things which we've touched on above - basically yoghurt can be a bit temperamental. It might be too warm/cold/wrong milk/dead starter. The problem with shop bought yoghurts is that they can change their ingredients/production methods and you're unlikely to know - other than that it's stopped working.