Knitting one's own yogurt... problems?!

[mrsflibble]

I'm unsure if they're problems or to be expected.
1. I am using UHT lactose free milk, semi skimmed.
2. I am using a started of a lactose free bio yogurt.

I heated the milk right, mixed in the culture, poured into a pre warmed wide neck flask.

the thing is, it's coming out like grains in whey; I drain the whey but end up with bugger all yogurt for my effort.
it's also VERY tangy; perfect for cooking with but not edible on its own.

I started doing this because finding lactose free COW'S MILK yogurt is incredibly hard; so hard that the only one I can find is Lindahl's Turkish, and it's only sold at Ocado. I can't afford to do my shopping at Ocado just to get this yogurt lol.

so, am I missing something?! how do i make a more palatable, thicker yogurt? I loooove bio yogurt, but am used to the milder commercial kind.

I have to avoid soya too, so that's alpro and provamel out of the window.

oh, and the advice so often given online is that lactose intolerants can tolerate standard bio yogurt. no. we can't.

thanks!

[The Riff-Raff Element]

The thing is, it is the lactose in the milk that the bacterial culture feeds on, so if you start with lactose-free milk, you can't make yoghurt.

Lactose free yoghurt is made from ordinary milk, lactose and all, but the culture is very carefully managed - often with the addition of additional enzyme (lactase) to mop up any remaining lactose prior to packing. This level of control would be quite difficult to manage at home, I imagine. Most yoghurt is, of course, pretty low in lactose, but not necessarily completely free of it, so it may be acceptable for some people with lactose intolerance, but not for those who are particularly sensitive.

What you are making, I suspect, is some kind of curds & whey, which would explain the flavour.

[mrsflibble]

ah. thanks! so.... possibly, I could make it with normal milk and add lactase aftrwards? that makes sense.
what I've been making is great in flatbreads and tandoori though lol.

[becks77]

Just googled and this came up

http://www.livingwithout.com/recipes/Da ... 512-1.html

[becks77]

and this looked quite helpful too

http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/homema ... rt-faq.php

[mrsflibble]

thanks becks!