Goats Milk Yogurt-what am I doing wrong?

[glenberryfarm]

Hi, twice now I have tried to make yogurt with my new Nubian's fresh raw milk.
To 1 qt. I added 1/2C powdered milk. Heated to 115 then added 2T Stonyfield plain yogurt. I kept at 100-110 for over 8 hrs. It was still completely liquid both times. No set up at all. What am I doing wrong? My family is quite upset with me that I am not getting it right and they are waiting so patiently
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Faye

[luvrulz]

I make it all the time with my Jersey milk and this is how I do it!

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues...4.htm#article4

One thing I add is knox gelatin - about a teaspoon for each quart I make. Dissolve it in about 1 T. hot water (for each qt...) before you heat the milk. Try this link and I think you should be able to get there.... If not, it's Countryside Magazine, the May/June 2004 issue......

Good luck and let me know how this works for you! Goat milk shouldn't be much different that cow's milk for yogurt eh? No comparison to store bought!

[mpillow]

I heat my milk....goat, cow or store bought depending on what I have....up to around 180 degrees (the almost boiling point) let it cool to 115 degrees....

Long before I have taken an 8oz cup of yogurt out of the freezer and brought to room temp....I stir a little of 115 milk in the yogurt and then into the batch. I use only plastic and glass on the yogurt except for cast aluminum pan used to heat the milk. I use 8oz yogurt for 2 quarts of finished product....sometimes I add powdered milk sometimes not.

I have a batch going in the oven right now....set the oven to warm with pizza stone in there and turn off when up to temp....I also use the heating pad and inverted pot from time to time.

[mamajohnson]

Hmmm... I use an 8 oz dannon yogurt to start with and add that to a gallon of milk.... Mine usually sets up fine. I put it in the oven, just with the pilot light on for the incubation. (average 4 hours) I also heat it to 180 to begin with.
I remember the countryside article, it was very good, and seems like it was done just like I do my yogurt. (I never add any powder milk, tried it once or twice and couldnt tell any difference in the yogurt.)

[linuxboy]

Do you just put in the tablespoons of yogurt in and let it be? If you do that, how are the bacteria going to multiply, when they're clumped together?

Here's what I do:

1) Heat up the milk.
2) Take a quart of the heated milk and put it into a container
3) Take 2-3 tablespoons yogurt and put it into the container
4) Take a whisk and mix the yogurt in. The resulting mixture should have no clumps and should be a bit thicker than the milk.
5) Pour the mixture into the rest of the milk and stir everything around for 20 seconds or so.
6) Let it set for 12 hours. That's how long it typically takes for me.


I heat it to about 42 degrees Celcius. Maybe you'e overheating? Another possibility is that you're using yogurt with dead bacteria. Try another yogurt with an expiration date that's far into the future?

[luvrulz]

Except for the pan to heat the milk, you shouldn't use any metal. Use a wooden spoon and to make it thicker, use more starter yogurt. At Lehman's you can also buy the yogurt culture. I've done it that way too.... I have added the powdered milk too and didn't like the way it tasted. I sweeten mine with splenda too!

It took me a few tries to tweak it for my family and their preferences and I'm sure you'll do the same! It's great stuff especially in the summer - we love it with smoothies!

[bethlaf]

heres how i do mine
i heat the milk to about 180,
then put it in glass mason jars, wrapped in a towel , for 1 qt of milk i use about 1/2 c plain unsweetend yogurt
let it sit overnight, and in the mornign its yogurt,

longer storing in the fridge yields stronger flavored yogurt, and thicker
make sure on the date of your yogurt !!!
you want to reach in the back of the dairy shelf to get the youngest yogurt for your culture

other than that, i dont know why it wouldnt work ,
perhaps youre keeping it too warm ?
coolness slows yogurt down , heat kills it,
let your milk cool down a bit more before adding your yogurt ...
do you let your starter yogurt warm to room temp before adding ?
that seems to keep the littel cultures from "shocking" when added to the warm milk....
good luck
Beth

[AnnaS]

Adding the culture to milk over 100 degrees can kill it. I heat milk to 185, cool to 100, THEN add 3-4 tsp. of plain yogurt (make sure it is a live culture). Then put it in the gas oven overnight.

Without a thinkener like gelatin, yogurt will be more like a smoothie than store yogurt. I add flavors and drink it instead of spooning.

[glenberryfarm]

O.K. got one in the oven now. I used more starter and a bit of gelatin. Should know by this evening.
Maybe it's the phase of the moon :haha:
Faye

[mpillow]

Hope you heated the milk to 180...

Mine came out very good yesterday.

[HilltopDaisy]

Faye, how did the yogurt come out? I heat the milk to 180, cool to 115, and I've never used gelatin and it always comes out nice and thick.

[glenberryfarm]

And then there was yogurt!
Yea!!!!! I made yogurt thanks to all of your help. I think what I had done wrong was add cold culture to the warm milk. Now I need to work on making it thicker. My kids are used to the store bought stuff. How much gelatin are you guys adding?
I am so happy!

[luvrulz]

Last batch was the first time I added any and I put a teaspoon per quart. I'm getting ready to make some more today and will up that a little.

Hurray for your success! Isn't it great?!

[TabletopHomestead]

I use raw milk (shame on me LOL). I put it in wide mouth pint jars, add a tablespoon or two of live culture yogurt and pop it in my Excalibur dehydrator at 110 overnight. It's never as thick as store bought, but it does thicken and I've had no problems. I think the gelatin is a good idea to give it a bit more body. I don't use much dried milk except in cooking, as I'm not fond of the taste it has raw.

Originally Posted by glenberryfarm

Hi, twice now I have tried to make yogurt with my new Nubian's fresh raw milk.
To 1 qt. I added 1/2C powdered milk. Heated to 115 then added 2T Stonyfield plain yogurt. I kept at 100-110 for over 8 hrs. It was still completely liquid both times. No set up at all. What am I doing wrong? My family is quite upset with me that I am not getting it right and they are waiting so patiently
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Faye

[glenberryfarm]

I have more yogurt woes-please bear with me.
The yogurt that I have made has a bitterness to it. Is this normal for homemade yogurt? I understand that incubating too long could do that, but I had it in for only 8 hrs. I was expecting a natural sweetness from using fresh whole milk.
Once again, your ideas are greatly appreciated
Faye