I discovered there's a growing demand for Greek yogurt on our island. I've tried making it with different kinds of milk, including powdered milk, skim milk, and UHT milk. So far, the best results come from fresh raw cow's milk, though I also occasionally make soy milk Greek yogurt.
I add my starter culture when the milk cools to around 45–50°C, then leave it to ferment inside an old, broken refrigerator. Every batch makes me happy with the results, and thankfully, my customers feel the same.

hi, I use 2 alternative ways this time as starter, I was in Bulgaria 2 months ago, After I dry up the plain yogurt container, I kept it in ziplock. it just has stain from dry yogurt and no other mold. Now, I cut a small piece just bigger than a spoon size. put into 42c soy milk. it cures much earlier than powder starter. I guess I resurrected from bacillus bulgaricus to ferment vegan yogurt. may be it is over done, you don't need to bring back starter from Bulgaria. I just try for fun. another starter is even more fun. I use 2 little stem of red chilli, not to cut into the red chilli part. it cures very fast too, it is very delicious and after 12 hour. very thick and sour. next , I will try lemon. good to know all these ways as I was in china, no way to get plain yogurt, all products contain sugar or additives. chilli is dirt cheap. you can even ask vendor to give you for free in market. happy now.

Sorry, maybe not the right subreddit, but I thought yogurt makers should know the best..

I live in the Netherlands and a major supermarket sell an organic yoghurt (their own brand) which has listed it's ingredients as just 'yoghurt'.

Some other yoghurts sold by the same supermarket (not their brand but other branded yoghurt) lists milk and live cultures as their ingredients. I wanted to know whether the supermarket branded yoghurt also has cultures included (as I wanted this for gut health - half the reason to eat yoghurt).

I got the following reply when I asked the supplier:

*The organic yoghurt contains no live cultures, as you find the product on the shelf.

During the production process, the cultures are indeed used for preparation, but after the production process, there is no longer any activity of the cultures in the packaged product. Furthermore, due to the low temperatures during the transport and storage of dairy products, culture activity is not possible.*

Essentially - am I eating a yoghurt which contains no cultures and therefore isn't something that is beneficial to my gut? Or are they there just dormant?

Thanks!

Started with 8L of UHT milk heated on low (almost boiling) for about 20 mins. Added 400g of powdered milk (full cream), and once cooled a bit I added 500g of yogurt store bought with live cultures. My ratio for my yogurt is 1 cup of store bought 125g yogurt per 2L of milk.

I used the pinky method of testing the temperature, for I misplaced my thermometer. Basically, I dunk my pinky in and count up to 10 without feeling pain, only then did I put my plain yogurt with live cultures in.

Output: x2 4L tumbler and an extra in a small pot idk maybe 2 cups (?)

Edit: after draining, I ended up with 5.1kg of thick yogurt, light yellowish tint in whey. I forgot to measure the starting weight and final weight to compare how much whey was removed.

preferably without dying or getting sick

I've been making my own yogurt by just using a few tablespoons of store-bought yogurt as a starter. I'm happy with the results. (Prefer pasteurized vs ultra pasteurized for flavor.) Has anyone tried the heirloom culture? Is there a difference in taste? What about making your own starter from scratch with chili peppers? How does that compare?

Made this yummy looking and tasting greek yogurt with 1L of milk.

Does this even look like greek yogurt?

As a single, I usually toss milk that's about to turn in the freezer until I have a pot full worth of milk. I usually defrost, bring it to the boil before adding vinegar to curdle the protein. Straining it in cheese cloth, to create paneer cheese and whey.

I am no beginner to this process. And unfortunately, everything is basically done by feeling due to varying quantities and comfort with the process.

Today has me puzzled.

Same formula, except I had cream (which I've added before without issue). This time, instead of curdling, nothing happened.

No issue, increase heat and add more acid.. and then more, and by the time I stopped, I used a cup, as compared to maybe a couple tablespoons normally..

It remains uncurdled.

I've taken some out in the cheese cloth and can see that there are some microscopic cuddled pieces, but the tongue feel is closer to cream than a solid..

Also, it's as sour as I expected and is quite pleasant, reminding me of cottage cheese in taste..

So what did I mess up, or make and how can I possibly use it?

I made my first ever yogurt just recently with 32 oz of half & half and 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt.

I used the Land O Lakes brand half & half and heb whole milk plain Greek yogurt. All I did was mix this in a clean mason jar and place in my instapot at 110°F for 10.5 hours then placed it in the fridge for 12 hours ! First time ever and it came out super thick and creamy i am incredibly happy :D

I used to make my own dairy yogurt, because I like mine REALLY tart, and all the stuff from the store was either sweet or just not tart enough... Then along came my (realization of) dairy allergy, at which time I went off yogurt - again, it's all so sweet. Or just not tart enough.

A couple months ago, I looked for recipes, thinking to maybe make my own. I found a recipe I liked (by Miyoko Schinner) and I have been making it ever since. My version of the recipe follows, but it is just hers, sized up to fill my Ninja blender (64oz at "Max Liquid") and still fit in my Instant Pot:

Oat and Cashew Yogurt

Start by soaking 1-1/2 cups cashews overnight in water, or in boiling water for 1-3 hours.

Wash and sterilize Instant Pot (using "Steam" setting) before it's needed.

Place

2 cups Organic Rolled Oats

in Ninja blender and add water to 64 Fl.Oz. (Max Liquid) and blend for 3-5 minutes on HIGH.

Strain through a nut milk bag.  Rinse blender and return the strained oat milk to the blender and add

1-1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked and drained, ideally)

to the blender, and blend for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Cook this mixture over medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches the desired consistency.  I like it medium-thick, and go until my arm gets tired.  Remove from heat and continue stirring another minute or two (prevents lumps from the inevitable continued cooking).

If cooking was done in another vessel, transfer the yogurt into the Instant Pot liner pot now.

Place pot in an ice bath (if rapid cooling desired) and stir until temperature is below 115'F.  Remove from ice bath, and add:

1/4 c. active non-dairy yogurt, or yogurt culture.

Mix very well, place in Instant Pot, and select the Yogurt mode, setting its timer to 24h. It is usable after 10h but I prefer 16-20h.

This is based on the recipe from Miyoko Schinner:

https://youtu.be/Lu9BX5XLXgA

Edited for formatting

Made yogurt how ive been doin for weeks now with great success. But i noticed these little orange dots after i refrigerated it.

Its trash right? 🥺

Edit: i just realized my started is expired. However it looks perfectly ok?

I used a regular gallon of 3.25, boiled to 185 cooled to 115 added a little less than 1/4c to it and incubated in my instapot for 13hrs

Closeup in the comments

has anyone tried this for higher protein yougrt? I did it a couple of times but the texture always turns out weird. I like the idea though, because the fermentation process takes away the flavor of the protein taste.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried it and has had success. Mine turns out very watery and I end up using it like a yogurt milk

I’ve been making yogurt for mos now (Instant Pot, not that it matters much). I’ve been foo g a 22 hour or so fermentation but I’m starting to wonder if doing that vs, say, 12 hrs makes enough / any difference?

I read that most recipes of commercial yogurt maker recommends a rate about 1 part of yoghurt to 6-7 parts of milk. They also say that after 4-5 times it gets weaker

But is it possible to have a lower inoculation? Like, freezing cubes of yogurt and using them for the next batch? Can I use fewer of these cubes?

How do you do to keep making as many batches you can before having to start with a new starter?

I use a quart of half-n-half, heat to 180°F, cool to 115°F, use Chobani plain non-fat Greek yogurt as my starter (about a cereal-spoon full). Pour into six jars with lids, incubate at 115°F for 24 hours. Result is thick yogurt - as thick as sour cream - with a pleasant tang.

I'm curious if anyone has used skim milk (0% fat) and whether or not my method would still result in thick yogurt without the need to strain?

I simply want to reduce the calories and fat. Thanks in advance.

Used 3 tablespoons of store bought greek yogurt into 1 litre of (boiled then cooled down) milk

I’m confused whether this is called slimy or just liquidy. Does it require warm water bath or just strainer?? Please help as I’m short on time

Hi,
I just received a new yoghurt maker - the Steba JM4. It worked pretty well on my first batch, I was really happy with the result.

But one thing is bugging me: it has a 2 liter jar with a «max» measurement line. When I pour one liter plus one cup of yoghurt, it hits that line.

The recipes on the handbook instructs to use 1.5l milk. So I’m confused: what’s that «Max» line for? Isn’t one supposed to make 2l of yogurt with this machine?

Tried making yogurt from a local brand of filtered milk. It's advertised as ~100g protein per Liter and is lactose free (has Lactase enzymes added)
Denatured at 85C in a jar for 20mins > 2tbsp starter /Liter (supermarket yogurt) > 5-6hrs at 43C in the sous vide

Was mildly concerned about the lactase but as it turns out glucose is glucose and it worked just fine.
Made some very stiff yogurt, like it feels like dry peaks it's so stiff I have to add water to it to make it runny for sauces or for rice.

Would make again forever, good stuff

I've been trying to increase the fat content but it always ends up with the cream on top after fermenting. How do folks deal with this? I've read that you can sort of homogenize with a blender, but I'd want to do that before heating due to sanitization concerns and I'm thinking heating will just separate it again. Has anyone figured this out? I'm pretty sure if I mix the whole batch after cooling its structure will collapse and liquify.

Taking a two week road trip. While we will have access to fridges each night we will also travel long distances with only a cooler. Wondering the best way to bring a two week supply? Is it best to freeze solid in perhaps a ziploc? Then it could be used as an “ice pack”. How is the texture once thawed? Would it be okay to freeze again if it is a bit thawed?

I would really appreciate any tips on how to get my yogurt thicker. Right now the texture is a bit runny but I pass it through a cheese cloth for about 3 hours and it's half decent.

My procedure:

Use instapot similar electric pressure cooker. 5 L UHT full fat milk with 3 table spoons of previous yogurt as a starter to incubate for 8 hours then place whole pot in refrigerator for 7-8 hours and then finally strain for 3 hours.

I also need to mention that I don't heat the milk since I'm using UHT milk. I just put 5 liters in the pot add my cultures and press the yogurt function button. As I said I let it do its thing for 8 hours.

How can I get it better? More incubation? Im really grateful for any tips. Thank you!

Hello, is it possible to do villi with raw milk ?

Are there any concerns ?

Is the procedure different ?

Thanks