I think I finally got it! The last quart of yogurt I made (before I made the one last night) I shared samples with VaPurl and Knitstx (aka Vicki and Cheryl). So I only had a little left and was compelled to make more. Twist my arm. I had read on a cheese making website that recommends holding the milk at 185 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes for yogurt. even if you are using store-bought milk that's already pasteurized and all that. Apparently this process prepares specific whey proteins to help produce a thick gel. In most of my previous attempts there was no separation of the whey. Well, actually, there was once when I accidentally let the milk cool too much and heated it up again...
Well, sure, okay, let's try that, says I.
Wow! Whey! And the yogurt WAS thicker. And I decided that instead of pouring the whey off I'd drain it through LOTS of cheesecloth to achieve the good thick consistency I would LIKE to have once in a while. It's easier to use it with fruit when it's thicker, I think. Anyway, it's in the fridge. I think I finally have a winner.
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Wooo Hoooo Yay for you and your dedication. I think I read somewhere that whey can be given to animals, I just can't remember which ones... might have been cows or something... oh well. There must be something you can do with whey?
ReplyDeleteStraining the moisture out of yogurt is how the Greeks get their yogurt nice and more solidly creamy--that's the way I like it--our American yogurt is much too wet. And when the Greeks make their yogurt sauces they strain it even more, through cheese cloth, like you did.
ReplyDeleteExcept...the yield goes way down. Now that I think I have the method, I'll incubate the yogurt for less time (I think this was ten hours) and see if I can get some thickness and slightly less whey. Funny, I have become somewhat accustomed to a thinner yogurt through all this trial and error. Two more quarts before I've finished the case of goat's milk. It takes up a lot of space but I sort of like having it immediately available.
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