Best "vessel" to make yoghurt

[judydawn]

Thanks JulieO, as usual you get the best out of your kitchen appliances. Cannot say they are a waste of money in your household, that yoghurt looks amazing.

[JulieO]

Cornish Cream, if you do get one, here is the best price I've seen for it and where I bought mine from.  They were very quick in delivery too. 

http://www.insanedeals.com.au/easy-cook-easy-yoghurt-maker-p-1438.html

Thanks Judy, I do love my gadgets and get a lot of enjoyment out of using them. 

Also thanks Cookie and Thermomixer for your encouragement. 

[Cornish Cream]

JulieO thanks for the information about the best price for the yogurt maker but living in the U.K I will have to shop around here.

[JulieO]

No worries, I missed that bit of info.  Good luck in locating a similar one. 

[leo081977]

Ok I have read through everyones replies...I made my first attempt a couple of days ago...I used the lights on the TMX (must get myself a thermometer) mine certainly does NOT look like any of those photos...it is thick milk...more like oobleck (goop). I added strawberry jam and white choc and the kids LOVED it! I don't like yoghurt so I can't say if it was any good LOL!

So...my error was it the hot milk was too cool when I added the yoghurt?? I put it in the fridge after...should I have kept it warm not cool??

Also...how long should it last???

[containergirl]

I have not made yoghurt but a friend who does make it often said that she checks the temperature with another thermometer as (get ready to gasp!) the thermomix doesn't seem to be accurate with the temperature and that sometimes it is more like 60 than 37.  Since she has been measuring the temp with a seperate thermometer she hasn't looked back.

[andiesenji]

Ok I have read through everyones replies...I made my first attempt a couple of days ago...I used the lights on the TMX (must get myself a thermometer) mine certainly does NOT look like any of those photos...it is thick milk...more like oobleck (goop). I added strawberry jam and white choc and the kids LOVED it! I don't like yoghurt so I can't say if it was any good LOL!

So...my error was it the hot milk was too cool when I added the yoghurt?? I put it in the fridge after...should I have kept it warm not cool??

Also...how long should it last???

After you have heated the milk to the correct temp to convert the enzymes, you then cool it down to the temp where the yogurt culture can live and propagate.  It then has to be kept at the incubation temperature for at least 8 hours for the culture to develop.

I posted the following in another thread:
Valerie's Yogurt & Yogurt Cheese

"The "trick" to yogurt with good consistency (the gluey and stringy stuff means some organism that is not compatible with the casein in the milk has contaminated the culture) is first heating the milk to the temp where the protein strands are able to relax and this is
82° C.
Then cooling the milk to 45° C  and then adding the culture and then maintaining the mile at a fairly constant temperature above 25° C for a minimum of 8 hours - I know some recipes specify shorter times but in my experience the consistency is not as good and I usually extend it to 12 hours, which for me produces a better flavor.

If you are having difficulty using store-bought yogurt, which has to be "pure" with absolutely no additives, no preservatives,  do try the  yogurt cultures from cheeselinks  and I am sure you will be much happier.
You can save some of the finished yogurt to make more but it does have to be re-started after about four batches.

I buy my cultures here in the US from the New England Cheesemaking company and get perfect results every time.   I do make repeat batches, using about 1/4 cup of the yogurt, mixed with some of the whey, which I save, but start with a new culture after three batches (2 liters in a batch)."

You should be able to keep the yogurt in the fridge for at least a week - I use sterilized glass jars and have had no problems keeping it for three weeks but my dairy fridge is kept colder than most.

[~ - Jules - ~]

Ok, so I am thinking of trying to make the yoghurt sometime soon, esp as I have slowly acquired the taste for more of the "live" yoghurts, - which are just too expensive to buy.

So reading all the info I can find.

I think I will try to thermoserve at the moment, but is the easycook easy yoghurt maker worth the investment?  I found the cheapest price to be from http://www.pricepirate.com.au/EASYCOOK_EYM_YOGHURT_MAKER_p/eym.htm. which if it does make yoghurt making a successful option, would work itself out cost wise eventually.

Also what is the best sort of starter? is it worth getting the starters from http://shop.cheeselinks.com.au/Yoghurt-Making-Kits-c41/ or is getting an actual yoghurt (with no preservatives additives etc) a better way to go?

Sorry to hijack the discussion

[gertbysea]

Jules I have been making the yogurt form the EDC since I bought my Thermomix  and have never had a failure using the thermoserver for incubation overnight. I also use another thermometer to make sure it is no more tha 37 degrees before adding the previous yogurt.  My first lot I used a no additives pot set yogurt from Dairy Farmers and since then I have just used my own yogurt and it get's better every time. Really thick and creamy. Only once it was a bit watery and I strained it for a few hours in  a sieve lined with chux I think it was because it was a bit cool here.  I also start this way to make Valerie's yogurt cheese.

Gretchen

[~ - Jules - ~]

I read somewhere that every 4th (or so) time you had to start from a "new" starter - hence asking about the bags of starter stuff...

[gertbysea]

I have read it also but have never done it. Probably a good reason to do so and I am sure someone will enlighten us.

Gretch

[faffa_70]

I read somewhere that every 4th (or so) time you had to start from a "new" starter - hence asking about the bags of starter stuff...

Interesting, I hadn't heard that before and haven't done it and mine is still a success. I make at least 4 litres of milk into yoghurt a week   

(with Spud Shed that is about $4.00 for 4kg Jules ) Cheap as.

I only use my Thermoserve as well

[~ - Jules - ~]

(with Spud Shed that is about $4.00 for 4kg Jules ) Cheap as.

I dont think we could use 1kg a week have alone 4 But yes at roughly 90c/kg of yoghurt - I wont be complaining (well plus flavouring it - as I dont think I could eat it plain )

[meganjane]

I've had no luck with yoghurt. It comes out stringy and runny, just like oobleck, which means contamination. After doing the Cheese Making Workshop, I would now sterilise all the containers, spoons etc with a solution of Milton as we did in our workshp. We also used UHT Milk to make Quarg and UHT Cream to make Mascarpone.

I also think that the Yoghurt I use as a starter may have had some sort of treatment which is why it's so slow to react. I can't buy the plain unflavoured Jalna anywhere here, so I use Famer's Union. I'm planning to buy the AB Starter from Cheeselinks and try that.

[andiesenji]

I use the starter cultures available here in the US - there are several brands, some available in health food stores.
Mostly I use the cultures from New England Cheesemaking Supply, which is very similar to Cheeselinks in Australia and which a friend of mine uses.

After the first batch from the new culture, I use it for three or four additional batches and if I make yogurt cheese, save the whey and mix some of it with the saved portion which I use for the culture.  Seems to work better for me.

Sometimes I forget and use the entire batch and have to start over but as far as I am concerned, the cost of using a new culture each time is negligible if I get a perfect result.  I would rather spend the money on the culture rather than waste a gallon of milk. (or half-gallon if I make a smaller batch)

For those who have good results with plain store-bought yogurt, by all means continue to do what works for you.  However you do have to be sure the product is entirely natural with no additives and no additional processing, otherwise you won't have a desirable result.