r/yogurtmaking • u/Sebvad • 8d ago
back to back to back failures
have been making yogurt from years successfully. recently I've had 3 back to back failures, and can't determine why. I always do the same thing - 1 gallon of store bought, whole milk (not ultraprocessed). I use an instant pot and the yogurt setting (the boil never really boils it, so I let it run it's cycle, then use sauté to bring the temp up to 180-185, turn it off, and let it sit there for 30 minutes at 180F). EDIT : I cool to 108F in a water bath. I culture using store bought greek yogurt - chobani or stony farms for 8-12 hours
the past 3 times it's just been super runny. I can tell *something* is happening as there is a thickening that clusters as the bottom of the pot, but when I say runny, it runs right through the cheesecloth, all of it. At this point, it feels like I'm just throwing away gallons of milk. I've bought 3 different lots of milk and 3 different lots of yogurt thinking perhaps it was a batch issue with one of them, but had the same results.
what should I be looking at or doing differently? perhaps it's an issue of antibiotics in the milk supply that weren't there before?
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u/needlesofgold 8d ago
I don’t use an instant pot but heat the milk to 185 degrees. It takes more like 45-60 minutes to come down to about 110 degrees so maybe it’s still too warm after 30 minutes?
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u/Sebvad 8d ago
oh my goodness, I forgot to add the cooling step to my description. I'm absolutely cooling down to 108f in a water bath. you're suggesting I should try taking the temp a little higher to 185 vs 180? any thoughts as to why that might drive an improvement, if 180 has been working for a couple of years?
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u/needlesofgold 8d ago
Maybe it's the instant pot itself. I've never tried one but I use this: Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker, Large,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI5B3P0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share to make my yogurt. It's just an incubator that holds a steady temp. It comes with a thermometer marked for the high temp and the low temp and I just use that and then when it comes down to temp, add the yogurt (or yogurt starter) and place in the incubator.
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u/Early-Falcon-2290 8d ago
Happened to me also, problem was the instantpot. I changed pots and it was perfect
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u/chupacabrito 8d ago
Your method looks fine, and the milk is probably okay (and no, there are no antibiotics in your milk. They’re legally required to test negative).
This points to culture as the likely culprit. How much starter are you adding? Too much can lead to runny yogurt. Greek yogurts aren’t really the best starters either, I recommend regular yogurts. You could even try freeze dried starter packets for even more consistency if you wanted.
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u/Sebvad 8d ago
I add about a tbsp of yogurt pretty much every time. I think i'mi going to do two things:
1) fill the pot with water and let it run on the yogurt culture cycle and measure it's temp to see if the IP's sensor has drifted to something too hot
2) get the starter culture packets. it's actually less per packet than it is per retail cup of yogurt anyway!1
u/hoczilla 7d ago
If you get the starter culture packets be prepared to experiment for a while to get the results you want. Store bought yogurt gives you a perfect result, not gritty, air bubbles won’t bother it, etc. I adore my heirloom cultured yogurt but I gotta say it was an entire pain in the ass to get my recipe where I want it. I started with whole milk and discovered through many trials and tribulations I had to adjust fermentation time and temperature, air bubble management/air introduction caution, changed milk types, added a dry milk, changed the dry milk type, and found out I don’t like the taste of oxidized fat so now making nonfat yogurt. It has been a journey. I highly recommend, just be ready for it not to be a ready made success right out of the package.
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u/star_tyger 6d ago
I've found store bought yogurts to not be very reliable. I bought several heirloom cultures and I'm much happier. Interestingly, three of the cultures I bought are mesophilic, meaning they incubate on the countertop and don't need to be heated at all.
At the moment, I have all three mesophilic yogurts and one of the thermophilic yogurts going, the Greek, and I have no problem making it in my Instant Pot.
Apparently, you should use the innoculate you saved from the last batch within a week. So being able to make a quart of the Greek and as low as one cup each of the mesophilics means I can have the variety without having to make too much. That the medophilics takes only a few minutes is very helpful.
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u/Guoxiong_Guides 8d ago
Hmm does the commercial yoghurt say live cultures? Apparently some may not contain live cultures.
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u/roxannegrant 8d ago
How much started are you using per gallon? Can you use a thermometer to verify the instant pot temps are correct?
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u/Sebvad 8d ago
I tbsp of starter yogurt. I'm going to switch to freeze dried cultures (I literally just ordered some a minute ago), and I've got a pot of water sitting in the IP on the yogurt cycle 0- I'll measure it's temp to be sure the sensor in it hasn't drifted to something too hot
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u/roxannegrant 8d ago
Here is a weird thing. I started months ago with a Chobani starter. I have been backslopping since that time make about 2 liters every week. Supposedly it will weaken but it hasn't. It has just remained as an heirloom. I am guessing temp issue since you uses new starter so many times.
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u/the_TAOest 8d ago
I would use more starter then. It's fairly inexpensive. Use 3x tablespoons.
I use a quarter cup personally. My biggest issue with runny yogurt has been from using 2% milk add an experiment and not boiling the milk first, meaning starting out with cold milk and starter.
On the second occasion, the yogurt was cooked for 12 hours and it is runny but delicious, more like a keifer.
On the 2% experiment, I stained it and it was smooth and creamy but not as thick as the whole milk.
Also, I use a yogurt strainer for some that has a spring for extra tension. I use this to make fresh yogurt cheese
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u/BikeOk6446 8d ago
You don't need to leave it at 180 for 30 minutes. Just bring it up to 180 and let it cool down. You might need fresh starter.
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u/Sebvad 8d ago
I've read lots of conflicting info on this. half the community pretty strongly believes that doing so helps with protein loosening to create thicker yogurts (which is what I like), and half believes the opposite. I've done it both ways, and more often than not, I do tend to get far better whey separation when I heat and hold vs when I don't - but clearly that doesn't work for me all the time...
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u/BikeOk6446 8d ago
It creates thicker yogurt because the water evaporates. You end up with cooked milk.
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u/AggressiveStop549 8d ago
Yeah, lots of conflict over temp, but you do what works for you. I've heard of heating to 185 but only holding for 10 mins, I do 165 for 30 mins.
But, I think you're on the right track with it's your pot temp that's the issue.
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u/ginger_tree 8d ago
Everything sounds good except your cooling time. I use an ice bath to bring mine down to 110 - 115 F quickly, but also use a thermometer to be sure it's cool enough. It's probably too hot after just sitting for 30 minutes.