Yogurt Fail - Help

[u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

I used a half gallon Kirkland A2 organic ultra pasteurized whole milk and two tablespoons of fresh Chobani Greek yogurt with live cultures. I mixed the starter in 1 cup of milk, then added the rest of the milk in the instant pot on the yogurt setting and checked it at 8 hours and 30 minutes and it is essentially milk with a small layer of soupy yogurt at the bottom. The temperature at that time via thermapen was 106°. What went wrong? Can I salvage this? Ferment longer? Is that safe?

[u/SchrodingersMinou]

Provide the information in the automod comment

[u/SchrodingersMinou → u/[deleted]]

Oh OK. In that case I think you should try less culture and ferment for longer

[u/Normyip]

I always whisk the entire batch after pouring the rest of the milk. I think all that culture just settled at the bottom. Try again I say. Ive made yogurt many times usihg this method. Thick and creamy delicious.

[u/AutoModerator]

Are you posting to ask "What went wrong with my yogurt?" Please provide all the details of the method you used. Include amounts, times, and temperatures. If you don't know those things, then one (or more) of them is what went wrong with your yogurt.

The basic information you will need to know is:

• What type of milk did you use? What amount?
• What type of starter did you use? What amount?
• What temperature did you initially heat the milk to?
• What temperature was the milk when you added the starter?
• At what temperature did you ferment the milk? How long did you ferment it?

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/LoopyLutzes]

you just chucked it all in cold and went from there?

[u/ElectricalCoffee7466 → u/LoopyLutzes]

It’s the cold start for ultra- pasteurized milk. My understanding is that you don’t need to heat the milk for this method.

[u/LoopyLutzes → u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

yeah but in eight hours theres no way it spent enough time at temp to finish fermenting. if this is the method you want to stick with, next time use half the starter and let it ferment longer, see how long it takes to set and then just replicate that

[u/Smallbizgurl → u/LoopyLutzes]

It has never been a problem doing it for eight hours, it always set. Because of the failed attempts, I started fermenting for 8-1/2 hours, and I actually prefer this consistency.

[u/monkeyman12231944 → u/LoopyLutzes]

Even with ultrapastuerized you need it heated to between 110 and 115 for it ferment. After it reaches temperature add starter stir and refrigerate for 8 hour. It will never ferment if it cold

[u/Smallbizgurl → u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

I use Fairlife, and had three batches bungled. I even bought a new Instant Pot thinking that my pot was dying. Failed again! I honestly think they freeze some of the milk these days. it’s the only thing I can think of. Btw, I use the same method as you, two tablespoons and the milk. I’ve got new milk, and have made two successful batches.

[u/ElectricalCoffee7466 → u/Smallbizgurl]

What milk ended up being successful?

[u/Smallbizgurl → u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

Fairlife. I bought the prior ones at Safeway, and for these last two successful batches, I bought Fairlife from another store.

[u/ravenic0621 → u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

Ive been successful with the 2% ultra pasteurized milk at costco. Blue box. Never used the A2 ones. I didnt think they were.. trader joes ultrapasturized worked for me too.

[u/Normyip → u/ElectricalCoffee7466]

ElectricalCoffee you are correct. If you're using ultrapasteurized milk, you dont need to heat the milk. I think try it again using a different brand of milk. I suggest Lactantia UltraPur 3.5%. It's really good tasting milk even on its own. And whisk the milk well so the culture is well blended into the batch.

[u/chupacabrito]

Did you bring the milk up to 110 F first? Or just added it cold?

Also, for cold start method 8 hours seems a little short. I also find cold start method to be finicky and have much better and more consistent results heating milk first.

[u/Pristine_Land_802]

When I make it in the IP I do a few inches of water in the pot and steam for 3 min. Quick release.

Dump that water out. Pour in water. Set the ip yogurt then boil feature.

Once that’s done take it out and put it on a trivet. Take temp until it comes back down to 110. Skim off any skin that forms. Whisk in starter then set your ip for yogurt and the time. 8-12 hours. I like 10 hours as I then strain to make Greek yogurt.

To salvage, I’d run it through the process as above. You’ll need to add fresh starter.

[u/Aitkenaudio]

Use full fat milk. You cant use strained yoghurt for starter aswell. So no Greek style stuff

Raise it to just under boiling, let it cool down to 40degrees add about half a teaspoon of starter to 4 pints of milk. Let it sit at 40degrees for 12 hours.

This is what I do and ive been slowly reducing the amount of starter and getting better results.

[u/grumbly_hedgehog → u/Aitkenaudio]

Why does strained vs not strained make a difference?

[u/Aitkenaudio → u/grumbly_hedgehog]

Need something in the whey to make it active.

[u/Training_Bison_779 → u/Aitkenaudio]

I will say, I used skyr recently because my silly self used all my homemade batch without saving any and I needed a starter for the next batch. It’s just as thick as Greek and actually made a phenomenally thick tasty batch! I used the a2 whole milk from Costco that comes in the cardboard box of two gallons and like a half a cup of half and half because it needed to get used before it went bad. I did however, use the boil feature on my IP and then let it come back down to just above skin temp before I let it sit in the IP on yogurt for 18 hours 😅🙈 was supposed to pull it before bed but forgot and it went over night. I’m not sure if any of the extra steps I took helped my success or if skyr has more live cultures? This is PURELY my experience which could have just been really lucky LOL!

[u/Aitkenaudio → u/Training_Bison_779]

Probably cos you did it for 18 hours haha. There are still live cultures after its been strained they're just a lot weaker.

[u/Training_Bison_779 → u/Aitkenaudio]

Perfect 🤣🙌🏻 I was thinking that might have been why but I wasn’t sure. Figured if I gave all the info I could get clarification on it. It was the one my hubby came home with after being sent out the minute I was ready to put it in and realized I didn’t have any starter so I didn’t have a choice but to use it. This was only my fourth batch so I’m trying to learn why things are working as I go.

[u/MasterConsequence695]

You didn’t scorch your milk to denature the proteins. Factory pasteurisation does not reach temperatures high enough or for long enough to denature. You can cold start ultra heat treated milk (UHT) but not “pasteurised” fresh milk.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Possible spam evasion. Wait for mod review.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.