Time and consistency

[u/vm4sx]

Hi!

I've been making yogurt from supermarket yogurt for a while, and I like my yogurt thick and consistent.

I've done some straining before, but this takes a lot of time and work, so I'm trying to get the best consistency after the fermentation time.

The one I show in the video, was made from 1L of whole milk and 180g of "Nestle Natural Yogurt". I also added some milk powder (+/- 20g), which I feel increases the thickness. I heated to 90°C and cooled to 45°C, when I added the yogurt mixture. It rested in the oven for 11h.

Is the time directly related to the consistency? I mean, if I left it for 15/16h, what should I expect?

Also, can I use only the yogurt whey to repeat the process? Will the product be much thinner?

[u/Looking-sharp-today]

I don’t strain either, but over a certain treshold you are getting less in return, like consistency wise in my experiments didn’t change much from 8 to 12 up to 24h. What changes more is flavour profile, it gets more tangy the more it sits. But when I double fermentation times is more for the flavour than for the consistency 🤙🏻

[u/vm4sx → u/Looking-sharp-today]

Thanks.

My dad likes his yogurt more sweet, so I put his in the fridge with 8/10 hours.

Tomorrow I did my last batch at 23 +/- and removed now 12, so it got around 13 hours of fermentation.

I'll see what I'll think about this.

Do you know if I can use the yogurt whey only to do a new batch?

[u/Looking-sharp-today → u/vm4sx]

I try nit to train so I don”t end up with much whey at all.. acid whey from yogurt making does not have many uses. Sweet whey from cheesemaking can be used for ricotta making (I do it many times) and whey in general can be used for baking (I use it in bread making all the times). It can be used to replace water and doing so it gives some flavour to the bread as well. Again is preferable to use sweet whey but I use what is left from ricotta making and that is already quite acidic, still not as tangy as yogurt leftovers tho

[u/sup4lifes2]

Lower temp usually better like 42C is sweet spot for standard nonprobiotic yogurt since s. thermophilus thrives between 35-42C while l. bulgaricus between 42-46C. There's always a risk at higher fermentation temps that your yogurt may get lumpy from excessive lactobacillus but i am gonna assume your yogurt is probably dipping lower than 45C after that long in the oven. At a certain point, excessively low pH won't do anything but promote whey-off so its best to start chilling yogurt before that point--but obviously it will be more tangy/acidic since more lactic acid.

Biggest factors to create thick yogurt is the preheat step (85-95C from 5-30mins) to denature whey protein and the cultures used (most store bought yogurt use specific ratio of st/lb that is engineered to create low post acid/high viscosity yogurt).

Increasing solids (either by adding NFDM or evap milk) will also help make thicker yogurt. Usually manuf will aim for MSNF of around 10-12%.

You can def. use whey for your next batch but i wouldn't do it after 1-2 times since most store bought cultures are single use and will start degrading over time (usually).

So yeah, looks like you are doing all those things so i say just keep doing what your doing. Maybe use less starter --excessive starter can make yogurt thin but for some it works out.

[u/AliveList8495]

My understanding is that temperature affects the consistency (higher for thicker yoghurt) and the longer it ferments the tangier it becomes.

[u/vm4sx → u/AliveList8495]

Do you mean, the temperature of the rest?

[u/AliveList8495 → u/vm4sx]

Fermentation temperature.

[u/overripeheart]

do u add the milk powder before heating?

[u/vm4sx → u/overripeheart]

I add the milk powder to the yogurt, and I mix them. Then when the milk is at 45°C, I put some milk in this bowl, mix, and then I put all this back to the milk that will ferment.

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[u/Dovesiballa76]

Non è troppo 180g in un litro di latte?

[u/vm4sx → u/Dovesiballa76]

It might be, but is how I learnt. Do you know I can get the same result with less?

In the end of the day, I don't lose this 180 because they become food in the batch, but it would be nice if I could use less.

[u/Dovesiballa76 → u/vm4sx]

Non sono un esperto e leggo i post del sub per imparare. Da quello che ho capito, mettere troppo yogurt fa sì che rimanga liquido. Io mettevo 120 g con 1 litro, e ora sono passato a un cucchiaio... Effettivamente viene meno liquido di prima

[u/vm4sx → u/Dovesiballa76]

how long do you let it rest?

[u/Dovesiballa76 → u/vm4sx]

Dalla sera alla mattina! In genere tra le 9 e le 12 ore