[Clarebelle]

Has anyone made homemade yogurt before? I tried it for the first time last night. I heated my milk to 46 degrees using a jam thermometer to measure but when I add it to the yoghurt culture and whisked it in (as my recipe told me to do) the whole lots split and curdled instantly. It looked really grainy. I put it in my thermos and perched it on the radiator anyway but in the morning I now have LOADS of whey with a lump of what looks like ricotta cheese. It has a nice mild, slightly yogurty flavour but the texture is really wrong.

Anyone know where I went wrong? Was the milk too hot when I added it to the yoghurt? I've also now read online that you shouldn't stir the milk into the culture as the bacteria in the culture will distribute itself naturally anyway?

[devonlady]

I can't say what temperature to heat your milk to but this is how I do it. Warm your milk until when you put a finger in it it feels neither warm 'nor cold, just wet. If cold, warm it a fraction, if warm, cool it a bit. Then put your LIVE starter in, stir, cover and put in the airing cupboard or other warm place.Probably on top of a radiator gets the bottom too warm, try putting the bowl beside it. Leave for about twelve hours and you should have good yoghurt

[SallyintNorth]

That sounds like either a very active culture and/or a mix that includes rennet, which will clot immediately.

Either way, the acid cheese you have made will be lovely  .  Strain it and use it in salads, or as a spread, or make cheesecake with it - and enjoy!

When making yoghurt I usually pasteurise first, so heat to 68C for 30 mins, or 80C for 20 seconds, then cool to around 40-45C.

I take a little of the milk out (a teacupful) and mix it (gently!) with the starter culture, then swirl that in (gently!)  I don't think I do stir it, but if I did it would be once round (gently!) with a clean spoon, at most.

[Sudanpan]

I do pretty much exactly what SallyintNorth does, though my starter culture is just a couple of tablespoons of the previous batch of yoghurt. I originally started with Live Yeo Valley yog.

[Lesley Silvester]

I use live yoghurt as a starter as well and put it in a wide necked thermos overnight. It's a bit runny but I found that leaving the stopper loose in the top during the following day so it cools very slowly, thickens it up. Of course, you can always strain in to make Greek style yoghurt.

[Coeur de Chene]

I do the 'warm it til you can't feel it with a finger' test, add a generous dessertspoon of live yoghurt. Then add a dessert spoon of powdered milk and mix it gently til it dissolves. This thickens it. Then in a flask for 12 hours. I've been doing this for years and it always works but only use semi skim, the only time this has failed was when I tried it with full fat unpasturised milk.