# Yogurt Problem



## ixirockx (May 18, 2007)

Okay I tried to make homemade yogurt today. I think I ran into a problem. I let my yogurt incubate for about 9 hours wrapped around a heating pad. I've tested it with water before and it got up to about 118 degrees. For some reason, after the 7 hours was up I checked the temperature of the yogurt and it was at 125 degrees. I though well the bacterial cultures are dead now....The problem is there is yogurt in it but it is just a little half inch layer at the top and it's floating in a bunch of whey. What happened to all of the milk? Is this normal. I have refridgerated it. Hopefully refridgerating overnight will fix it if this is normal.


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## AllenOK (May 18, 2007)

One of our other member here, Yakuta, has a great way of preparing home-made yogurt.  Hopefully, she'll see this post soon, and post her method.


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## Yakuta (May 18, 2007)

Hi ixirockx I have posted this many times and here it is one more time for you 

Buy a small container of yogurt (you need about a cup of yogurt).  I like to buy the plain whole milk one (no low or no fat one).  

Make it in the evening so you can leave it overnight so that the cultures have enough time to work. 

Before you start making the yogurt here is what you do.

Take the yogurt out of the refrigerator an hour before you start making the yogurt.  The yogurt should be at room temperature.

Now pour milk in a saucepan.  A little more than a 1/4 gallon (somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 gallon, I am bad at exact measurements but you get an idea)

Now bring the milk to a full boil.  Shut the stove immediately to stop the overflow of milk.  Let it cool until it's lukewarm.  The way I measure the temperature of my milk to see its ready is if it's slightly warm on my finger but still comfortable and not hot. 

Now take about a cup of milk and stir it into the yogurt to ensure the milk and yogurt are well incorporated.  Now slowly pour the mixed yogurt and milk into the saucepan with rest of the milk.  Stir it several times to ensure it's all well mixed. 

Now pour it in a bowl (I like steel ones) and cover it and place it in the warmest part of your house.  I love my oven for this.  Leave it overnight 

In the morning take it and place it directly in the refrigerator.  Don't fidget, don't stir, don't do anything.  Just place it in the refrigerator.  In about 6 hours or so it should be ready.  

I have making it this way for years and it has never failed me.  You can give it a shot and share your results. 

All I can say for your experiment above is that you don't have enough yogurt to milk ratio.


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## ixirockx (May 18, 2007)

Thanks a lot Yakuta. Just one question. When I put it in my over does my over need to like 110 degrees or can I just stick it in without any heat?


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## Yakuta (May 19, 2007)

You don't need to turn the oven on just put the bowl in there.  Ovens are normally warm.  

In the winters given here in Chicago they are pretty severe I do turn my oven on at the lowest setting for 30 minutes or so.  Then shut it and then begin my yogurt making process.  This ensures that my oven temperature is warm and not ice cold when I place my bowl.


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