Did I just ruin my yogurt?

[frogautumn]

Ugh! I just got my very first order of gorgeous, creamy, farm-fresh raw milk this weekend and couldn't wait to make my first batch of yogurt...except I think I just messed it all up!

My silly pregnant brain was looking at the centigrade side of my candy thermometer and by the time I realized my mistake, the milk was already 160 degrees fahrenheit. I realize that I probably just pasteurized my beautiful milk, but did I ruin the batch to the point that I should just chuck it? Thanks!

Luckily, it was only a quart and I still have plenty of milk left.

[frogautumn]

Nobody? Well I guess I'll let you know how it looks in the morning!

[cristeen]

you pasteurized your milk, yes. But unless you had already put the yogurt starter in there for some reason, the yogurt itself is fine.

[Althetrainer]

Exactly! Heating the milk up won't ruin your yogurt culture unless you had it in with the milk during the heating process, or you put it into the hot milk too soon. Please let us know how it turned out for ya.

[bluebell]

hi i think i've just ruined my yogurt too! my pregnant brain couldn't work out the right temperature on the dehydrator that i just got and i think i put it on too hot. i was trying to make 24hr yogurt - but i think i put the temp at 52 would this kill all the good bacteria? whats the hottest it can go to without killing it?

[frogautumn]

Well, I did add some starter yogurt when the the milk was too hot, but then I added more when it had cooled down to 110 degrees F. In the morning, the mixture was thicker, but by no means thick. I'm letting it cool in the fridge now to see if that'll thicken it up a bit. But it smells and tastes delicious...there's a hint of a scalded milk taste, but I've lived and learned for the next time.

Bluebell--52 C, that's like 125 F right...I think that's maybe a little too hot? But, as you know, I'm not the expert! Hopefully you'll get some good advice from some of the more knowledgeable ladies!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by bluebell

whats the hottest it can go to without killing it?

Usually the upper limit is somewhere between 110 and 120F (48C). But just because the air temperature was higher than that doesn't automatically mean that the yogurt was killed - air is a poor conductor of heat, so chill it and see how it did, you may have yogurt, you may not.

[bluebell]

thanks cristeen how would i know if its dead or not? would it be ok if it tastes and smells just like yogurt i want it for the probiotics so if they've been killed then i'd rather start over again.

frogautumn sorry i jumped in on your thread but i was going to post about this too when i saw yours! i hope that your yogurt turned out ok, its so frustrating when you go to the trouble of making it and it dosn't work out!! i'm going to have to motivate myself again to make some more if mine didn't work as i really need that good bacteria!!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by bluebell

thanks cristeen how would i know if its dead or not? would it be ok if it tastes and smells just like yogurt i want it for the probiotics so if they've been killed then i'd rather start over again.

If it tastes and smells like yogurt and is thicker than milk, then it's yogurt. If you'd killed it, it might smell slightly yogurty from the starter, and taste would not be plain milk, but it wouldn't be yogurt, either. Nor would it have thickened up at all - it would still be milk consistency.

[Cristiaz]

Don't mean to high jack the thread but I was just about to post a yogurt question. I made my first batch of raw milk yogurt and it turned out awful. I followed the directions from a blog someone in this group gave me. Heres what I did. Heated the milk to 130 then cooled down to 110. I used my meat thermometer cuz there didn't seem to be a big difference in thermometers...does that matter? Once it cooled to 110 I put in freeze dried yogurt starter (I had no yogurt). I stirred it, then put it a cooler lined with warm towels for 12 hours, untouched. I took it out, put it in the fridge and in the morning I tasted it before giving it to DD and it was awful. I hate yogurt but DD loves it, I made it for her. I do know what yogurt should taste like and this wasn't it. Plus it was so thin and had a few chunky parts but thats it. I know raw milk/homemade yogurt would be thinner but not as thin as water. Any ideas on what I did wrong or any pointers??? PLEASE!!!! I want to try again really soon!