Fist attempt at making yogurt failed...what did I do wrong??

[Marnica]

I purchased a yolife yougurt maker and attempted my first batch this past weekend. I followed the directions exactly and the outcome was not very pretty!

I used plain store bought yogurt as an activator rather than purchasing live cultures as this was reportedly just as effective. The yougurt had live cultures in it and was plain Ie no other added ingredients in there.

I followed the directions that came with the maker and the outcome is basically liquid with gelatinous chunks in there that remind me of cottage cheese or curdled milk. I feel so deflated. I was so excited to do this

Since I followed the directions and was not improvising I don't know what went wrong or how to do it any differently the next time. Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe buy the cultires are try it with those next time??

[cristeen]

Did you try chilling and then stirrng it to see what it looked like then? What you're describing can be totally normal of fresh warm yogurt.

Without knowing the exact process you followed, its difficult to troubleshoot.

[Marnica]

Yes I did chill it first and it was slightly better, but still very lumpy and gelatinous. I stirred it ALOT too to see if that would get rid of the lumps and make it less liquidy...helped a bit, but not enough to make it edible IMO.

Here is what I did. I brought the milk (I used pasteurized non-homoginized milk from grass fed cows. I brought the temp to just under boiling (@180 degrees. Then I let it cool to about 115 degrees. When it was at 115, I added 6oz of the yogurt and mixed it in until it was all dissolved. I then put the liquid into the small fjars and let it "cook" for 10 hours. I checked it and it was still liquid, so I let it go another3 hours. At that point I was doubtful any more time would make a difference bcos the instructions say it should take 8-10 hours. Anyway I gave up after 16 hours and put it in the fridge.

I know it won't come out like store yogurt and Im ok with a few lumps, but this was just gross!

[cristeen]

The first thing that comes to mind is that non-hom milk can be a bit of a pain. When it separates, the cream will dry as it ferments and then refuse to be stirred back in, clumping. You can skim the milk, ferment the milk and cream separately and then stir them together. Not sure what your other options are for dealing w that- someone else here will probably have experience w this.

[LauraLoo]

Not sure if this would make a difference, but after the milk has cooled, I take about 2 cups of the cooled milk out and put it in a bowl and I whisk in my yogurt starter which I try to have as close to room temp as possible - not straight out of the fridge. And then I whisk the milk & starter mixture back into the rest of the milk - trying to get everything dispersed as evenly as possible.

I use non-homogenized pasteurized milk, but I've never had the curdling/lumping that you experienced.

[Marnica]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try making sure it is mixed in better. For those who have successfully done this with a yougurt maker, how long has it "cooked" before it's a decent consistency. I thought 16 hrs was kind of alot for a small batch no?

[Llyra]

I incubate my yogurt a full 24 hours.