Yogurt starter?

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  • posted by Ancient Weaver
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    I like to make my own yogurt, but hadn’t made any for years until this year, and now I just can’t get it to set properly. At first I thought it was due to the temperature being too low, but mixing in the yogurt sooner and sooner, eventually got me yogurt that was slow to set at all, (probably due to bacteria being killed off by excessive heat) and still gloopy when it did set.
    I have come to the conclusion that it is the culture that is responsible for the ‘set’.
    I have tried a few brands of various types of unflavoured yogurt, all with the same result. They’ve all been very mild too, although that’s not a problem, I don’t mind a bit of tartness.
    I really want something closer to ‘french set’ consistency, but haven’t been able to find unflavoured, so today, I am actually going to try a vanilla one.
    I’m not very hopeful of this one working either, and I’d appreciate anyone’s experiences of any bought starters you may have tried, particularly any available in the UK.

    Interestingly, I have just accidentally on purpose curdled a pint of milk that was just on the turn, and it’s curds are gloopy, very like my recent attempts at yogurt.

  • posted by PenBed
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    I regularly make a fairly firm set yoghurt using Yeo Valley natural Yoghurt as a starter.

  • posted by Ancient Weaver
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    I can’t remember if I’ve tried theirs or not, so I’ll get some next time I’m in a supermarket.

    The french set was no better as a starter than any other I’ve tried so far. 🙁

  • posted by RBeany
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    I make a mesophilic yogurt, ie one that cultures at room temperature. I’ve been making it for coming up to two years now, and I love it. All you do to make it is take a tablespoonful or two of the culture, pour full cream milk on it while stirring, then cover and leave for 12 – 24 hours. The resulting yogurt is delicious and mild, and the consistency of blancmange. It varies a bit depending on the temperature you set it at – very thick and slightly fizzy if it’s on the warm side! (yum!) but you do NOT need to scald the milk first, and it never fails. I bought the starter online here in the UK – are we allowed to add such links? have a photo of the thick version, and would add it to make your mouth water if I knew how 😉 Of course with that kind of starter – like kefir grains, which I also use – you never need to buy it again.

    I’d be happy to add a link if it’s allowed!

    Rachel.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Hi RBeany – I don’t think there would be a problem posting the link for the yogurt culture. I’d certainly be interested in knowing where I could buy the culture. I too make kefir and somehow I always seem to have more product and more grains than I know what to do with! It’s good stuff though and I find the kefir I make often thickens to a yogurt consistency – perhaps because I use a lot of grains.

  • posted by RBeany
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    Hi SunnyB

    I got my starter from here: https://happykombucha.co.uk/products/viili-yogurt-starter.

    My kefir often goes thick, too, and I love it like that. The viili, however, is much milder and has a creamier texture than the thickened kefir does, although my thinner kefir is very creamy. My husband loves the viili, but he doesn’t like kefir. I give spare kefir grains to the dog or the hens to eat, and they love them. I am thinking of eating them myself, and have always meant to experiment with recipes! I also always have a backup in the freezer of both kefir grains and vili culture. There are plenty of recipes online for making cheese with excess kefir, and there’s also this recipe for kashk, which I haven’t tried yet: http://www.bottomofthepot.com/2014/03/homemade-kashk.html. See here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/19/kashk-kishk-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi for recipes to use it in. I’m sure excess kefir and viili could be used for that. I also use kefir for a sourdough starter…but of course such things are not oin th emenu at the moment.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Hi RBeany – thanks for that link, think I have seen the Happy Kombucha site before, I will take a look anyway.

    I have made labneh (a young cheese) from kefir before, but thanks for the reminder that it can be used for cheese, as it had completely slipped my memory. Haven’t tried kashk before, but it looks interesting and a good way of using up excess produce. Didn’t know kefir could be used as a sourdough starter. I’ve never been a big bread eater, but I actually don’t mind a little sourdough occasionally and my OH likes breads, so I might give that a try sometime.

    Thanks again for the links and info. Much appreciated.

  • posted by RBeany
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    It’s the specific viili starter that Happy Kombucha sells that I was recommending. It’s less stringy than viili usually is – mine is now not stringy at all – and has an excellent flavour and texture. I’ve pretty much tried them all now, and I really think this viili makes the best yogurt.

    I often make labneh, too, and even more often, I strain a bit of the whey off and add chopped herbs – usually fresh dill, but sometimes garlic and green onions – and use it as a dressing or cold sauce. It goes extremely well with the beetroot falafels in the book!

    I just love the flavours of fermented foods, and would choose kefir or yogurt over chocolate any day!

  • posted by Ancient Weaver
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    Thank you so much for that link, that sounds ideal.
    I prefer the room temperature/hay box method, where you heat the milk first then leave it to set at room temperature, but out of desperation, put my last attempt (with Yeo Valley Greek style) over a water bath after it had set as much as it was going to, and was cold. It did make it set firmer, but it was still a bit gloopy, and reheating it made it let out a lot of whey. (I use the whey to make a yogurt drink so it doesn’t go to waste, but there is a lot of whey!)
    In the past I have had fizzy yogurt drink (not made by anyone I know) and it was always quite strong flavour, it would be awesome if this same culture makes that same fizziness and flavour when warmed! I sometimes add a mix of powdered rose petals and mint to the diluted yogurt drink, courtesy of one of my nieces.
    If I can get the basic yogurt right, I want to mix cinnamon and mashed spinach into it. It was a favourite side dish of mine years ago.
    That blog post about making kashk misses out a stage, and I have my doubts that it would have the same tanginess if I had tried it with the any of the yogurt I have made recently. Ah, she does actually specify sour yogurt. :S
    Fortunately, unlike my MIL, who much preferred home-made to shop bought, I am quite happy with shop bought! Especially the big ‘packet’ that I was given recently which is superior to the jars you usually see in this country. I am a converted kharejee! 🙂 (‘ha’ is the plural ending)

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