Anything I’m Fermenting

Yogurt making » 2008-05-15-008

This is what yogurt making looks like for most of the time it takes to do.

This is what yogurt making looks like for most of the time it takes to do.

Here's a comparison of temperature readings from my electronic thermometer and my brewing thermometer. The electronic one shows 53 degrees, while the brewing thermometer shows only 49 degrees. Not sure why or which one is right, but I trust the brewing thermometer more!
The finished product! After about 4.5 hours, the fermentation has acidified the milk, and it has turned into a nice thick yogurt. Notice how rigid it has become - even when tilted to a 45 degree angle. To me, it tastes pretty much the same as yogurt I buy (others describing their own yogurt say it tastes 'creamier'; the only time I found this to be true was the time it did not acidify enough because my thermometer mislead me, and it did not ferment properly). I have also read elsewhere that you should mix in dehydrated milk powder to achieve the thickness of commercial yogurts (or that commercial dairies add artificial thickeners to achieve their thickness). I don't really agree - my yogurt has always been as thick as the stuff I buy, so no need to add any milk powder, and it makes me doubt that artificial thickeners are neccessary even on a commercial scale - lactic acid works fine. What probably is happening is that people making their yogurt at home may not be keeping it warm long enough to produce sufficient acid, or they are not keeping the temperature high enough.

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