r/yogurtmaking

In the instapot, is it dangerous to leave it on overnight? Wondering if there’s known instances with leaving the yogurt function on without supervision. Thank you!

I’ve been making my own yogurt for a few years now, and I’ve come up with my own pretty decent method of imitating the La Fermiere orange blossom honey flavor. I recently tried the pressed lemon flavor and loved it! I would really like to learn how to make something similar at home, but I’m not sure where to start. I know typically when people make lemon yogurt at home, they make plain yogurt and add lemon flavoring afterwards. However, I really love the texture you get from using the French potted method of making yogurt, and that wouldn’t be conducive to adding flavoring post fermentation. I imagine something acidic like lemon juice would cause problems during the fermentation process, so I’m not sure how La Fermiere is achieving this flavor using the French method with individual yogurt pots. Does anyone have any ideas?

I started making L. Reuteri "yogurt" using Oxiceutics MyReuteri as the initial starter. I use the first batch, which came out somewhat inconsistent, to culture subsequent batches. To do this, I poured it into ice cube trays and froze it. I made 56 1Tbsp ice cubes from that first batch.

The exact recipe I follow:
- 1 L. Reuteri Starter Ice Cube
- 1 Tbsp Organic Inulin Powder (from Jerusalem Artichoke)
- Just under 1 Quart Organic Half and Half [since the whole quart doesn't fit in my bowl]

I combine the above ingredients, mix until the inulin powder is mostly dissolved, then put it in my yogurt warmer at 99°F for 36 hours. The end result is a pleasant tasting, consistent "yogurt" that has made me vibrate at times after eating it. From each batch I get 8 servings.

I started eating one serving per day as the last meal of the day and after ~2 weeks, a rash that I had been dealing with for 5+ years finally went away! I've noticed that if I stop the yogurt and eat a bunch of junk food, it sometimes starts to come back, but as long as I keep the yogurt coming every so often and eat healthy foods, I don't notice it at all. I now eat maybe 2-3 servings per week, depending on the week. I add it to my smoothies mostly nowadays.

Regarding when I said it makes me vibrate at times, when I very first started making it, there were days where I ate little else but the yogurt, and I would literally be vibrating in my skin with a strong warmth radiating from my chest. I suspect that this was the result of an increase in oxytocin (as Dr. Davis mentions). The feeling was so incredible! Best thing I can compare it to is a Cannabis high, but without the head-change & mental haze layer.

I have heard a bunch of things saying that this recipe doesn't actually produce high volumes of L. Reuteri, according to user-submitted samples sent to labs for testing, but whether this is true or not, I've most certainly observed positive changes as a result of implementing this "yogurt" into my diet.

A family member started bringing me non-organic half and half (from Costco) because it costs half the price, but I do not notice the vibrancy from the non-organic stuff, and I don't feel like it is facilitating the benefits the same, though it looks and tastes nearly identical. Organic is the only way to go!

Hi folks! Is there a difference in the final yogurt if I use a starter yogurt or milk that is lactose free? Asking because I found a lactose free yogurt that was cheaper today (still good quality).

For context, I use a yogurt maker. Game changer for me! I’m in Argentina and the lactose products are very good quality. I have a recipe (1 liter of 1% milk, four spoonfuls of powdered whole milk, one 180g natural yogurt) that works very well for me. I try out different starter yogurts and milks from time to time… but I’ve never tried a yogurt or milk that is lactose free.

Thanks in advance!

After seven glorious months, I had to throw away my homemade yoghurt. Ive developed a cold that's affecting my throat in particular and dairy made it worse, so I left the yoghurt in the fridge for much longer than I'd normally would and my starter developed a pretty pink hue that felt particularly unsafe.

I thankfully still had some powdered starter left, so I could make a new batch, but now I'm wondering what to do in case something like this happens again and I heard about freezing yoghurt starters. I tried looking up some information but I can't quite find what I need (might be a skill issue). So my concrete questions:

- What is your advice on how to freeze starters? I read people put them in ice cube trays, is that recommended? Or can I just put it in a freezer bag?

- When using, do you need more starter than regular? If so, how much more?

- Do you thaw out the yoghurt before you make it, or do you use it in its frozen form?

If there are any more tips or advice, I'd like to hear them! Thanks in advance!

This is only my second time making yogurt. My partner accidentally ate the last of the last batch of yogurt, and I had read that you can inoculate the yogurt with whey rather than yogurt. I had some whey left over from the last batch and did the same exact process that I did last time, but this time I added two cups of whey. (Crock pot method, I heated a gallon of cream line milk at low for 2 1/2 hours then let it cool for 3 hours before mixing in the whey).

I’m almost 24 hours into the fermenting process and it’s still almost completely liquid!! What do I do? Should I dump it and start another batch?? Can I reheat the milk and start again??

I used kind of expensive milk for this round of yogurt, which is partially why I’m extra devastated 😭

So, I made the yogurt as usual and somehow it doesn't drain whey.

I use a plastic sieve that came with the yogurtmaker and usually it separates the liquid well. Occasionally a bit more whitish whey, but mostly clearish.

This time, the whole batch from 1.5 L just ran through. Would have been almost less than 200g of greek yogurt. So, I mixed it together and keep it as yogurt. But I'd like to understand why this could have happened. I used some yogurt from backslopped the 2nd time. So, this would be 3rd. Starter, 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

Is it too much backslopping for the starter I used or could high environment temperature during heat wave have been the cause?

I use UHT heat up to temp, mix 1tsp yogurt starter in then 14h at 42°C/107.6°F in my yogurt maker at 30°C/86°F room temperature... Put in the fridge then for 24h before trying to drain.

I’ve been making my own unique yogurt culture with some mood enhancing probiotics (Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52ND & Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175) and a few other strains from my store bought yogurt.

However, I recently added a natto starter to my culture and fermented for about 18 hours or so and it seems to have enhanced the relaxing effects of the yogurt.

I take it regularly at night but added the natto to the previous batch, it had a calming effect but in the next batch I made from it this effect seems to be enhanced.

Has anyone experimented with adding natto bacteria to your yogurt fermentation? I assume it’d expected to increase the vitamin k2 content, but it seems to be much better than the yogurt cultures I have had for a while.

My previous batch of yogurt made from 2% milk and store bought yogurt was great. Creamy, thick, wonderful. So I decided to make a larger batch. I brought 4 litres of milk to 180+ degrees for 10 minutes, cooled to 112ish, and I mixed the remaining yogurt with 4 litres of milk. I added it to my instant pot on the yogurt setting for 10 hours. The result was mostly hot milk with islands of floating yogurt chunks. 😭

Was it too much yogurt? It was probably half a cup. Which is a lot, but I didn’t realize you could do too much.

I had always thought this was a much more complicated process without a machine, until I realized a Thermos should keep the temperature steady, looked it up and, indeed it's something people do!

My process was:
Heat 1L of skimmed milk to 85°C // Let cool until it reached 45° // Mix 2 tbsp of yogurt in a little bit of milk and mix back in the full pot // Move to a (preheated with boiling water) thermos for 12 hours // Move to a glass jar with lid // Let sit for 4 hours.

The consistency is nice, thick but I'd like it thicker, although I believe this could be due to the fact that the milk is skimmed.

My question:

It's a little lumpy/clotted. Is there a way to avoid this?

I'm looking at videos of what this yogurt is supposed to look like, and it seems to be a little less ropey. I'm wondering what I might be doing wrong. I'm using my goat's milk, I put it in the Instant Pot on the boil setting, let it cool, then I add the Caspian Sea culture to it and let it sit unti it thickens. This is my third batch.

To answer more of the questions from the automod:

• I used whole goats milk from my goat, I started with a cup and moved up to two cups.
• Caspian Sea starter. TBS per cup of milk.
• I heated my raw milk up with the boil setting on the Instant Pot. I believe it goes a little bit above 160. Online it says it goes to 180, but I've never seen it get that high when I take a thermometer to it.
• I cool it down. It's within the range for a mesophilic culture.
• Room temp because the Caspian Sea is mesophilic.

I’ll try to keep this brief so as not drop a wall of text.

I’m having a tough time chasing curds out of my homemade skyr. I’ve experimented with different strainers (eg. Flour sackcloth, 90 grade cheesecloth), total strain time and incubation time. I’ve read that when it comes to homemade skyr, a little chunkiness can be expected. I would prefer a smooth skyr, however. I would prefer not to have to add a step to the process whereby I put the finished product (or partially strained product) into a blender. I get the same result whether I’m incubating in a glass jar or freezer bag. I’ve wondered if I’m not handling the finished product carefully enough, but honestly I think I am.

For more context, I’m denaturing at 185 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, cooling to 105, adding starter (mixing well) and then incubating at 110 for 10 to 12 hours. Then straining for 4 to 6 hours. I’m using a sous vide and a probe thermometer so I’m confident that I’ve got my temps locked down.

Any of you experts here have any suggestions? I’m open to feedback and happy to answer questions about my process to uncover potential blind spots or flaws.

Edit: I’ve been using skim milk. I understand that whole milk could return creamer results. I’m hoping to continue to use skim milk. For the first handful of batches I used Siggi’s for the starter. I’m in the middle of activating an heirloom as i type.

Has anyone successfully made thick Greek style yogurt using whole goat milk? Every time I make it I strain for minimum of 4 hours up to 24 and it’s just not getting to the thick consistency

In pot cook until 185
Cool to 110
Mix in the yogurt culture/milk
Keep in dehydrator at 110 for 6 hours
Put in fridge overnight
Strain for 4-6 hours

Hi everyone!

I've been making yogurt in my Instant Pot since 2020 - the "Greek" yogurt culture from Cultures for Health I got that year is still going strong. I use Organic Valley Whole Grassmilk, heated in the Instant Pot then cooled to 100-115F before adding culture (2 Tbs per 1/2 gallon milk).

Based on some posts in this forum, I recently started adding non-fat dry milk powder - I definitely have gotten a thicker yogurt, which I still strain b/c I like it really thick.

I just saw Organic Valley Ultra-Filtered / Higher Protein milk in my local grocery. Has anyone tried using this for yogurt, and does it work well / produce a thicker yogurt without added dry milk powder?