3/28/2017 TheScienceofGreatYogurtBrodandTaylor

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Fermented Foods Our yogurt method is based on the principles in Harold McGeesOn
Specialty Foods Food and Cooking,and on the research by professors W.J. Lee and J.
A. Lucey from University of Wisconsin-Madison on commercial yogurt
making methods. These sources pointed out two important concepts
for creating thick, creamy yogurt: holding milk at 195 F / 90 C for
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ten minutes before culturing, and allowing the yogurt to set at a lower
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temperature.

Note: When using the Folding Proofer to make yogurt, be certain there
is no water in the water tray. The water tray is not neededfor making
yogurt. You can remove it from the Proofer, if you like, or leave it

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empty. But do not add water because it will affect temperature

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settings.
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For a Thick,
Brod&Taylor Custard-Style
5hrs
Yogurt, Choose a
YogurtasasubstituteforSour Higher Initial Milk
Cream! Temperature.
https://brodandtaylor.com/yogurt
substitutesourcream/
Standard methods
for making yogurt
call for the milk to
be heated and
cooled before culturing, and different temperatures create different
styles of yogurt. Yogurt made from milk kept below 170 F / 77 C is
thinner and tastes fresh, a little fruity and more tart, while yogurt
made from milk held at 195 F / 90 C for 10 minutesis noticeably
thicker and tastes less tart andsomewhat creamy/nutty/eggy.

Protein is Key to Thickening.The more protein in milk, the thicker the

yogurt. The casein (protein) clusters in milk thicken yogurt by
3 Comment Share
unraveling and forming a three-dimensional mesh when exposed to
the lactic acid created by culturing. Heating milk before culturing
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denatures one of the main whey proteins, lactoglobulin, which allows
March26at5:00am
it to join in the mesh (instead of remaining inactive) and effectively
increases the amount of protein in the milk that will be available to
Get Social thicken the yogurt. The milk needs to be held at 195 F / 90 C for ten
minutes to denature most of the lactoglobulin. A little evaporation
during this heating also aids the thickening bene ts of this
procedure.When available, higher-protein, richer milks like Jersey or
Guernsey make wonderful yogurt.

Does Boiling before

Culturing Ruin the

Yogurt?No. The
milk will not curdle
when boiled unless
Newsletter acid is also present,
and the integrity of
Email address: the fat in milk is
Youremailaddress actually

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Sign up strengthened by boiling. To test this, we made yogurt from milk that
had been simmered long enough to reduce the volume by 25%. The
result is a thick, smooth and creamy yogurt with the strongest
custard taste of any of the yogurts we tested. We didnt choose this
method for our custard-style yogurt because the cooked milk/custard
taste is so prominent that it starts to seem like something other than
yogurt. But it was a favorite among some of our tasters, and its good
to know that if you accidentally heat the milk hot enough to produce a
few bubbles,nothing bad will happen to your yogurt.

Lower Temperatures Give a Better Set.In addition to the quantity of

protein available to form a mesh, thestabilityof that mesh is also
important. That stability is determined by the temperature at which
the protein mesh forms, i.e., the temperature of the yogurt when it
sets. The yogurt will be smoother and more stable (less likely to leak
whey) when it sets at a temperature below 104 F / 40 C. Being able
to turn down the temperature during culturing is a key bene t of using
the Proofer, a bene t which allows the smoothest, best texture to form
(see texture comparison in photo of spoons, below).

Low Temperature
Cultures can be
Slow. Harold
McGee points out
that commercial
yogurt is
sometimes
cultured at 86 F /
30 C, and that a
lower culturing
High-Low yogurt method makes smoother yogurt
temperature (left spoon) than hot culturing (right spoon).
ensures a smooth
yogurt with less
risk of whey separation. Higher temperatures and longer culturing
times can cause a lumpy texture and excessive whey separation
(similar to the spoon on right on the photo). We tested an 86 F / 30
C culture and found that it makes perfect, smooth yogurt. However, a
temperature that low takes a very long time (12-18 hours) and made
us a little uneasy about food safety.

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Our High-Low culturing methodproduces smooth, thick yogurt that

is less likely to leak whey, yet is much more quick and safe than a
low-temperature culture.We start the culture at 120 F / 49 C, a
temperature that speeds the yogurt through the earlier stages of
culturing. Then as culturing progresses and the rising acidity begins
to inhibit any potentially problematic microbes, we turn down the
Proofer to 86 F / 30 C. The method works well, and culturing takes
just 2-4 hours, not 12.

Which Culture?Our testing showed that store-bought yogurts are not

all created equal- some made better starter cultures than others.
While all the brands of live culture supermarket yogurt worked, some
produced thinner textureswhile others madethicker textures. Yogurt
cultures that included L. Casei tended to have more viscosity and set
up faster than those that didnt. Some of our tasters loved the more
viscoustexture but some didnt. A culture containing onlythe two
classic yogurt microbes L. Bulgaricus and S. Thermophilus had very
little viscosity. We also had the best luck with smaller (8 oz / 250 ml)
containers. Even within the same brand, starter yogurtfrom 8 oz
containers tended to produce smoother yogurts than larger economy
tubs, possibly due to faster turnover and fresher cultures. Its
worthwhile to test a few different brands of yogurt until you nd a
favorite.

Sweeten after
Chilling. If
sweeteners are
needed, we like to
add them after the
yogurt is set and
chilled. We prefer
not to
addsugarbefore
culturing to avoid
feeding any
undesirable bacteria. The bene cial lactic-acid producing ora are
naturally well-equipped to feed on lactose, while other less desirable
bacteria are not. Adding non-lactose sugars to the milk could feed any
undesirable bacteria that accidentally end up in the milk through
equipment or inadequate heating. As the culture progressesthese will

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be inhibited by lactic acid, but we prefer to avoid growing undesirable

bacteria on non-lactose sugars during the early stages of culturing.
Honey, due to its anti-bacterial qualities, can slow down culturing and
so is best added just before eating.

Learn More:

Visit our Recipes & How-To to see the latest Proofer recipes and
articles.
Find out more about how the Proofer works.
Learn why the Proofer excels at rising homemade bread and
making DIY probiotic superfoods.

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jbanks February 9, 2016 at 3:42 pm - Reply

In your high-low method you mention the process takes 2-4

hours, but you dont say how long you hold it at 120 before
turning it down to 86.

Diane February 9, 2016 at 5:00 pm - Reply

Thank you for your interest and comment. You can

nd the complete instructions in our Custard-Style
Yogurt recipe. 120 degrees is for 1 hour and is part
of Step 4 in the instructions. This recipe is a favorite
of many customers.

Brookiescc May 13, 2016 at 7:38 pm - Reply

Thanks so much for your information. It was so clear and

detailed. I have one additional question. With the protein
becoming more usable as we heat the milk (the mesh I
believe you called it), is this what accounts for the increase
in protein on the nutritional info. I make greek style yogurt
at home and have always wondered how there could be
more protein per serving than in the milk itself that was
used to make it. Thanks for the explanation.

rkamp May 16, 2016 at 4:29 pm - Reply

The reason that Greek-Style yogurt has more protein

is because the proteins become more concentrated
when the whey is removed. So the same amount of
Greek-Style yogurt has more protein than an
equivalent amount of yogurt that has not been
strained.

Emma September 8, 2016 at 2:35 am - Reply

I cant get the milk above 180 degrees in my double boiler,

which I use to avoid scorching the milk. If I hold the milk at

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180 for half an hour, does it have the same effect as 10

mins at 195?

Diane September 8, 2016 at 3:20 pm - Reply

Heating the milk before culturing determines part of

the avor and how thick the yogurt will be. If you just
heat the milk to 165F brie y and then cool, the
yogurt will taste fresh, a little fruity, and will be
thinner and more tart when it sets. We have not tried
180F for one half hour so we can not say for sure
whether that will work but have doubt. If you heat the
milk to 195F and hold it there for ten minutes, the
yogurt will be milder and thicker when it sets, and
will have a bit more of a cooked milk taste. Holding
the milk at 195F for ten minutes is certainly optional.
It helps produce a thicker and slightly milder yogurt.
The process at 195F denatures whey proteins,
allowing them to contribute to the solidi cation of
the yogurt. And with the extra protein the yogurt sets
a little earlier in the culturing process, so that the
avor can be mild, or the yogurt can culture longer if
more tartness is desired. Hope this answers your
question and best of luck with your yogurt making.

Brett Bauer February 1, 2017 at 9:38 pm - Reply

Any thoughts on how to incorporate Lactobacillus reuteri

into a yogurt?

Diane February 8, 2017 at 3:43 pm - Reply

Brett, This is a very good question. We are not

certain where you can purchase a starter to
introduce Lactobacillus reuteri into homemade
yogurt. We have read that when this bacteria is
introduced it will likely result in a more sour yogurt
and can produce a more slimy consistency.
Stoney eld Farms, one company which produces a
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variety of yogurts, used to include Lactobacillus

reuteri in their yogurt products but we read that they
eliminated this particular bacteria due to customer
dissatisfaction with the sour taste. We have not
found another source for you but if we nd any
further information we will follow up with you.

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