Mesophilic: How to fix thin yogurt? — Positively Probiotic (2024)

FAQs

Mesophilic: How to fix thin yogurt? — Positively Probiotic? ›

Mesophilic Yogurt

Simply add the culture to cold milk and set it out on the counter where it is a consistent 70 to 77 degrees until it thickens. It does take a bit more care and time than thermophilic yogurt. Usually between 12 and 18 hours, but can take up to 24 hours.

Mesophilic Yogurt

Simply add the culture to cold milk and set it out on the counter where it is a consistent 70 to 77 degrees until it thickens. It does take a bit more care and time than thermophilic yogurt. Usually between 12 and 18 hours, but can take up to 24 hours.

Increase the fat content by adding a bit of 1/2 & 1/2 or heavy cream to the milk. Use whole fat milk. Heat the milk to 180 degrees and keep that temperature longer that the specified 30 minutes. The longer you hold the milk the firmer the resulting yogurt.

The temperature is too low. If the temp is below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the cultures will not ferment properly and the milk will stay runny. The temperature is too high. If the temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the yogurt will ferment too fast and will also render the yogurt runny.

Slimy yogurt can't really be fixed. You could try straining it, but the sliminess probably will still remain. If you wish, you could try adding some milk powder to thicken it, to try and lessen the sliminess. The other alternative is to add water to it, and beat it to get buttermilk.

Even the experts on Reddit agree with me that straining is the best option when it comes to thickening yogurt. If you have dry milk powder on hand, you can also stir some of that in which also adds protein.

This fluid is whey, which you should not be concerned about—simply stir it back into the yogurt. However, if you see a change in the yogurt texture, such as an unusually large amount of liquid or liquid that's still visible after stirring, you should throw it out.

"Pure yogurt is quite soft and watery. This recipe adds gelatine and cornstarch like most store-bought brands. The result is a velvety smooth, thick creamy yogurt."

The Takeaway. If your yogurt doesn't set up properly the first time, try treating the failed “yogurt” like milk, and starting over. (Reheat it, add new starter, and incubate again.) The texture may suffer some, but it can save you having to throw the whole thing away.

What happens if you incubate yogurt too long? ›

Incubated at 115°F/46°C, yogurt will coagulate within about three hours, but if left too long it can easily curdle. I prefer to ferment it a bit more slowly at a slightly lower temperature, four to eight hours at a more forgiving 110°F/43°C.

Fermentation time: The longer you ferment the more tart, and thicker, your yogurt will be. Different cultures work at different rates, but as a general guideline: 6-8 hours produces a mild yogurt, 8-12 hours a tart yogurt, and more than 12 hours produces a sour yogurt.

The texture, appearance, mouth feel, consistency, and viscosity of yogurt can be improved by adding stabilizers (such as gelatin and pectin) to the milk base.

If too much starter culture is used, the bacteria will be crowded and run out of food (lactose) before the yogurt is set. Too much starter can produce a sour taste, rather than the desired tart taste.

If the yogurt is too runny or takes longer to set, starter culture was either not enough or milk was not hot enough when culture was added. Yogurt will turn out sour if it is kept to set longer than 8 hours (or overnight) or milk is very hot to begin with or the starter yogurt was more in quantity than needed.

You can thicken the recipe by adding cornstarch (or flour) before adding yogurt. You can mix cornstarch with yogurt before adding it to the recipe. Dissolve 10 ml (2 tsp.) of cornstarch in 75 ml (1/3 cup) of water and bring it to a boil in the microwave or while stirring on the stovetop.

Greek-style yogurt is typically thicker than regular yogurt. To get that texture, liquid (the whey) is removed by straining it out using a fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth. The less liquid there is, the thicker the yogurt becomes.

Fermentation time: The longer you ferment the more tart, and thicker, your yogurt will be. Different cultures work at different rates, but as a general guideline: 6-8 hours produces a mild yogurt, 8-12 hours a tart yogurt, and more than 12 hours produces a sour yogurt.