# Goat milk yogurt



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I finally got it right! After many failed attempts that produced "slimey milk"....I did it! Helped that I bought a new digital thermometer so that I wasn't over heating the milk.


I also found a very good way to flavor the plain yogurt!!!!! INSTANT PUDDING!!!

So far I really like the banana the best....but I also have tried: coconut cream, cheesecake flavor and vanilla....the banana is even DH's favorite

A cup of plain yogurt in a bowl and add 1/2 package of instant pudding...thin with more yogurt if it gets too thick.....AWESOME!!!


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Congrats! I still don't really like it unless I put prunes and honey in it. 

Might try your way of flavoring it.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

how do you make it??


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

What I do is I have a culture I use to make the yogurt. 

Put milk in a pot and boil it to pasteurize.
Let cool until 115F and then add culture or other yogurt from another batch. 
Pour into my yogotherm to insulate it and let it sit overnight.
Put it on the fridge in the morning and once cold it's ready to eat. 

Thats to make plain yogurt. For a culture you can also add plain yogurt from the store that has active cultures. 

The yogotherm in an expensive thermos like thing. You can just put in in a glass jar and leave it in a warm pile of just dried laundry for the night.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

OOPS....I didn't pastuerize it......should I have?

Also...I used the recipe from my "Goats Produce Too" cookbook.....ad filled my containers and set them on a rack in a kettle filled with 100* water for 8 hours....I kept it warm by lighting the flame under the pot and stuck a thermometer in it to make sure the water wasn't too hot...stayed warm for the entire 8 hours.


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

No you don't have to, but I do because I'm a bit ocd. And you are incubating what ever bacteria got into the milk. 

There are many ways to keep it warm. Your way works to. I'm just lazy and like the warm laundry technique. :wink: :thumb:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Well...didn't pastuerize and have pretty much eaten the whole gallon myself with no bad things happening, so I'm good with not pasturizing :ROFL:


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Well, I'm resurrecting this old post as I'm on a quest to make yogurt with a nice texture, and have failed so far.

I tried first with cow milk, and it turned out really weird. They whey separated or something. I didn't even feed that batch to the chickens, it was that scary.

First goat milk batch was too thin & runny - like kefir. I didn't do anything special to thicken it, so I knew it would be runny. It got mixed into a pudding pie, and tasted good.

Second batch I added gelatin to thicken - it turned out thicker but it was EXACTLY like white elmers glue! Texture, color, consistency - just like GLUE. It did make delicious frozen yogurt, though.

I decided not to pasturize the current batch (now incubating!), and to warm, freshly strained milk I added a half drop of rennet and the culture, and I have it in the cooler with a heating pad wrapped around it. Don't know what will happen this time. If you never hear from me again, it must have been the unpasteurized yogurt!

I hope it behaves!


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Rennet experiment went BAD. VERY BAD. My yogurt separated into some funky version of yogurt-cheese. Smelled like yogurt, but there was a big ball of cheesey curds in the middle and rather lovely smelling whey all around it. I used Stoneybrook yogurt for culture, which I think has a great aroma.

Since I had to incubate it at warmer temperatures, I didn't want to use it like a cheese. And since it was separated and funky, I didn't want to use it like yogurt. So the chickens will have another feast!

I'm going to drop into the health food store and see what thickener the commercial goat yogurts use. Hrrrrmph.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I was wondering how the rennet added turned out....guess the chickens won't tell :wink: 

I too use the StoneyBrook plain yogurt, turned out very well.

I haven't made any in the last few weeks but the last batch turned out extremely well, I didn't use pint jars to incubate it in, I used a half gallon plastic container set in the bottom of a plastic cooler and added hot water to it about 3/4 the way up the container of yogurt, let it sit covered for 4 hours and it was surprisingly still at 90* I started with the water at 105*.....I added a quart of very hot water to this and brought the temp back up to 100 then left it for another 5 hours...turned out great...even thicker after it was refidgerated.

Heres the recipe I used, from the "Goats Produce Too" cookbook
2 quarts goat milk heated to 115*
2 tsp plain cultured yogurt

Fill jars and place in covered roaster, fill with hot water and let set undisturbed for 6-8 hours


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

If you want kids to eat it I figured a home method for gogurt flavors......koolaid(no sugar if you sweeten your yogurt if not sweeten away)


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

The health food store has goat yogurt and it has tapioca as the thickener. Tapioca starch was cheap enough there, so I bought a bag to try. 

My little heating pad keeps it at just the right temperature during incubation. I put my digital thermometer in there and it really is spot on (Ok, 112 but that's darned close!).

I'm makin' yogurt again tomorrow! But tonight, we're eating pudding. My how we suffer. :dance:


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Tapioca yogurt turned out so-so. Still has a weird texture. Tasted good.


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

I hate to say it, but powdered milk is a big help in the texture area for the yougurt.


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Thanatos said:


> I hate to say it, but powdered milk is a big help in the texture area for the yougurt.


I am going to try that next!


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

I add about 1/3 cup or so to a 1 gal batch


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Thanks - will do.

Though I have to say - I ate some Stoney Brook the other day and it was TOO THICK! :greengrin: See how I am? I had to mix in some goat milk so I could eat it with my Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal!

Maybe I'll just learn to love yogurt soup. :shrug:


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

My wife uses the yougurt to mix in her cereal as well and if you go 1 gal milk, 1/2c starter(plain active yougurt), and about 1/3 powdered milk it should be fine. also I incubate at 109-112 for 9-12 hrs then chill completely before using. We also sweeten and flavor with nilla and sugar to taste.


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Alright, I've got 2 quarts brewing. Goaty darling almost put her hoof in the bucket and the milk needed to be pasteurized - good excuse to make yogurt. :greengrin:

I am starting to really enjoy plain yogurt. Never ate it plain before, for some reason it's _better _when I make it myself.


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Hmmm, that turned out pretty good.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I'll be making another batch in a few days, will need to try adding the powdered milk to it as well.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Resurected again! 


I tried a different recipe from the Cheese Book that I got for my B'day.
And this one uses DILUTED rennet as well as Plain Knox gelatin

1 QT Goat Milk
1/4 cup dry milk(optional) I didn't have it to use, so I didn't
1 Tbs of gelatin, pectin or carrageenan?(optional)
2 TBS plain yogurt with active cultures

Dilute 1 DROP of liquid rennet into 4 TBS cool water and 1 TBS to the milk

Combine the milk, thickener and milk powder if using
Heat to 185* cool to 115* Add starter and mix well
Incubate at no less than 85-90* for 6 hours, refridgerate to thicken.

Now, what I did was "cheat"........I added the diluted rennet and 1 TBS strawberry jello powder to the milk and heated it to 185* in the microwave, of course checking temp after each 45 sec "cook time"
I then set the pitcher on the counter to cool and started a batch of cheese, after an hout the milk was cooled down to add the culture.I have these neat little 2 cup plastic jars with screw lids that I poured the milk into, set in my kettle with 110* water. lid on and covered til I got off work at 2...I set them to incubate at 9 30 pm and at 4 30 am the kettle water was at 80* so I warmed it a bit and left to milk the girls and then on to work, at 2pm it was perfect, the water in the kettle had cooled to around 75* so I stuck the yogurt in the fridge....had some around 5pm and it was even better than the Strawberry store bought! Consistency was similar but the flavor was Mmmmmmmm! Not sour but a tang to it.

If you do use the rennet, be sure to dilute it first otherwise you will end up with cheese curd.


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## Zelda (May 2, 2009)

Wow! That's a complicated recipe. Love the strawberry jello idea!

I have been testing stuff and found my oven, with just the light on, keeps a jar of milk right at 94 degrees.

So I've been straining the milk, throwing in a TBSP of yogurt, and putting the the jars in the oven overnight. With the milk at a good internal temperature, it's making perfect yogurt without adding anything extra. Prolly should be pasturized, but it's getting used up in a day or two (ducks, chickens and turkeys love yogurt, too!). And it's so durned easy to make this way...

WOOT! I finally have it working!!! :stars: 

As a sidenote, I tried keifer from a packet. It came out funky, so I left one jar of it somewhere warm and have been watching it. A few weeks later, it has formed almost a half inch of either whey or alcohol on top. It's really funky. It definitely smells fermented! No way I'm drinking it, but it's interesting to observe. :greengrin:


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## Shantarskiye (Apr 15, 2009)

How do you make your yogurt? We have a yogurt maker that is supposed to do it all for you, but it doesn't work :shrug: 

I would love to know how you get it right!


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