I just purchased your Bulgarian Yogurt culture.
I’ve had good success using store bought yogurt as a starter, heating milk to only 70-80°C and incubating at 43°C for 8-10 hours. A somewhat runny, but very creamy yogurt results. I simply filter it to get the thick Greek-style yogurt I prefer. I like to collect the whey for veggie fermentation projects. So, I think my milk is OK.
You suggest boiling the milk, so I did. You say incubate Bulgarian at a higher temp. I’ve been able to maintain about 45.5°. First time I let it incubate 7 hours and got thick results, but it curdled. No prob, filtered it and turned it into herb cheese spread, which came out nice, with excellent flavor.
This second run I incubated for 3 hours and 45 minutes. Nice and thick again, but I still get curdling, although much finer.
My goal is for a creamy texture, of course. So, questions:
Is this partly a symptom of it being the first few runs?
Will I get better results if I shorten incubation to 3 hours?
Is boiling really necessary?
Thanks for any help & advice!
Hello Jeff
Please find more info about boiling of the milk here:Boiling of the milk
When we have said ‘‘higher temperature’’ we meant 45 degrees Celsius Max and it is higher than 39 degrees Celsius at which the Bifido yoghurt can set. So please keep the range between 40-45 max. More than this would overheat the mix after a few hours so the actual temperature can get even higher and should be avoided.
If the yoghurt has separated into two halves - thick and liquid part. If the answer is yes - this suggests an over incubation and most frequently is due to the temperature or time or both. Please keep the temperature between 40-45 degrees Celsius.
The first batch takes longer - between 10-16 hours (depend on the yoghurt maker) Then when reculture next batch with a few spoons(1-3) of the ready yoghurt and milk usually take between 3-6 hours.
Please keep the temperature between 40-45 degrees Celsius and keep an eye on the mix. Immediately refrigerate after set. The first batch it is more creamy than the consequent ones
Traditionally the Bulgarian Yoghurt is not creamy and it looks like this with slight variation in the colour(depends on the milk used)
The creamy texture can be delivered if you use Pure Acidophilus or Balkan style starter. At least in the first few batches, then would become gradually thicker in the following batches.
Please check our blog here: BLOG NPSelection
The YouTube Videos here could be helpful as well How to Videos