# Yogurt separated??



## Island Creek Farm

Tried to make yogurt yesterday, using the "turned off oven" recipe (it was about 100 degrees in there), but the yogurt separated like cheese, with a hard mat of "curd" and lots of watery "whey". I used Voikos greek yogurt as a starter, at about 1T/qt, heated milk first to 165, then down to 110 before adding it. Wrapped jars in tea towels, put in oven overnight.

The "curd" is quite solid...tried mixing it together (since I've bought yogurt that separates), but it won't mix, just got chunky....Pav? You there? Tell me what went wrong!

Also, I've never had Greek yogurt before...I got unflavored...it tastes a LOT like sour cream, is it supposed to? LOL
(bought freshest one they had)


----------



## linuxboy

Your milk had all the lovely adsorbed whey proteins that denatured, which makes for a thick set, and you used culture that contributes to a thick set, and a temperature that was likely higher than optimal. So the milk coagulated very thick, and then kept being cooked to produce acid, which encourages whey syneresis. It's normal to have some whey separation. Yours just had all the perfect factors to get a really, really thick set.

If you want it to come together, put it in a blender 

Might get small bits if you do that without an emulsifier, but it will combine everything. And if all else fails, drain the whey and use it as a spreadable cheese.


----------



## Island Creek Farm

What can I do to correct it? Greek yogurt is hard to find here, the stuff I got was scoopable, like full fat sour cream is. Should I order some starter from NEC?

IS Greek yogurt supposed to taste like sour cream?


----------



## linuxboy

Greek yogurt is drained in a muslin bag or solids are added into it to prevent whey separation. What you had was a very natural and ordinary outcome. I always have some whey separate in my yogurt unless I use a thickener.

Most greek yogurt is made from a nonfat or lowfat milk. If you're using full fat, you will get a creamier more spreadable yogurt. The taste also depends on the fat. It shouldn't be exactly like sour cream, it should be a little more tangy.

What are you trying to make, what type of yogurt?


----------

