# Yogurt Questions



## Faithful Crown Nubians (Dec 5, 2007)

1.) If a cooler won't keep the water/yogurt around 115* (from what I read so far) for the 8 hours or so that it takes what else can be used beside that?
2.) I read that if it's too hot it'll kill off the culture and to cool it won't grow very well...what temps aren't too cool nor too hot?


Thanks!!


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

put it on a heating pad or pour some hotwater into your cooler. 
now I just set my jars on a bread board with the heating pad set on low underneath the board and cover the whole thing with heavy towels and forget it.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I use a very cheap cooler filled with 115 degree water to the necks of the jars and it's fine. The water is cooler than 115 by the time I'm done, but it's not been a problem. Or you could use one of those 5-day coolers that is extra insulated, but you'd still need to use the water. Too hot is a bigger problem. I wouldn't want my yogurt to get over about 125 or so. (I know it can get a little hotter than that, but I'd rather have slow yogurt than dead yogurt!)


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## homeacremom (Nov 6, 2007)

What bacteria are in your culture? Straight ST (stretococcus thermo...) will stay active up to 120* or so, but many of the others in yogurt cultures grow best between 98*-106*.

I don't like mine to exceed 115* and prefer the results of 100*-110* cooled to approx. 90* in 8 hrs.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I'll have to check what my cultures are specifically...I know that there's more than one kind in what I'm using. I know that my water usually starts around 115 (but not over and sometimes closer to 110, plus I figure it cools off some as I'm pouring it into the cooler), but my cooler is so cheap that it cools off pretty quickly. By 8 hours it's definitely lukewarm, probably not much different from yours, Judith.

As for the temps I gave above, I was going by the Fankhauser cheese page stuff: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/yogurt_making/YOGURT2000.htm ...he goes with higher incubation temps than what I currently use (though I started off with that when I first learned to make yogurt). From the page above: "Check to see that the water in the cooler is close to 50 C (122 F). Above 55 C (130 F) kills the bacterial inoculum.)" Anyhow, those temps worked when I was using storebought yogurt for my culture, but I like my current culture better (from Dairy Connection...whatever the "sweeter, milder" one is.)


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

We consume a LOT of yogurt here. I put mine in a cooler at 110, plus I put in a hot water bottle or two with the water temp in those around 120, maybe a hair over. It cools to about 90-ish by morning. I'll often reheat the hot water bottles to over 130 then, put them back in the cooler. It heats up the yogurt to about 100-105 max, I'll leave that for another 6-8 hrs and get thicker and/or more flavorful yogurt. 

Other times, or for larger quantiies, I'll heat the milk in a stainles steel bowl inside a LARGE pot with water up to the rim of the milk bowl. Once its up to temp, I'll cover it with a few layers of towels and leave it.

My culture has 5-6 different bacteria in it, if I'm lazy and make a cooler batch I get more tart and thinner yogurt. If I'm monitoring it better and making it warmer, the yogurt will be thicker and sweeter. If it accidentally gets too hot, it seems to start separating out whey rapidly.


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