# Yogurt temp?



## red farmer (Feb 5, 2009)

my wife makes yummy yogurt. she heats the milk to 180 Deg. F. cools it down to 110. Deg F. then adds the yogurt culture. and lets it sit in a Pilot lite oven overnite. 
the question is Does she really have to bring to milk up to 180 first time. or can you just use Raw milk?

Does the inital temp rise make a difference?


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

she is pasturizing the milk prior to making the yogurt and NO that is not necessary. I use fresh from the goat warm and put in the culture and set on a heating pad with towels over it. in quart or 1/2 gal jars.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Not necessary to heat it that high...you can still make yogurt without doing that particular step. That said, it IS helpful in that it kills competetive bacteria that already exist in the milk, whether they be generally good bacteria which we would ordinarily appreciate or bad ones that we would not want there anyway. From what I understand, if you want to continue to re-culture your yogurt (using yogurt from your last batch to make the next one) you usually have better luck continuing that over a longer period of time if you heat the milk to 180 because there is no other bacteria competing with your yogurt making bacteria.


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