Slimy Yogurt

Hi!

 Thanks so much for the really thorough and great page on making yogurt. Ours came out really great--smooth, thick and not too tart. One problem though is that it is stringy--slimy. When you eat it, it trails a long slimy string from the spoon (similar to Stony Brook Banana Yogurt) .  I wonder if that is caused by:

• too much powdered milk?
• we used fresh goat milk and powdered cow milk--could that be a problem?
• we used a thermos to incubate (really great) but then I put the thermos in the frig when done and I didn't take the lid off. When I opened it in the morning it was still warm--maybe too long unchilled?

Any help you can give would be appreciated. Thanks again--we love the yogurt except for the stringyness.

-- Jan

Hi Jan,

I make yogurt about every 2 weeks and occasionally I get a stringy batch.  I usually attribute it to using an old starter.  The fresher my yogurt start, the smoother my yogurt is.  That doesn't sound like the problem, though.

Just to narrow down on your ideas, the powdered milk shouldn't make that much difference.  I make mine from straight powdered milk.

I've never used goat's milk.  Did you heat the milk to 180-degrees and then let it cool to 110-115-degrees before adding the starter?  That step deactivates enzymes and makes for a smoother

consistency in the yogurt.  All milk should be treated this way--powdered or goats.

Yes, I would definitely transfer the yogurt to another container if it is going to retain heat that long.  You don't want any microbes growing in your yogurt.

The only other thing I think may cause stringiness is not letting the yogurt set up long enough.  I've noticed that when my yogurt is just about thick, it is gooey and runs off the spoon.  If I leave it to incubate overnight, it becomes smooth and plops from the spoon, just the way I like it.

Hope this helps and good luck on your next batch!

Desi @ DVO

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