Can this failed yogurt be saved?

Asked by llewis (1457

) August 14th, 2010

A friend gave me a gallon of fresh goat milk. Normally I’ll make yogurt using my oven and a 100W trouble light, but for my diet I have to culture it for 24 hours and I needed my oven, so I experimented and used the toaster oven. It kept the heat steady, but unfortunately was too small and the jar next to the light got WAY too hot (over 125 degrees) I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming. I’m positive the culture died. The milk separated.

Do you think I can strain it and try to re-make the yogurt with fresh culture? I haven’t opened the jar yet, so I don’t know if the milk is spoiled or is just not yogurt. Or should I try cheese (I have either one quart or possibly two quarts that I’ll need to salvage)?

Thanks!

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3 Answers

No, you can’t remake it. The best guide on whether or not it’s simply spoiled is to smell it. If it smells ok but it’s separated, you can either pitch it, or use it in something like bread.

GeorgeGee (4930

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Thanks. I can’t eat it unless it has fermented at least 24 hours, so I guess I’ll have to pitch it. What a waste! Thank you.

llewis (1457

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It happens. I’ve made yogurt for over 20 years, and even when I follow the standard recipe to the letter, once in a while a batch will fail. I don’t feel bad about it anymore knowing that the folks at Stonyfield Farm Yogurt have the same experiences. They hand pick the farms they get milk from, sterilize everything, and examine their yogurt cultures under a microscope, but still, every once in a while they’ll have a batch fail, and they can’t sell it.

GeorgeGee (4930

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