448435 Sat Oct 06 20:48:35 -0700 2007 11 31 Home Cooking 0 3011496 Just started heating it and it's now seperated. What happened and what can I do? Sat Oct 06 20:48:35 -0700 2007 13834 oaklandfoodie 1 3011646 What kind of milk did you use? I've never seen this happen (though I've had it separate during fermentation). Sat Oct 06 22:43:41 -0700 2007 3011496 41163 renz 2 3012144 I used whole milk - Strauss Family Creamery. Sun Oct 07 08:53:46 -0700 2007 3011646 13834 oaklandfoodie 1 3012251 I have no clue what process you are using to make your yogurt. I've made yogurt many times without heating the milk. All the ingredients are mixed, and THEN the mixture is placed in the oven preheated at a low temperature and then turned off. The mixture develops into yogurt overnight. The oven is used as an incubator. The recipe that I use calls for instant no-fat dried milk and a can of evaporated milk. At the time of this keyboarding I do not know where my recipe is located. Send an email to me if you want me to send the recipe to you, I will look for the recipe. My profile contains an email address. Sun Oct 07 09:51:30 -0700 2007 3011496 11977 ChiliDude 1 3012526 By separation, do you mean you got curds and whey? Was your procedure something like this -- heat milk to almost boiling, let cool to lukewarm, THEN add a little yogurt, and ferment in a warm, not hot, place? Sun Oct 07 12:47:12 -0700 2007 3011496 14803 bakergal 2 3015371 Exactly, to both. I had just begun to heat my whole milk, and was stirring with a whisk. The milk had been on the heat for maybe 6 minutes, the temperature was nowhere near 180 yet. I've made yogurt about 5 times recently, using the same procedure and never had this problem. It was quite strange. Mon Oct 08 13:20:36 -0700 2007 3012526 13834 oaklandfoodie 1 3012818 ChiliDude, the heating process is a means to pasteurize fresh milk (it's a precautionary thing, yes, since most likely the milk has already been pasteurized). I've never seen a recipe using fresh milk that doesn't include this step. As for the original question, it may be that you are using whole milk. Is this your first time? I've never used more than 2% to make yogurt, and I add a little nonfat milk powder if I use 1% or skim. Can you describe the separation that happened? The more info you give, the more likely someone can identify what went wrong. Sun Oct 07 15:16:12 -0700 2007 3011496 41163 renz 1 3013181 What temperature are you heating the milk to? I typically heat the milk (with 1/3 C powdered milk added per quart of milk) to 180-200 degrees and hold it there for 20-30 minutes. The milk then needs to be cooled to ~115 degrees before mixing in the yogurt you're using as your starter. I've made yogurt with whole milk and 2%, so using whole milk shouldn't be the issue. I had separation issues during fermentation back when I used an expensive yogurt maker (which I have since returned to the store), but haven't had any problems since switching to using a cooler and hot water bottles, which maintains proper incubation temperature perfectly... Sun Oct 07 18:36:40 -0700 2007 3011496 111059 emmo42 1 3016392 I've only had that happen when I add a souring agent to HOT milk. Weird. Mon Oct 08 18:38:57 -0700 2007 3011496 122457 willownt 1 3026709 This happens to me when the milk is bad. Was it milk you had sitting around, or did you buy it more recently? Thu Oct 11 16:14:10 -0700 2007 3011496 10797 beany 1 3030967 Here 'tis for those of you who wish to make yogurt the easy way. It requires a starter, then each subsequent batch can be started from 4 Tbs. of the previous batch. Home Made Yogurt – My Way 1 (¼-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin 1 Tablespoon sugar 3 cups instant nonfat dry milk 1 (12-fl.oz.) can evaporated milk 4 heaping Tbs. plain yogurt 1 large heatproof ceramic bowl 1. Soften the gelatin by adding cold water and sugar to make 1 cup. Heat in microwave for 1½ minutes. Let mixture cool a bit. 2. Preheat the oven to 275º. 3. Mix 3 cups of powdered milk with 3 cups water. Add evaporated milk, 1½ more cups of warm water, and gelatin-sugar mixture. 4. Add 4 heaping tablespoons of yogurt and thoroughly stir it in. 5. Cover the bowl, put it in the oven and TURN OFF THE OVEN. Leave the bowl in the oven overnight (8 to 10 hours) Makes 2 quarts. Sat Oct 13 03:32:26 -0700 2007 3011496 11977 ChiliDude 2 3042538 Do you find that subsequent generations of your starter get weaker? In our house, we like our yogurt quite on the tangy side, so I can usually only go 3 or at best 4 generations before I have to start over again. Sometime I freeze stronger yogurt in small batches for future use, but sadly I don't always remember to do this. Wed Oct 17 09:00:23 -0700 2007 3030967 41163 renz