Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I have started trying to make my own yogurt. My soy yogurt comes out perfect, but I've not had luck with other milks. I tried rice milk, which just didn't do anything. I tried almond milk today, with some additional raw almonds blended into it. It got a little thicker, and very tangy, but it's more like kefir than yogurt. Is there just not enough protein to thicken? Or am I doing something wrong? Any tips?

What method are you using? I have never made yogurt, but I am interested in perfect soy yogurt!

For the soy yogurt, I heat unsweetened soy milk to 110 degrees. I whisk in some yogurt with active cultures, and then I pour that in a thermos. Leave it alone for 6-8 hours. That's it.

Sometimes I blend some nuts into the soy milk using my vitamix to make the yogurt richer, but it works fine without. This makes a relatively thin yogurt, but you could strain it after to make more of a greek style if you wanted to.

I've only been able to do soy and coconut milk yogurt.

I'd be interested to see if anyone has been able to do the other milks, how they are doing it.

I can't make rice milk yoghurt, either. I think it's because rice milk has less protein, which thicken the yoghurt by curdling in the presence of acid. Thickeners like agar and tapioca can be used, but I haven't tried them with rice milk.

I make the cashew/soy yoghurt from Artisan Vegan Cheeses, I believe you can use pretty much any milk. I've found it pretty reliable. I soak the cashews in milk overnight, blend, heat to 40c with the extra milk, mix in some live yoghurt from the last batch and put it in the oven at 40c for about 8 hours. I have some in at the moment. I get a thinnish but set yoghurt (if that makes any sense!). Straining would thicken...

i have basically given up on yogurt.

i tried the peanut yogurt made with chili pepper tops, which was posted here, and it certainly did firm up a bit (kind of like agar jello) but there was no tang or anything that tasted like yogurt whatsoever.

my brother in law makes his own yogurt with these clumps of kefir or starter (or god only knows. his final product is very yogurty though). He gave me some of the clumps, i rinsed them well and tried with soy, got nothing. Here there is no commercialized soy yogurt so I can't keep trying. I'm not thrilled with the idea of using cow yogurt to start my vegan yogurt-- so that's pretty much it. I have seen packets of lactobacillus but they're super spendy. Maybe next year.

I used the cashew/soy method from artisan vegan cheese, only with almond milk, and it just didn't set up.

All is not lost though. I used it in place of buttermilk to make corn bread, and it worked perfectly. So at least I don't have to throw it away, there is just a lot more baking in my future.

Oh dear, sorry. I thought I had read people had found it worked with various milks. Are you completely sure it didn't get too warm at any point, I've found that temperature is really crucial. Mine didn't set when my oven was slightly too hot.

I'm sure it didn't get too warm. I use a candy thermometer to heat it, and then I put it in a thermos, which should retain the heat but not add anymore. And it definitely cultured. It's very tangy. It just isn't firm. I wonder if things like brand of milk makes a difference. I may just stick with soy since that has worked for me consistently.

I figured rather than taking over the plain yogurt thread, I'd post my troubles here.

I tried making soy yogurt yesterday and well...

It didn't seem to really be more than liquid until about 8 or 9 hours in. I stopped it a little over 9 hours.

I have things that look like yogurt in my fridge but there is really no yogurt taste. A couple of my jars have a slightly bitter taste but mostly, I think I somehow made soft tofu instead. It is pretty flavorless.

I used Earth Balance plain soy milk with a little sugar added in. I used Whole Soy plain yogurt as the starter. I checked the jars a couple times throughout the day and they were at about 105F the entire time.

Where did I go wrong?

Sounds like your starter was old or did not have active cultures. Also, if you move it around a lot, the bacteria (I've heard) don't multiply as well.

The soy yogurt I make doesn't get very thick.

That is odd, mine got thick but it just tasted like nothing. I was going to try again tonight with homemade soy milk but if it was the starter then I'm in trouble.

linanil, try leaving it in the fridge for a few days. mine didn't sour much immediately after it had thickened, but the next day in the fridge it tasted tangier.

ok will do!