SOY MILK, TOFU & YOGURT

SOY MILK, TOFU & YOGURT Product Alternatives: Soy Milk & Soy Cow Soy milk is a healthful, satisfying beverage for health-conscious and/or lactose- intolerant people. It has a smooth, creamy texture and a mild sweetness. Soy beverages are growing increasingly popular - in fact, they're the fastest-growing soy food category. Soy milk is a great way to incorporate soy into your everyday diet. Soy milk is made by grinding dehulled soybeans, mixing with water and cooking. Finally, the liquid is filtered and sweetened. Soy milk is a smart choice for anyone seeking to limit their cholesterol, fat, or sodium intake, and for those who want to reduce or eliminate lactose from their diets. · Soy milk is a good source of protein, thiamine, iron, phosphorous, copper, potassium and magnesium. It contains little sodium. Some brands are fortified with important vitamins and minerals such as calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B-12. · Soy milk also is low in saturated fat and is cholesterol-free. Buying and Storing Soy Milk · Soy milk in liquid, ready-to-drink form is available in most mainstream grocery stores. Aseptically packaged soy milk usually is stocked near the evaporated milk, UHT dairy milk or other packaged beverages. This variety needs no refrigeration until opened. Once opened, it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about five days. · Conventionally packaged soy milk also may be found in the refrigerated section near the cow's milk in plastic one-quart and half-gallon containers. The variety also is available in most health food stores. · Soy milk also is sold as a powder to be mixed with water. Soy milk powder should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. · Soy milk may be found in a variety of flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and carob. Preserving or Storing Soymilk There are 2 common practices used to preserve the quality of soymilk. One method, to preserve soymilk is to pasteurize it, that is, it is heated to a temperature sufficient to destroy pathogens and also kill most of the spoilage organisms. The milk is packaged and kept under refrigerated conditions the way you would keep pasteurized cow's milk. It will last for about 10 days. In another process, soymilk is processed at ultra high temperature (UHT), about 300° F for a second and the soymilk is then packaged aseptically. If this is done properly, the soymilk will be shelf stable, not require refrigeration. This process is commonly done to soymilk in the Orient. The soymilk is packed in "brick" 200 to 250 ml container similar to the individual juice packages that are sold in supermarkets in the U.S. To use you puncture the small foil hole with a straw. How to Make Soymilk at Home? Ingredients 1/2 cup whole soybeans or 1/2 cup cotyledons (see the recipe for dehulled soybeans) 1/4 teaspoon and later one pinch 1 tablespoon sugar One pinch salt Flavors as desired Method 1. Clean whole soybeans or cotyledons by removing dirt and damaged soybeans. 2. Drop soybeans directly into three cups boiling water containing 1/4 teaspoon. baking soda and blanch for five minutes. 3. Drain and rinse with hot water. 4. Drop the soybeans directly into three cups boiling water containing one pinch baking soda and blanch for five minutes. 5. Drain and rinse with hot water. 6. Grind the blanched cotyledons or whole beans with three cups hot water (almost boiling) for three minutes using blender setting at high speed. 7. Cool till warm to touch and filter through cheese cloth by squeezing. 8. Simmer soymilk on a stove for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add salt, sugar and flavors as desired. Refrigerate. Serve hot or cold. Notes 1. Makes approximately three cups of soymilk. 2. Flavors may be added according to preference. 3. The recipe may be doubled or more. 4. The residue from milk is called okara. Okara can be used for baking products and pasta. Okara should be put in a refrigerator for use in a few days or in a freezer for future use. Soy Cow What is a "SoyCow"? A "SoyCow" is a processing system that can grind and cook whole soybeans into soymilk, from which beverages, soya "cheese" (tofu), yogurt and other soy foods can be made. The SoyCow can process 4 pounds of raw soybeans into 4 gallons of nutritious soymilk in about 20 minutes. This soymilk can then be further processed into value-added products such as tofu and yogurt as well as local food blends. A by-product of this process, the fiber-rich pulp commonly called "okara", can be used in breads, spreads and many other foods. Why is the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health involved? SoyCow units provide an excellent way to introduce soy into foods that are already popular in foreign countries as well as providing alternatives to more expensive or unavailable dairy foods. Furthermore, these small processing units provide the business model to prove soy processing can be scaled-up to successful large-scale businesses in the community or region. These units are also well received because they can accomplish the dual goal of providing protein-rich soy foods while creating business opportunities to boost the economic growth in developing countries. WISHH is leveraging soybean checkoff funds by cooperating with humanitarian organizations that can buy these units for use in their development programs around the world. "All the studies show us that these soy milk programs should be run as a business," says Judy Bryson of Africare's Food for Development Unit. "You can feed people, and at the same time, increase people's incomes." How do "SoyCows" work? The primary components of these systems are a grinder-cooker, steam boiler, and manual press. Whole soaked soybeans are dumped in the grinder-cooker along with water. The mixture is ground and cooked by using steam provided by the boiler. The cooked soy is then transferred to the manual press, in which a filter bag has been placed. The soy liquid or "milk" passes through the filter bag, while the undisolved fiber, the "okara" stays in the bag. The systems can operate with an electric boiler or a gas boiler running on propane or other liquid gas. Where are they used? Soycows are particularly well suited for developing countries with low labor costs. The operation of one unit can create employment for between 3-6 unskilled people while providing critical nutrition to hundreds. There are an estimated 3,000 systems in the world today, and about half of those are in Russia where the American Soybean Association worked to introduce them. WISHH is working with the non-profit organization Malnutrition Matters, whose founders helped develop the SoyCow, to help introduce the technology to Private Voluntary Organizations, like Africare, who are buying them for use in their programs. They are also helping develop commercial "soy dairy" industries in these countries. How do these units complement the dairy industry? SoyCows can provide protein rich-nutrition for people in developing countries where lactose-intolerance is common or where traditional dairy products are unavailable or expensive. Furthermore, processing temperatures used in SoyCows effectively sterilize the soyfoods, while providing safe drinking water, which is always a concern in developing countries. Furthermore, traditional dairies are finding a demand for these soy products that can be marketed alongside milk products. "The equipment is very elegant and workable," stated Assistant Country Director of CARE India V.S. Gurumani. "We met an old man and his son, and they told us that the machine was able to help them make a living after meeting all the financing costs."

http://www.wishh.org/whysoy/soymilk.html

How to Make Tofu by m ss ng p eces

Turning the humble dried soybean into silky fresh tofu, episode 80 is a lesson on how to make tofu at home.; cooking; Cool Hunting Video; food; how to; Tofu; Turning the humble dried soybean into silky fresh tofu, episode 80 is a lesson on how to make tofu at home. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1079049529http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=37009902

150g Dried Soy Beans :

2g Calcium Sulfate (aka Gypsum, used for wine/beer making) water

Soak beans in water overnight.

Place the beans in a blender, adding water until they're covered (about 1" above the bean level). Blend for two minutes until it's a smooth liquid.

Using a sack made from two pieces of cotton cloth, squeeze out the soy juice.

Bring the juice to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Reduce flame to low and simmer for two to four minutes or so.

While the mixture continues to boil, prepare a small dish and dissolve Calcium Sulfate into two to three tablespoons of water.

Using a food thermometer, bring the temperature of the boiling mixture to 176�F.

Pour all of the mixture into a dish with the Calcium Sulfate while mixing briskly for three seconds and stop. Wait 10 minutes for the tofu to set. Serve hot right away, chill or squeeze more water with a cotton cloth while it's still hot for harder tofu.

http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/07/how_to_make_tof.php

Soy

How Tofu is made Go behind the scenes and find out how tofu is made from start to finish. Not a tofu fan yet... you will be after this.

Tofu is made from high-quality protein, abundantly found in soybeans. It is extracted using the traditional technique, and then hardened (coagulated). Tofu is a healthy highly nutritious food that can be used in all types of dishes.

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Soaking Soybeans

Soak soybeans in water to absorb plenty of liquid in order to make the extraction of protein from soybeans easier. This process is called "soaking." Soybeans are soaked in a tank filled with clean water, usually for 10 to 13 hours.

The soybeans which have absorbed plenty of water, weigh two to three times their original weight. Expanded and softened soybeans are easier to process.

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Grinding Soybeans

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Heating the Mashed Soybeans

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Extraction of Soybean Milk

The heated mashed soybeans are sifted through a fine net to remove solid matter, which consist mainly of fiber (bean-curd refuse called Okara) to extract the soybean milk. Though the density of soybean milk varies depending on the type of Tofu to be made, it is approximately 10 to 12 percent.

Soybean milk is delicious to drink as it is, and is high in nutrition. The
quality of the Tofu depends on the way this soybean milk turns out.

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Coagulation Process

Calcium salt and other substances are mixed quickly into the soybean milk to allow it to coagulate into curd form. This occurs because ions such as calcium work to combine soybean protein with one another, and as a result the soybean milk coagulates into curd form.

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Tofu Curd Forming and Cutting Tofu

The Tofu coagulated into curd is broken up and poured into a cloth-lined box. Excessive water is eliminated by pressing. Momen Tofu (regular Tofu) is thus made. Kinugoshi Tofu (soft Tofu) is made by coagulating slightly thicker soy milk without pressing down.

When pressing down, the pressure should be increased gradually so that the quality of the Tofu becomes consistent.

After pressing is finished, a large sheet of Tofu is automatically cut up into merchandise size and is packaged in containers.

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Packing Tofu

Tofu cut into small sizes and packaged in a container filled with clean water is sealed thermally with film that has the product name, size, nutrition information, etc. printed on it. Each product is imprinted with an expiration date.

The sealed containers are completely air tight. The film used for sealing is printed with dark ink that prevents the adverse effects of light.

Thanks to House Foods for the above information

http://www.vegtv.com/Soy/soy_05.htm

Make Soy Yogurt
6 cups of fresh organic soy milk made using the SoyQuick Soymilk Maker
1 sachet of Yogurt L+ vital-Ferment culture
1 tablespoon Pomona's Universal Pectin powder(This is available in most health food stores, many supermarkets, and you can order it online)
PLUS 1 Tbs. of calcium water (the calcium powder and instructions for making this are in the pamona's package) (This is to set the pectin-- this type of pectin sets with calcium rather than sugar, as is the case with ordinary fruit pectin.) NOTE: IF YOU ARE USING CALCIUM-FORTIFIED SOYMILK, you don't need to use the calcium water.
IF YOU ARE USING THE YOGURT ONLY TO MAKE YOGURT SHAKES AND SMOOTHIES, OR FOR MAKING SOY YOGURT CHEESE, ELIMINATE THE PECTIN.
(STABILIZERS FOR SOY YOGURT:Why do we need one? Because of a different type of protein than dairy milk, soy yogurt just does not set as firmly as dairy yogurt.)

TO MAKE FRUIT-FLAVORED YOGURT, I simply add my favorite low-sugar jam to the yogurt just before eating.

EQUIPMENT:
Sterilize all containers, lids and everything that comes into contact with the soymilk and yogurt by scalding with boiling water. This protects the yogurt from stray bacteria.

Have ready your yogurt-incubating paraphernalia. You will need an inexpensive glass candy thermometer, which you can buy wherever kitchen utensils are sold. (You can also use a dairy thermometer, but they are more expensive.)

When you use soymilk to make yogurt, you need to add some type of sugar and some salt because the starter needs some sugar to feed on, and soy does not contain the natural sodium that dairy does. As soon as you strain your soymilk, add your sweetener and salt (Bryanna uses 1 ½ Tbsp organic sugar or maple syrup and 3/8 tsp of salt), and add the kosher gelatin at the same time while the milk is still very hot. Whisk it until dissolved.

Add half of the soymilk (3 cups) to a scalded stainless steel pot, or a Pyrex bowl or measuring vessel that can go in the microwave, with plenty of headroom so that it won't boil over. Beat in the Pomona's powder with a hand immersion blender (OR, you can mix the milk and Pomona's in a blender and then pour into your cooking vessel). Heat to boiling and simmer 1 minute, or microwave for 1 minute. Now add the remaining soymilk. If your milk is cold, the lower temperature will bring down the temperature of the heated milk-- if you're lucky, to the right temperature! If it doesn't, cool it in the refrigerator to about 115 degrees F. Use an inexpensive candy thermometer to determine the temperature.

Once the temperature is about 115 degrees F, whisk in the calcium water (DO NOT ADD THIS IF THE SOYMILK IS CALCIUM-FORTIFIED) and 1 sachet Yogurt L+ Vital-Ferment. Whisk well (or use a scalded hand immersion blender) to distribute the soy yogurt throughout (if you do not mix it well, you may have a grainy yogurt). Pour the inoculated soymilk into your scalded jars or container, cover and incubate for 10-12 hours (see below for four ways to incubate). Soy yogurt tends to be mild, so it needs longer to develop the characteristic tartness that we are used to.

During fermentation, avoid disturbing the equipment. If a yogurt maker without an electrical branch connection is used, regular temperature control will be necessary.

After fermentation, set the yogurt in the refrigerator for 12 hours to ripen and allow the full development of the yogurt flavor.

Yogurt Mild can be stored in the refrigerator for approximately 1 week; the lactic acid produced by the lactic acid bacteria has a preserving effect.

NOTE: IF THE YOGURT SEEMS TO HAVE SEPARATED AFTER INCUBATING, WHISK IT UNTIL CREAMY BEFORE PLACING IN THE REFRIGERATOR-- IT WILL SET UP JUST FINE AFTER THOROUGH CHILLING. Use a tiny little whisk in the small jars.

To start the next batch, keep back 1/4 cup of your homemade yogurt. Let it come to room temperature before using as a starter. You can do this about 12-14 times before it weakens and you need to use dried starter again.

Want to know more? Check out this site: http://www.soymilkquick.com/soyyogurt.ht...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070308080808AAmcaXV

Yogurt Recipe

One of the first things people ask me when I tell them I make my own dairy products is do I make yogurt. Actually yogurt was the first thing I learned how to make. Many years ago I purchased an electric yogurt maker and proceeded to make the delightful dairy product using powdered milk. But now that I have plenty of goat milk I've experimented with making yogurt as simply as possible without the use of special equipment. Yogurt is the Turkish word for milk that has been curdled with a lactic starter. Many countries have a long tradition of cooking with and eating some form of lactic cultured milk. Yogurt is easily digested and it keeps better than milk, which is why it's popular in tropical climes. Yogurt is formed by the growth of two bacterial organisms in milk; Streptococcus thermophilus* (a warmth loving bacteria) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (a strain of bacteria from Bulgaria, where we all know they make great yogurt) which turn the milk sugars into lactic acid. Lactic acid is much easier for your body to digest than milk sugars, so even people who can't drink milk (lactose intolerant) can still "handle" yogurt. Oft times you will also find yogurt that contains other "Probiotic" cultures such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium infantis which are bacterium normally found in your intestines. Together these bacteria aid in digestion and the synthesis of vitamins. If you are taking antibiotics, which tend to kill your "intestinal flora" as well as whatever is making you ill, you should eat plenty of yogurt to help replace the "good guys" in your digestive system. *note: When dealing with bacteria, keep in mind that some good bacteria may have names that sound like bad bacteria. Streptococcus, for instance, can be a beneficial bacterium, although most people think of strep throat when they hear the word. Streptococcus refers only to the shape of the bacterium, and has nothing to do with its ability to promote health or cause disease. (Strept means 'twisted" and coccus means "round.") Streptococcus thermophilus has been safely used for centuries to make cultured dairy products such as yogurt, and cheeses such as Mozzarella. Yogurt can be made with any type of milk; goat, cow, sheep, 2%, 1%, skim, you can even make it out off 100% powdered milk or even soymilk if you want. Once that you've made your yogurt, what are you going to do with it? I suppose most people just think of it as something that you eat mixed with fruit, but that is only one of the many of ways you can enjoy it. I use yogurt as a substitute for sour cream. To do this, I thicken the yogurt by letting it drain in a coffee filter for a few hours. You can put the yogurt in a fine cheesecloth and hang it for a day and this will make a thicker yogurt "cheese". This cheese can be used to make dips or even cheesecake. I find that you can use yogurt that has been stirred to make it liquidy in place of buttermilk. To yogurt I'll add some garlic, onion powder salt and various herbs and spices and viola... creamy salad dressing. And of course, you can use yogurt to make frozen yogurt. I've even been known to make myself a Kefir-like drink by combining half-and-half yogurt and milk with a little honey and maybe a touch of vanilla. Yogurt There are many different ways of making yogurt. Here are a few variations: Easy "Traditional" Yogurt: This is one of the simplest. You can "double" this recipe. You can use a microwave*, but there is no reason you can't do it on top of the stove. Just be careful not to scorch the milk. 1) Start with 3 1/2 C. of milk in a microwave safe bowl, a 4 C. Pyrex measuring cup is perfect for this. *Note: I have had a couple people comment that they do not approve of using the microwave for food preparation, especially with milk. If you don't like using the microwave, you can heat the milk on the stove. 2) Add some powdered milk* : Stir in 1/2-1 C. powdered milk (cow, goat or soy) if you're using goat milk or soymilk (*please see the note below about making soy milk yogurt), and 1/4-1/2 C. if you're using cow milk. Why do you add powdered milk? Do you have to add it? Adding powdered milk will help make the yogurt thick, like the way it is from the store. In Europe, yogurt tends to be "runny", but in the USA we seem to prefer it thicker, so do add the powdered milk it you want it not to be runny. I do not add any powdered milk; I have found that the "ABY-2C" yogurt culture from Dairy Connection produced a thick enough curd for my liking. *Note: Another person did not approve of adding powdered milk because it supplied oxidized cholesterol. If you are worried about this and don't want to add powdered milk, then don't add it, but you will probably want to purchase a culture that produces a thicker curd as opposed to just using purchased yogurt (such as Dannon) to make your yogurt. 3) Heat the milk: Place the milk in the microwave (or on the stove) and bring it to a boil. In my microwave this takes about 8-10 minutes depending on if it's right out of the goat or out of the fridge. Stir the milk occasionally and keep an eye on it, but just before it begins to boil, do not stir it, or it will boil over (as I well know). Remove the milk carefully from the microwave. Let it cool some before you place a thermometer in it, or it will still boil over (as, again, I well know). Heating the milk is done for a few reasons: 1. To sterilize/pasteurize the milk so that the yogurt bacteria/culture as a hospitable place to grow in. It is not desirable to also incubate possible "bad" or contaminating bacteria that might be present in the unsterilized milk. 2. Boiling the milk helps to a smooth thick yogurt. 3. Boiling the milk also helps stop the whey from separating out quite as much. (The "water" you sometimes find on the top of your yogurt is whey.) 4) Let the milk cool to about 118° - 115°. 5) Add the culture.: Place a couple of heaping Tbs. of plain "live culture" yogurt from the grocery store (i.e., Dannon, or read the carton's label to see if it's "live culture") other starter culture, in a quart mason jar and stir it until it is smooth. Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour a little of the warm milk into the jar, screw the lid on tight and shake well. Now add the rest of the warm milk, replace the lid and shake well. OR I use a DVI yogurt culture with Acidophilus (ABY-2C) that I get from the Dairy Connection. When I use this, I use 1/16 tsp. per 1/2 gallon of milk (2 quarts). Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour the warm milk into the jar, added the DVI culture and shake well. 6) Now it is time to incubate. This is not as complicated as it sounds, and can be done many ways. The key is to hold the milk at 110°-115° undisturbed for 6-8 hours (depending on the culture used). See below for various incubation methods. If your yogurt isn't thick enough in 10 hours, it isn't going to get any thicker; it's just going to get sourer. If it didn't get thick at all something happened to the starter, either it wasn't live to begin with, or somehow it got killed. Don't be discouraged- try again another day. Even if your yogurt didn't "yo" (or "gurt") you can still use the milk in cooking. Various methods of incubation: 1) Use a commercial yogurt maker. 2) I have heard some put the yogurt in their oven with the light on (the light helps keep the correct temp). I cannot have the light on in my oven without keeping the door open (which lets the heat out), so this method does not work for me. 2) Cooler/water method: Use a small cooler with the lid removed, a larger cooler that will hold a quart jar, or a large pot (6 qt.). Place the cooler or pot in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Now fill the cooler with water that is 120°. Place a couple of fluffy towels over the cooler or pot and leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. To check and see if the yogurt is done, tip the jar slightly and see if the milk flows or stays put. Remember that the yogurt will thicken even more as it cools in the fridge. If you see clear whey when you tilt the jar, the yogurt is as done as it's going to get, but you don't necessarily have to see the whey for the yogurt to be done. (have I confused you yet?) 3) Cooler/heating pad method (I figured this out one day and it works really well): Use a larger cooler. Place the cooler in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Place a heating pad over the jar (loosely). Set the pad on high (my pad needs to be set on high, yours may differ) and place the lid on the cooler. Leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. Please note, that since all heating pads are different, yours may not be best set on high. The first time you use this method, put a thermometer in the cooler to see what the pad is heating the inside of the cooler up to. You want it to be at least 110 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. You may need to turn your pad to medium. 4) Food dehydrator. THis is the method I use. I have a large Excalibur Food Dehydrator and is the "Cadillac" of food dehydrators. It is very large and is perfect for incubating yogurt. I can easily incubate 3-4 2 quart jars at one time in my dehydrator. Soy milk yogurt: I make soymilk yogurt all the time during the 4-5 months my goats have off from milking each year. I make my own soymilk, which entails cooling the soymilk, so I do not bother with the heating of the milk stage in the recipe above. If I were to make soymilk yogurt from store bought milk, I would probably skip the heating of the milk stage as well, since I make my yogurt using my raw milk method (below). Soymilk does not contain lactose and without lactose, or some type of carbohydrate sugar to ferment, the yogurt culture will not grow. If you make your own soymilk , you will need to to add some sugar, glucose or sucrose to your soymilk. Do not use honey, because honey will impede the yogurt bacteria. If you are using store-bought milk, it may already have enough sugar/sweetening in it. If you are making soymilk yogurt you may also have to add some other sort of thickening agent. You may not want to use gelatin, because that is made from animals. I use agar powder. You need to dissolve the agar in some water and then bring it to a boil before you use it. For 2 quarts of yogurt (3 1/2 cups of milk), I use 1 tsp. agar in 1/2 cup water. I bring to a boil in the microwave. Keep a close eye on it because it WILL boil over quite quickly and make a big mess. Please note soy milk yogurt is not exactly like animal milk yogurt. Even Easier "Raw Milk" Yogurt: Yes, you can make yogurt from raw milk. I know this works because this is how I always make my own yogurt. I wouldn't use store bought milk for this method; you must use fresh, clean milk that you have just milked out of your own healthy goat or cow following very good sanitary procedure. When making raw milk yogurt you must be absolutely sure the milk was handled in a extremely sanitary manner and is from healthy animals because you are not going to be pasteurizing the milk, which means if any diseases or harmful bacteria gets in the milk, you will be giving it an excellent breeding ground BUT, remember the good bacteria in the raw milk will fight off some of the bad bacteria. You may want to read the article I have written on raw milk. See the "Traditional" recipe above. 1. Start will clean fresh raw milk. 2. Add powdered milk if desired (I don't because I use a culture specially formulated to produce a nice thick curd). 3. Warm to milk 115 degrees by whichever method you choose to heat your milk. (I don't even bother warming the milk because my incubator, my Excalibur Food Dehydrator, will bring the milk up to temperature). 4. Pour the warm milk into your incubating jars, add a couple of heaping Tbs. of plain "live culture" yogurt or DVI culture (I always use "ABY-2C" yogurt culture DVI from the Dairy Connection. I use 1/16 tsp. per 2 quarts of milk) screw the lid on tight and shake well. 5. Incubate as described above. I used to always use the cooler/heating pad method until I got my Excalibur Dehydrator. Yogurt Making Questions & Answers: Q: I've always wanted to make raw milk yogurt, and I finally tried after reading your web site. I used fresh goats milk from a nearby farm. I use a thermos method; and have made yogurt dozens of times, so I have the method down pat. I heated the milk to 120F and then added a commercial culture just to be certain. My question is....how do I know if it's safe to eat? It came out very runny compared to my usual yogurt. It tastes all right (I've tried a spoonful), but the consistency worries me. Is raw milk yogurt naturally "runnier"? A: Yes, raw milk yogurt is runnier. If you read my main yogurt recipe above you will see I say you need to boil the milk help make it thick. Whether it is "safe" or not depends on your sanitary practices and that of your milk supplier. I personally only make raw milk yogurt from milk I milked myself. You will need to use a culture formulated to produce a thicker curd such as "ABY-2C" from the Dairy Connection (this is what I always use) and/or add powdered milk to get it to be thicker. (increasing the incubating time will not make it thicker.) Q: Can I make my own yogurt with fat free lactose free milk? A: Without lactose or some type of carbohydrate sugar to ferment, the culture will not grow. You can try to add some sugar, glucose or sucrose at a rate of about 2-3% by weight. Do not use honey, because honey will impede the yogurt bacteria and fermentation. Q: I like flavored yogurt. When do I add fruit or sweetener to my yogurt? A: The addition of fruit in "store bought" yogurt is done two ways. One way, add fruit to the yogurt cup prior to fermenting and put the milk and culture on top and ferment. This is called "Sundae or FOB" (Fruit-On-Bottom). The second way is to ferment first and then add the fruit after it is thick. This is called "Swiss or Stirred" style. For home use, the fruit is usually almost always added (stirred into) to the yogurt after fermenting. Sweeteners can be added prior to fermenting. Depending on the sweetener it may or may not affect the texture. Maple syrup and honey can sometimes cause the yogurt to have a very "ropey" texture. http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/yogurt.htm