Julie Ott lives in North Berwick, Maine. She raises goats and makes a wide variety of cheeses with the milk. She has already contributed 2 recipes to our blog and we are very grateful: Julie’s Goat Milk Colby/Cheddar and Goat’s Milk Colby. In her recipe below, she uses an automatic yogurt maker which we sell – (E79)
Goat Milk Yogurt
By Julie Ott
While I enjoy a tart goat milk yogurt with raspberries swirled into it, I tend to miss the flavor of the yogurts I grew up eating as a child – sweet, slightly tart, and flavored with vanilla or berries. Since I have a cow’s milk allergy, my only way to have yogurt like that would be to make it myself.
I have experimented with several ways to make thicker yogurt, as goat milk yogurt is very thin. Custard style gets a very thick yogurt, but it has that “cooked milk” flavor (and while amazing in oatmeal, I don’t enjoy it for snacking).
Then there is the other custard style, where you add thickener to a little bit of milk and get it super thick, and then add the rest of the milk.* This is not as thick as the above custard style, but has a fresh and buttery flavor.
For this recipe I will be using a Euro yogurt maker, which makes 7 (6 oz) jars.
You will need:
5 cups of fresh goat milk
1 Tbs tapioca starch
1 Tbs corn starch (If you would like a thicker yogurt, you may double the starches.)
1/3 cup sugar (Optional, but it makes it taste more like store bought. It is not very sweet even with this addition.)
1 Tbs vanilla paste, or pure vanilla extract
1 pack of creamy or sweet yogurt culture from cheesemaking.com
Thermometer
Yogurt maker
Mesh strainer
Let’s Get Started!
Add 1/2 to 1 cup of goat milk to a bowl and stir in the starches until no clumps are left. Pour into a saucepan and whisk on medium-high until it begins to thicken into a “paste.”
Begin adding the rest of the goat milk, a little at a time, and whisk until each small amount is incorporated. If you manage to get clumping, don’t worry! We will be straining the mixture later.
Keep the heat between medium to medium-high, and stir regularly so the milk does not scorch. Bring the milk to 180°F and hold this temperature for 15 minutes. This heating process helps to thicken the yogurt.
After the 15 minutes, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour the milk mixture through the strainer into an easy to pour pan or measuring cup. Place in an ice bath until the temp drops to between 100-120F.
Now it is time to add the vanilla and the packet of culture. The creamy culture tends to be thicker, while the sweet culture tends to be thinner. If you have a culture you prefer that is not these, it should work fine. If you have made a batch previously, add a jar (4 – 6 oz of yogurt) into the mix instead of the culture.
One combined, pour into your yogurt maker and set for 12 hours. 20 hours gets a thicker and nicely tangy yogurt. I would not go under 12 hours, though. I like to put the yogurt into the yogurt maker right before I go to bed, and that way when I am done all of my morning chores, the yogurt should be ready.
Once ready, put the cover on and refrigerate. I always eat a fresh jar of it in the morning when it is still warm.
* Gelatin also makes a nice thick yogurt. Add 1 Tbs of gelatin to 1 cup of cool milk and let sit for 5 minutes. Once your other 4 cups of milk reach 180°F, and it has been held at that temp for 15 minutes, add in the gelatin-milk mixture. Whisk until the gelatin has melted into the milk, add sweetener if using, and cool in an ice bath. Add vanilla and culture, then put in yogurt maker for 12 or so hours.
As always, I will be happy to answer any questions (in the comment section below).
