Comments on: Beyond Alton Brown

By: peterb

peterb — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:46:06 +0000

One thing you can do is peel the top skin off the yogurt while it cools. But the texture is definitely different; I like it. De gustibus and all that.

By: cache

cache — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:37:26 +0000

I tried this, and instead of my its creamy lusciousness, my yogurt was peppered with what can only be described as papery films. It’s like the proteins all globbed together during the culturing to make hundreds of little skins.

I’m going to hazard a guess that I failed because I used skim milk, which will often react less pleasantly to heating than high-fat milks.

By: Shelby Davis

Shelby Davis — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 01:11:17 +0000

This sounds like a good way to get a yogurt closer to greek-style consistency. And the maillard reactions also sound like a good thing. Yet another reason for me to get a better saucepan.

By: Tom Moertel

Tom Moertel — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 03:22:02 +0000

On boiling the milk in yogurt making, Harold McGee writes, “Traditionally, the milk for yogurt was given a prolonged boiling to concentrate the proteins and give a firmer texture. Today, manufacturers can boost protein content by adding dry milk powder, but they still cook the milk for 30 minutes at 185 degF or at 195 degF for 10 minutes. These treatments improve the consistency of the yogurt by denaturing the whey protein lactoglobulin, whose otherwise unreactive molecules then participate by clustering on the surfaces of the casein particles. With the helpful interference of the lactoglobulins, the casein particles can only bond to each other at a few spots, and so gather not in clusters but in a fine matrix of chains that is much better at retaining liquid in its small interstices.” (McGee, _On Food and Cooking_, 2004)

Your fifteen-minute boil earned you a more concentrated yogurt base and a finer protein matrix. Also, McGee notes that “prolonged boiling encourages browning or Maillard reactions … and generates molecules that combine to give the flavor of butterscotch.” No wonder your yogurt was good.

I’m not sure what Alton gains with his low-temperature method. Maybe he likes his yogurt to taste more like fresh milk.

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 03:05:37 +0000

Cool, I’ve made yogurt several times but I’ve never boiled the milk. I did always leave it “culturing” for much longer than you are supposed to, usually a full 24 hours. Apparently that makes it more sour and such but the sour yogurt flavor is the one I love!