Ask Allie!
Ask Allie is our advice column, where you can ask all your food-related questions to get digestible answers! No question is off limits!
To have your question answered in Ask Allie posts, please use the form on our website. If you prefer to be anonymous, just say so in the form and we’ll leave your name out when we answer it in the blog! Note that some submissions may be edited for clarity.
Can first/second/third batch of yoghurt be consumed?
It was mentioned for culture (viili, Caspian sea, long skyr, etc), you need to make sure you do not jostle or bother the yogurt at all while it’s culturing. How do we know when the texture changes if we are not able to bother it?
— Wong
This is a time thing, for the mesophils. And yes, you can eat the activation batches (if they aren’t set correctly, I use them in mashed potatoes; we also have a lot of recipes in our blog under the “yogurt recipes” label that you can search for). In general, you want to let it go 12 hours without bothering it. You can BARELY tip the jar at that point to see if it looks set (you’ll see a more jelly-like movement than liquid tipping), or you can look in the jar directly (gently remove lid or soft covering) to see if it looks set. I know these are terrible instructions because it IS a lot of guessing to determine if the yogurt is set or not before you put it in the fridge, and I’m sorry for that.
Remember also that the yogurt will thicken up in the fridge, so it doesn’t need to look perfectly set. Just barely set is fine in terms of deciding if it’s done. Child Tester’s favorite yogurts are the ropey ones, and they’re hands down my least favorite to make because there’s so much uncertainty if I’m not making them all the time. Once you get used to the yogurt, you can start to tell when they’re set a bit better without risking agitation. I find that if I don’t make them regularly, I do forget their little quirks and have to learn the yogurt’s personality all over again. If you’re open to a thermophil where you don’t have to think as much about it (but do have to cook it), the Canadian is ropey. At some point we’ll also be releasing what Child Tester calls “birthday yogurt,” and it also ropes while being a thermophil.
What happens if the mesophiiic yoghurt batch tastes bitter?
— Wong (this is a different person from above)
It may be overfermented. I’d use that for mashed potatoes or baking and make a new batch for eating with some of the baking batch. Also, if you heated or cooled the milk (even though you don’t need to) too quickly, it can also produce bitterness. Same with too much culture being added.
Hi! I have experience with milk and water kefir but am new to the sourdough and yogurt world. I just ordered the Russian rye starter culture and Langfil mesophilic yogurt starter culture. Do you have any basic recipients I can follow once my cultures are activated? Also, do you have any general recipe sites you recommend? Thanks!
— Lisa
We have a few rye recipes in our blog (and an informational one). Here’re some links:
Rye: An Origin Story, Rye chips, Rye pancakes, Wild Rye SD loaf (can use any rye flour and any rye starter), and Russian rye SD buns (ditto).
Are you looking for recipes for the yogurt or tips for enjoying it? As for general recipe sites, I don’t really favorites because I mostly engage in “granny-style” cooking and baking. I would say, anything by Peter Reinhart is going to be great, Wild Yeast is a blog I used to follow but am not sure if they’re still going, and then the usual suspects like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Epicurious, etc. are all great places to get started.
