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 I use yogurt thermophilic culture to make a sour cream? (replacing milk with heavy cream)? This is basically what I do now with regular thremophilic culture, using it for yogurt and for sour cream. Another question, should I heat the cream and milk up before when using the heirloom cultures? And, what is the difference between the cultures, the mesophilic and thremophilic in term of health benefits?

— Lena

Sure can! It will have the yogurt’s flavor profile, though. 

When using mesophilic cultures, heating and cooling the dairy isn’t necessary but can be done (which will result in a thicker finished product).

The last question’s answer depends on the yogurt in question. Each of our cultures has its own unique microbial profile, but aside from amasi (which at its most potent can contain up to 13 different strains), yogurts all cap out at around 5 different strains, making them all roughly equivalent. We generally recommend people select yogurts based on preferred preparation style, flavor/tartness preferences, and preferred texture. Although nearly everyone (not people with histamine intolerance and a few other conditions) can benefit from probiotics, we leave the conversations over which ones are best for each individual’s situation between our community members and their physicians.

Hi! I have been making yogurt for a few years and have only used store yogurt as a starter. Lately its very runny and I am not sure what has happened. I wouldn’t mind trying one of your starters, but not sure which one to try. We prefer thick and creamy as I usually strain to get it thicker. happy to hear recommendations as to which to try. I usually heat in a pot to 180, then whisk some into the culture at 110 then pour back into the pot., then wrap pot in towel overnight. thank you so much for your guidance!

— Tracy

It’s winter, which can make a culture fussy. Drop that incubation temp down to 100F and it should smooth out. 110 is the highest a yogurt can go, but I find that when one maxes out that temp range for a long time, the culture will eventually weaken. 

Our Greek style yogurts are all very thick, and without straining, so that’s where I’d start.

I've long wished I could make a rye bread that tastes like what Jewish bakeries from New York to Chicago used to sell and maybe still do. (West Coast ryes don't measure up.) Years ago I read that in the early 20th century they maintained their cultures by fermenting rye crusts in a barrel of water, which was a mess they had to hide from health inspectors. I don't know what they did in later years. I'm going to experiment with your Russian and German sourdough rye cultures. Any suggestions?

— Jeremy

If you want the crumb dark without adding molasses (the standard way of ensuring dark rye these days), I would use dark rye flour (wild rye, also). It’s also still common practice in many northern European countries to ferment the rye berries themselves to make bread, and that does produce a very dark loaf. It takes I think 2 weeks to do the full fermentation period that way. Also, don’t forget your caraway seed. That offers a lot of the characteristic profile we’re accustomed to in traditional ryes. What I think I also might consider doing, in your place, is setting aside about 50g of your fully activated starter and mixing the flour and water in to feed it such that it’s thick like dough. You can let that ferment for 3-5 days, which will produce a much richer flavor as well.

Then:

The rye bread I'm thinking of was light, not dark.  Caraway, yes!  And I like the 3-5 days idea. Thanks for the tips!

Ah, light! Much easier, then, because it’ll be light colored on its own. Most bakeries really do add some molasses, even without a desire for dark loaves. I honestly don’t see the point in this, since rye has a molasses-y flavor all on its own, but it’s definitely a thing. Yep, caraway is what produces that characteristic, “I’m eating rye bread!” flavor! I usually see about 1 tablespoon of seeds per loaf in recipes, but I personally tend to use a fair bit more than that. I’ll measure next time I do a rye, but I believe I use 2-2.5 tablespoons of seeds per loaf.

Yes, for sure. The 3-5 days will give you full fermentation (3 days), possibly to the beginnings of enzymatic breakdown (full 5 days), and this will give you a wonderfully sour and full-bodied rye!

Then, for those interested in the crusts method:

I found something about the soaked rye crusts. At this site, scroll down to step #46. I don't know if want to bake a bread with that many steps...but what else do I have to do with my time?

It makes for a fun project, for sure! I don’t think I have time for something like that, either, but it’s now on my “someday” list!