# Slimy Goat Yogurt Whey?



## madrona (Apr 16, 2012)

I made some goat milk yogurt yesterday. It was the second time making it and it came out the same as the first time, which is that it had slimy whey when I strained it to make it thicker. The yogurt itself is also...hard to describe - gelatinous? stringy? It doesn't glop solidly like store bought yogurt does. 

I used different starters both times. 

Good thing is that the yogurt still tastes great.

Has this happened to anyone else? My next step I think would be to try making it in an electric yogurt maker (instead of the insulated thermos style) and using a commercial starter, as opposed to using a bit of store bought to start. 

Thanks for any advice!


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## paintpony (Jan 5, 2013)

I've had that happen also. Don't know why. Use it in smoothies. The last batch of yogurt I made, I used a small amount of rennet. It did separate the curds and whey, so I poured off the whey. We like our yogurt thick anyways.


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## madrona (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks *paintpony*. Glad I'm not the only one this has happened to! Again, the taste isn't bad, just the texture is weird. 
So when you used the rennet, was it still like thick yogurt after you poured off the whey? And did you use a starter also?


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## paintpony (Jan 5, 2013)

I'd say it was a bit thicker than yogurt. Next time I'll use less rennet, it was close to the thickness of cherve. Yes, I used starter. 

I warmed my milk to about 110, added leftover yogurt from previous batch, stirred, then added one drop of rennet, stirred, then put it in my yogotherm and left it over night. In the morning, the curd had come together and sunk below the whey. So, I poured off the whey, stirred the curd. Next time, I think I'll put one drop of rennet into 1/4 cup of cool water and only use a tablespoon of the diluted rennet. 

I'm glad I could be helpful!


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## siberiafarm (Feb 14, 2011)

I have a question for you. Are you heating up your milk to at least 180 and then cooling it back down to 110-115 before adding either your starter yogurt or culture? If you are not then, your problem is probably due to naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts in the milk and the environment. If they outnumber and are of stronger strains than the culture you are adding they will compete for the lactose in the milk and the resulting product will reflect the characteristics of those bacteria and yeasts, not the ones you added, giving you unpredictable results. Heating up the milk first is an important step in making yogurt, in fact if you don't, then you are making something closer to clabbered milk which sometimes can taste similar, it is just not the same. Hope that helps. 
Our farm makes between 60-90 gallons of yogurt a week, as we learned different processes to make that quantity our pigs were well fed. I wish you the best of luck.


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## madrona (Apr 16, 2012)

I wanted to update. I did get an electric yogurt maker - the yogourmet and bulgarian starter powder. I've done it twice now and has turned out super thin unless I let it set in the yogurt maker for at least 12 hours. After straining it's great though. Absolutely, positively NO hint of the "sliminess" that I described before - either in the yogurt or the whey. Who knows!


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