Instruction manual
Page 35
Set up the Proofer. While the milk is cooling, set up the Proofer and
adjust the temperature to 120F/49C. Make sure to use the rack, but the
water tray is not required. Place glass jars in the Proofer to warm. Put the
lid on the Proofer and allow it to come to temperature.
Step Three: Inoculate with a Live Culture. To inoculate the milk, add
the yogurt with live cultures to a small bowl. When the milk drops below
115F/46C, add one cup of the milk to the yogurt to thin it, and stir so that
it is dispersed evenly and has no lumps. Then add the liqueed culture
back into the larger container of milk and stir gently to combine. Pour the
milk into your culturing jars, cover the jars and set in the Proofer.
Tip: Arrange the jars so that they are not directly over the centered
aluminum tray to allow proper heat circulation and ensure the most
accurate culturing temperature.
Step Four: Culture at 120F/49C for an Hour, then Lower the Heat to
86F/30C. Set a kitchen timer for one hour, then turn the heat down to
86F/30C. It’s important not to let the yogurt remain at 120F/49C for more
than an hour in order to avoid the whey separation and lumpy texture that
can come from culturing at too high a temperature.
Step Five: Set Aside Yogurt to Make Your Next Batch. After about
three hours (one hour at 120F/49C plus two at 86F/30C), remove enough
yogurt to serve as the starting culture for your next batch of yogurt.
Store it in the refrigerator and consider labeling it “contains lactose”. It is
important to remove some yogurt early so that your culture will still have
enough food (lactose) to last until it is time to make your next batch. The
starter will be good for 7-10 days.
Tip: It is convenient to include one small container among your larger
culturing jars, so that it can be easily removed early to serve as the seed
culture for your next batch of yogurt.
Step Six: Culture for a Total of 19 Hours. In order to allow the yogurt
cultures to consume all of the lactose in the milk, culture for a total of at
least 19 hours (one hour at 120F/49C and 18 hours at 86F/30C). This
is the point at which our tests showed that acidity stopped increasing,
indicating that all of the available lactose had been consumed by the
culture. When the culturing is complete, chill the yogurt thoroughly in the
refrigerator.