24-hour homemade yogurt: cheesy smell and whey, is it safe?
I’m on a SIBO diet which allows only yogurt that’s been fermented for 24 hours or more. I read plenty of articles about how to make this (and I’ve made standard 8-10 hour yogurt before). They all say it should smell sweet and fresh. Well mine turned out with quite a strong somewhat cheesy smell and a lot of whey separation.
I used lactose-free milk and powdered cultures (and the cultures were quite old), so I thought one of these two things must have spoiled it. I threw it out and got new cultures as well as standard 3.3% A2 milk. I left it only for 14 hours this time and… same.
Is this how it’s meant to be, or otherwise is it safe to eat? It doesn’t smell rotten and there’s no mold, but quite sour.
I sterilized all pots and utensils in boiling water, I used a thermometer for precise temperature reading and I used a yogurt pot that kept it at 42°C the whole time, so I know that’s not the problem.
Perhaps the amount of bacteria was too much for this long period of time and it ran out of lactose to feed on? I used the appropriate amount that the packaging stated for 8 hour fermentation period.
Here’s a photo of the second attempt at 14 hours (the bubbles on the surface are from the whey liquid on top, and it probably looks more yellowish than it actually is due to the lighting):
Best Answer
Yes, it is safe. This is just the normal smell of yogurt, or rather, its cultures. We are accustomed to consuming yogurt which has been carefully fermented to get the least possible culture smell, but this is a modern invention. Decades ago, yogurt was supposed to be smelly, and some people still prefer it that way.
This is not to say that yogurt cannot get undesirable (I don't know if pathogenic) cultures when overfermented, but this usually happens if you keep it for days outside of the fridge. The bacteria will make a yellowish film, a bit hard to distinguish against the yogurt surface (especially if you have a fat cover on the yogurt), with its own distinctive smell. But I don't think 24 hours in the fridge is enough for that to happen.
You could set a small bowl of yogurt outside of the fridge and observe how it goes bad, just to have seen it once and be able to judge what actual spoiled yogurt looks like. Then you'll know when it is time to toss an actual batch, should it go bad.
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Can you get botulism from homemade yogurt?
If Fermenting Feels Scary To You: You may even worry that you will poison your family! Don't worry. If it is a healthy culture, it will immediately take over the milk and begin to turn the milk sugar to lactic acid. This acid environment is safe and free from things like botulism.Can you get sick from homemade yogurt?
If proper food handling and safety methods are followed, yogurt can be made safely at home without fear of foodborne illness taking over the product. Turning milk into yogurt is an excellent way to extend the shelf life of milk by a week or two and is a safe dairy choice for those of us who are lactose intolerant.Can homemade yogurt be left out overnight?
Keep it refrigerated after you bring it home from the store, and do not leave yogurt at room temperature for longer than two hours or one hour if the temperature is 90 degrees F or above. If left unrefrigerated longer, bacteria can start to grow.What happens if you ferment yogurt too long?
Then transfer cultured milk to preheated jars, seal, and place in the incubation chamber, leaving it to ferment undisturbed. Incubated at 115\xb0F/46\xb0C, yogurt will coagulate within about three hours, but if left too long it can easily curdle.HOW TO MAKE SCD 24 HOUR YOGURT (lactose free yogurt for Crohn's, Colitis, Celiac, digestive health)
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