Does pectin only work if it's boiled?

[Victor Lin]

I want to make some traditional Asian-style yogurt. Unlike Western-style yogurt, Asians drink their yogurt, usually from a straw, so obviously the consistency is a lot thinner compared to Western-style yogurts, but it's not so thin that it's watery, like Yakult. 

 

I've already made many gallons of yogurt using a small cup of store-bought yogurt from the Chinese grocery store, but my home made yogurt lacks consistency. I noticed on the ingredients list of the store-bought yogurt that it contains milk, probiotics, and pectin.

 

So this is where I want some help. Right now I pour cold milk into the starter culture and put the entire thing in a warm water bath for 10+ hours. If I leave it at room temperature it still works, it'll just take much longer. Afterwards I add white sugar to taste.

 

Does pectin only activate its gelling capabilities at boiling temperatures, or will it still provide some gelling at warm temperatures, like 35C? If it only activates at boiling temperatures, I would need to:

 

- boil a small cup of milk

- add pectin to the milk

- pour boiled milk in with the rest of the gallon of cold milk (would pouring pectin-laced milk into that much cold milk cause it to form gelled lumps immediately?)

- make sure milk is warm or cooler (boiling would kill the probiotics)

- add the starter culture

- wait for yogurt

 

Does this sound about right? 

 

Also, how much pectin would I need for a gallon of milk if the purpose is NOT to gel anything? Like a teaspoon for an entire gallon?

Edited June 16, 2017 by Victor Lin (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Only my personal opinion, but pectin belongs in apples.  I don't think pectin belongs in yogurt.

 

[shain]

Powdered pectin should be boiled for about one minute if I remember correctly.

 

However, for a slightly thick drinking yoghurt you shouldn't really need it. 

1. Make sure that you use a good whole milk (about 3% fat and at least 3% protein) - a leaner milk will result in a watered down yogurt.

2. Make sure that you let it ferment long enough.

3. Heating the milk to about 60 deg C for about 10 minutes will also thicken it. It is also a good thing  to do, since it will pasteurize the milk and the pot.

4. Use a different brand of yoghurt as starte, different brands uses different cultures. Choose when which you find tasty and thick but does not contain pectin - the fact that it contains pectin means it is not naturally thick.

[paulraphael]

High-methoxyl pectin (the more common, elastic type) hydrates at 85°C.

Low-methoxyl pectin (the brittle type) hydrates at 40–85°C, depending on acidity, sugar level, and the methoxyl level.

 

As others have said, yogurt probably isn't the best place for this. Natural acidity does a good job thickening yogurt. If you wanted to alter the texture in other ways, carrageenans would probably make the most sense. 

[Victor Lin]

Thanks. I've been having trouble getting perfect consistency in my yogurt drinks. It's 95% smooth and homogeneous, but sometimes there are small clumps in the yogurt. I wonder if this is because I just let it sit during fermentation? Do industrial yogurt makers constantly swirl the mixture around during the 12 hours it's fermenting and then maybe pass it under pressure through a sieve or something to make sure the mixture is 100% smooth?