Can I make yogurt from soured raw milk?

[Mary 5]

I saw a recent post on uses for sour milk but I didn't see where anyone said you could us it to make yogurt.  I have some raw milk that is just turning.  Does anyone know if I can use it to make yogurt?  I know I can use it for cooking (custard) or baking but I wasn't sure about yogurt.  Ideally, I'd love to turn it into yogurt and then turn the yogurt into cream cheese.

Thanks for any advice!
Melissa

[boysmama]

You probably couldn't get a good yogurt from this milk. Here's why. The acidity is increasing so if you heat the milk it may separate into curds and whey before you can even culture it. If it doesn't do that the bacteria that are causing the souring would probably overwhelm the yogurt culturing bacteria. This milk has already developed too much acidity to become a mild tasting yogurt or cream cheese.

You could continue to let this sour until it is formed a solid mass of curd, cut into tiny pieces and then heat slowly until the curds and whey separate. That's small curd cottage cheese. Or simply heat the milk to almost boiling. If it doesn't separate on it's own add vinegar or lemon juice a tsp at a time until it separates. Let it set for about an hour and then strain. The resulting cheese will be something like ricotta/panir/lactic acid cheese. You can use this for a sort of cream cheese substitute although it is more sour/tangy than cream cheese.

[Kati*did]

Wow, Boysmama -- that was a great explanation!  Thanks so much.  That explains something I was trying to figure out.  I actually just made yogurt from milk that must have just been on the souring verge, but I didn't realize it.  It didn't separate while being heated, but it kind of separated into a...??..."grainyness", for lack of a better description -- while it was culturing overnight.  It tastes kind of funny (not bad, but not like yogurt), but I'm eating it anyway since I hate to waste my real milk.

[WellTellMommy]

You could continue to let this sour until it is formed a solid mass of curd, cut into tiny pieces and then heat slowly until the curds and whey separate. That's small curd cottage cheese. Or simply heat the milk to almost boiling. If it doesn't separate on it's own add vinegar or lemon juice a tsp at a time until it separates. Let it set for about an hour and then strain. The resulting cheese will be something like ricotta/panir/lactic acid cheese. You can use this for a sort of cream cheese substitute although it is more sour/tangy than cream cheese.

Can this work for pasturized milk as well, do I just let it spoil of its own or do I need to sour it myself?
My Organic milk is just starting to go and it's too $$ to waste.

[boysmama]

Sherri, I do not know if it will work with your past. milk. Sorry... I would definitely go with the ricotta/vinegar cheese method. The heat and the added vinegar would get rid of "bad" guys and it would probably be safe to eat. You'll have to be the judge of how sour the milk is and if it is spoiled or not.
Most of the time it seems that by the time past. milk curdles it is spoiled and stinks which is nothing like a raw milk souring that is just...sour.