Yes, Pomona’s Pectin can be used to help thicken homemade yogurt!
Notes
We are not yogurt makers and cannot give you advice on making the yogurt – that being said... if you are a yogurt maker and trying to thicken your homemade yogurt, consider giving this method a try.
Instructions
- How to Thicken Homemade Yogurt with Pomona's Pectin:
- Using the calcium powder that comes with Pomona's Pectin is not necessary if the milk has calcium in it naturally or is calcium fortified. If your milk does not have calcium, we recommend adding 1 teaspoon of calcium water per cup of milk. Add the calcium water to the milk before you heat it. Stir well. Make the calcium water according to the directions that come with Pomona's Pectin (front side of recipe sheet, lower left corner).
- When you have heated the milk to its hottest point, take a cup of the hot milk and put it in a cup for an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender.
- Add the appropriate amount of pectin. We recommend using 1 teaspoon of pectin per 1 quart of lowfat or full fat animal milk. For non-fat animal milk, or non-animal milk, you may need up to 2 teaspoons of pectin per quart. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Run the machine for a good solid minute. Lift the lid and look for undissolved clumps of pectin stuck to the sides. Push any clumps onto the milk and run the machine until there are no undissolved clumps of pectin and the milk is perfectly smooth.
- Add the pectinized milk to the rest of the milk and stir to get the pectin well distributed throughout all the milk.
- Proceed with your yogurt recipe.
Anne
Thank you for you helpful information on how to make non-dairy yogurt that is calcium fortified. I’m wondering might it be possible to use the calcium water alone without using the pectin, as I have another way to thicken the yogurt?
Shelby Collings
We suppose you could.
Cheryl White
Hi, I’ve made goat milk kefir and I am wondering how to add the Pectin to the fresh kefir.
Thank you,
Shelby Collings
Hello Cheryl,
Our guidance for Kefir can be found, HERE. Happy Kefir-ing 😉
Cheryl White
Thank you Shelby.
Geneva Thatcher
I was wondering if Pamona’s will help thicken up Rhubarb Cobbler? I avoid starch thickeners.
Thank you.
Shelby Collings
You can certainly give it a try! We would suggest making a liquid pectin with it and folding it into your rhubarb/sugar/etc. before placing the cobbler on top.
You will probably use 3/4 cup boiling water with 1.5 to 2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin for around 4 cups of fruit/rhubarb.
Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Pour into food processor/blender. Add proper amount of Pomona’s Pectin, to make liquid pectin. Make sure to VENT LID. Blend 1-2 minuted until all the powder is dissolved. (if mixture is too thick add a small amount of additional water, juice or some of your fruit to loosen up and assist with removing from blender)
Pour liquid pectin over fruit, gently fold in.
Vanessa W
Hello! I used your pectin and calcium water to make vegan almond yogurt, using “Joi” brand almond base and their recipe. Unfortunately, I still have pectin left and have run out of calcium water- their recipe calls for equal parts. Do you sell the calcium water separately? Many thanks!
Shelby Collings
Hello Vanessa,
We would love to send you some additional calcium powder! Simply email us your mailing information at info@pomonapectin.com 😊
Marcia
Can you use it to thicken yogurt that for some reason hasn’t firmed up properly (ie after the yogurt has already been made)? My yogurt usually sets, but on occasion it’s a bit runny. Would be very useful to use Pomona’s for those times.
Shelby Collings
Thanks for your questions Marcia!
We suppose you could try making a liquid pectin and mixing it into the unsolidified yogurt. You can find our guidelines for making a liquid pectin, below.
You will be making liquid pectin using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender in order to add more pectin. Because your mixture is already too sweet to allow the pectin to dissolve, you must use boiling water or boiling unsweetened fruit juice.
Use Table 3 below to determine the amount of water or unsweetened fruit juice you will use to blend the pectin into. See examples below the table.
TABLE 3
Pectin to Add Amount of boiling liquid
Up to 3 teaspoons ½ cup liquid
4 to 4 ¾ teaspoons ¾ cup liquid
5 to 6 teaspoons 1 cup liquid
7 teaspoons 1 ¼ cups liquid
8 teaspoons 1 1/3 cups liquid
Example 1: If you started with 4 cups of mashed peaches and your jam is not jelled at all, you need to add 3 teaspoons of pectin. This requires ½ cup boiling water or unsweetened fruit juice to make liquid pectin.
Example 2: If you started with 8 cups of apple juice and had some jell in your jelly and determined you wanted to add 4 more teaspoons of pectin to get the jell you want, you would use ¾ cup boiling water or unsweetened fruit juice to make liquid pectin.
Make liquid pectin by measuring the correct amount of water or unsweetened fruit juice into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Put boiling liquid in cup for immersion blender, or in food processor, or in blender. Add pectin. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Blend for 10 seconds, then stop and scrape down the sides so all pectin clumps are in or on the liquid. Blend for a full minute until all powder is totally dissolved.
Danielle Pearch
I am attempting to make almond milk yogurt using Pomona’s pectin. What I am not clear about as far as using the pectin is where the calcium water comes into play. If Im using a tsp of pectin, how much of the calcium do I use? One recipe that I have (from Cultures For Health) says to use 1 tsp of pectin and calcium water but I don’t understand those directions. Any help you can give would be so wonderful!
Shelby Collings
Hello Danielle,
Thanks so much for reaching out! Hope this helps to clarify for you…
Before You Begin, prepare calcium water.
To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Using the calcium powder that comes with Pomona’s Pectin is not necessary if the milk has calcium in it naturally or is calcium fortified.
If your milk does not have calcium, we recommend adding 1 teaspoon of calcium water per cup of milk. Add the calcium water to the milk before you heat it. Stir well. Make the calcium water according to the directions that come with Pomona’s Pectin (front side of recipe sheet, lower left corner).
Sandra
When I followed the instructions of blending the pectin with 1 cup of the milk (almond milk) and then adding it to the rest of the milk. It doesn’t mix well and I was left with a chunky/watery yogurt. Is there a problem if I blend ALL the quart of almond milk with the pectin and calcium water?
Shelby Collings
Hello Sandra,
Thanks so much for reaching out! Did you heat the milk to its hottest point, then take a cup of the hot milk and put it in a cup for an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender and mix with the pectin until the pectin was dissolved?
Naomi
Hi there!
I’m abo it to make my yoghurt. I have a liter of soy milk (that’s about 4 cups of 250ml). How much pectine do I use? Will one teaspoon be enough?
Larry
Hooray and Hallelujah, my first attempt at homemade yogurt and I had great success. I added
1 teaspoon of your pectin to the hot milk as instructed and it thickened beautifully. Thanks for the instructions. Larry
Shelby Collings
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing with us Larry.
sara
Do you know if this will work with raw milk, only heating it to 110 degrees? Thanks!
Mary Lou Sumberg
Dear Sara,
It should be fine to dissolve the Pomona’s Pectin in 110 degree milk.
Bets
This is good to know. I’ve not made any homemade yogurt yet – simply because I’m trying to find Raw Cow or Goat Milk local – at least somewhere close to South Arkansas. But I have downloaded several recipes to make it and they all state that homemade can be runny.
thank you.
JJ
Bets, my home-made has mostly not been particularly runny as long as I heat to 190, then cool to 110. this cooks some of the protein and lets it thicken decently (it is also dependent on fat content and the type of culture you use! some are thicker than others)…but if you’re doing raw milk and want to keep it more raw in the yogurt state, you’d only be heating it to 110 degrees. That will come out more runny (kefir-esque in texture) though again it depends on the culture. don’t be afraid to let it set longer to thicken a bit more….. that said, if you can just add pomona’s to it and it is enough thickness – YAY!