29/09/2026
🥛 How to preserve homemade yoghurt
1. Heat the milk properly
Heat your milk to about 82–85°C and hold it there for around 5–10 minutes.
This helps reduce unwanted microorganisms and also improves yoghurt texture.
Cool the milk to about 42–45°C before adding your starter.
2. Use clean, sanitized equipment Everything that touches the yoghurt—pots, spoons, bottles, lids, thermometer and containers—should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Contamination after fermentation is one of the biggest causes of short shelf life.
3. Ferment correctly For your process, you mentioned using 44°C for 10 hours. That's within the general yoghurt-fermentation range, but don't rely on time alone. Ideally, ferment until the yoghurt reaches approximately pH 4.2–4.6, then stop fermentation.
4. Cool it immediately Once fermentation is complete:
Put the yoghurt into the refrigerator promptly.
Bring it down to 4°C or below as quickly as practical.Keep it refrigerated continuously.
5. Use airtight, food-grade containers For your 500 ml Becyogo bottles, fill into properly sanitized bottles and seal immediately. Avoid repeatedly opening the same container.
6. Keep the cold chain Store at ≤4°C. Don't leave yoghurt at room temperature for several hours, especially in Ghana's warm climate.
🍓 If you're adding fruit or syrup
This is very important for your yoghurt parfaits.
Fresh banana, strawberry, watermelon, homemade syrup, etc. can introduce microorganisms and can considerably shorten shelf life.
Use properly prepared/pasteurized fruit preparations.
Keep fruit and yoghurt separated where appropriate.
⏳ How long will homemade yoghurt last?
A properly made and continuously refrigerated plain yoghurt can often remain good for around 1–2 weeks, but the actual safe shelf life depends on your process, starter culture, hygiene, packaging, acidity and refrigeration.
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