What am I doing wrong (yogurt making)

[jenniepaige]

I have been using this recipe and it keeps coming out to thin.
I have made yogurt before and that wasn't an issue with it being as thin as this. I was thinking it was because I was using the powdered starter that I had which was a bit old-almost to the exp. date. Do you think that could be it? I love the technique-much easier then what I was doing before. It also says to stir it before refrigerating it which I never did before. I think it helps to make it less sour which I don't really care for (it being sour) but then it's to thin and kind of lumpy. Taste great though. I have been splitting it in two containers, one just plain and the other I flavor with pure vanilla and maple syrup after the incubation period and they both end up with the same consistency after refrigeration. HELP!

[Llyra]

I don't know. I never disturb mine at all by stirring until after it's cold. I find that stirring it before then makes it runny. But I've never tried it just exactly that way.

I do know that a weak starter can cause thin yogurt, so the starter might not have been viable anymore. I also know that you'll get thicker (and sweeter!) yogurt if your milk is whole milk, rather than skimmed, and that it'll also be thicker (and sweeter) if you add a bit of cream to the milk. That's what we do.

A longer incubation will also get you a thicker yogurt. Ours goes 24 hours.

[Dandelionkid]

Whole milk and not stirring until refrigerated works for us! And then only stir gently. We do a 24 hr yogurt too. Heat milk in big pot, cool down, add starter,put in oven with oven light on and leave for 24 hrs. Transfer whole pot to fridge. Done

[MovingMomma]

A long incubation and no disturbance through a minimum of 12 hrs of refrigeration are the keys to a thick yogurt, though as the other replies state, more fat in the milk helps too.

I think a mild taste and a thick consistency may be hard to achieve w/out adding thickeners, since tartness and consistency both increase w/longer incubations.

Are you using the same method for incubation as you did before?

[Adamsmama]

I posted my yogurt recipe in my blog. I don't touch it -- I just put milk in a glass mason canning jar in the hot water until the temp is reached. When the temp falls back down I just stir in the yogurt (a couple Tbs of plain) and then put it in my yogurt maker for appr. 6 hours. I always get a nice thick yogurt (very similar to store bough consistancy).

[jenniepaige]

Thanks everyone. I'm not sure why that recipe says to stir it as I never did before. Other recipe's also say anywhere from 4.5 (if you using a commercial starter) to 24 hrs for incubation. Have any of you tried adding dry milk to it? I got some organic kind and I was thinking it would be ok to get it thick without to much tart taste. Not sure how much to add.
Oh and the first time I used plain whole milk and the last time it was actually raw milk which I will be using in the future.
I also heard it has to stay between 110-115 the whole incubation period. Seems like that would be a lot of work to be checking it all the time.
Next time I am going to put them in Mason jars with water and try just keeping an eye on it. I have been using a heating pad which seemed to keep it warm but I have no idea what then temp was and I can't check it without disturbing it.
I feel like I have to get this right! It's really bugging me.