Can I Make Homemade Yogurt Thicker?

[anomaly13]

I made my first batch of yogurt from store bought yogurt and it turned out pretty good. The tast is good but I would like it to be thicker. It's not real runny, I can still eat it with a spoon, but I like it pretty thick like custard. Is there any way to do that? I think I incubated it for about 8 or 9 hours.

[AllieFaye]

I use a yogurt strainer to make yogurt cheese, and to get live-culture whey. It's one of my favorite kitchen items of all time, and completely worth every penny.

[femalephish]

I make my own and it gets pretty thick, but I don't know why. Here's what I do; Before I start I preheat my oven to the lowest setting. (It just says 'warm' on my oven) Once it beeps, I turn it off and just leave the oven light on. I do this because my house is so cold and I thought it would be good to start off with a warm space.
Heat up milk on the stove to about 185degrees. (Stir frequently) Then move it off the burner and let it cool to 110 degrees. While it's cooling down I take my starter yogurt out of the fridge so it gets to room temp. And stir it up so it's all liquidy. Once the milk is 110 degrees I stir in the yogurt then ladle it into some glass mason jars. I put the tops gently on them and then put them in the warm oven for about 5.5 hours. Then I have yogurt!

Sometimes it doesn't look as thick as it will after a few hours in the fridge. I put it right from the oven to the fridge and leave it alone overnight.

Good Luck!

[Adamsmama]

Originally Posted by femalephish

I make my own and it gets pretty thick, but I don't know why. Here's what I do; Before I start I preheat my oven to the lowest setting. (It just says 'warm' on my oven) Once it beeps, I turn it off and just leave the oven light on. I do this because my house is so cold and I thought it would be good to start off with a warm space.
Heat up milk on the stove to about 185degrees. (Stir frequently) Then move it off the burner and let it cool to 110 degrees. While it's cooling down I take my starter yogurt out of the fridge so it gets to room temp. And stir it up so it's all liquidy. Once the milk is 110 degrees I stir in the yogurt then ladle it into some glass mason jars. I put the tops gently on them and then put them in the warm oven for about 5.5 hours. Then I have yogurt!

Sometimes it doesn't look as thick as it will after a few hours in the fridge. I put it right from the oven to the fridge and leave it alone overnight.

Good Luck!

I do something similar but I don't put mine in the oven. The milk is heated in mason jars sitting in a large pot of water ... once the milk gets to 185 I take it out and set on the counter and wait for it to drop to 115-120 then I add 2 T of plain yogurt ... then I put it to my yogurt maker (in the mason jar). Let it sit for 5 hours. Put it in the fridge over night ... the next morning my yogurt is as thick as store bought. Not as thick as greek-style or custard style ... for that I would use some cheesecloth.

[Mpenny1001]

I just line a strainer with a paper coffee filter and let my yogurt drain for a few hours. It gets nice and thick that way and I can use the drained off whey in smoothies or whatever.

[anomaly13]

Those methods sound similar to what I did, I used the oven with the light on and the same temps. I let my incubate longer though, maybe I will do it for a shorter time next time.

After I add the yogurt to the cooled milk should I put the lid on the jar tightly, or shold it just rest on the jar?

The cheese cloth method....Do I just pass the yogurt, after it has incubated, through cheese cloth? What to I do with the liquidy stuff that comes through the cloth? I assume that is yogurt cheese is what you all the stuff left in the cheese cloth.

[Adamsmama]

Originally Posted by anomaly13

Those methods sound similar to what I did, I used the oven with the light on and the same temps. I let my incubate longer though, maybe I will do it for a shorter time next time.

After I add the yogurt to the cooled milk should I put the lid on the jar tightly, or shold it just rest on the jar?

The cheese cloth method....Do I just pass the yogurt, after it has incubated, through cheese cloth? What to I do with the liquidy stuff that comes through the cloth? I assume that is yogurt cheese is what you all the stuff left in the cheese cloth.

Yes ... you can use the whey as a drink, perhaps...

[Redheaded_Momma]

I add organic non-fat dry milk powder to the cooled (110 degrees)milk before I incubate (about 5 hours) in my yogurt maker. I usually add 1/3-1/2 cup for 4cups of milk. It helps a lot!

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Redheaded_Momma

I add organic non-fat dry milk powder to the cooled (110 degrees)milk before I incubate (about 5 hours) in my yogurt maker. I usually add 1/3-1/2 cup for 4cups of milk. It helps a lot!

This is what I do, too.

[LauraLoo]

One thing I just read was to make sure that you are using the right amount of starter -- not too much, or the bacteria can't do the job it needs to. More starter isn't better.