This post is all about how to make thick yogurt.
One of my favorite parts of milking our own goats is making our own yogurt. I LOVE putting it in our morning smoothies, it is SO delicious. Below I have included the recipe I use to make yogurt, plus how to make thick yogurt.
Yogurt Recipe (How to Make Yogurt)
- 1 Gallon of milk (cows, goat, whatever you have)
- 1 cup of yogurt start (a yogurt start is any live culture yogurt you want. I like to use White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt for my starter, but as long as it is a live culture starter you can use it.)
Directions
Heat your milk to 180F. Stir occasionally to keep your milk from scalding. DON”T SKIMP. Heat the milk all the way to 180F, not 160F, not 175F TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO 180F. Check your milks temperature frequently with a candy thermometer, I use one like this. (Heating the milk to 180F changes the structure of the milks proteins in such a way that it really benefits the colonizing yogurt cultures.)
Cool your milk to 118-110F, though I like to keep it closer to 118F. You can speed this process by setting your pot of milk in a sink of cold water. (We cool the milk so we don’t kill the yogurt cultures when we add our starter.)
Add your yogurt starter and incorporate thoroughly.
Pour into containers (I use Mason jars.)
Put your jars of yogurt in a really warm place (110-118F.) I put my jars in a cooler, with a towel over them and a heat pad on medium on top of that, then I close the lid of the cooler. Try to keep your jars consistently between 110-118F (Lower than 110 the cultures don’t breed fast enough, higher than 118 they die.)
Allow to set overnight or 8-12 hours. The longer your incubation the stronger the flavor of your yogurt will be.
Place in fridge and allow to cool.
Tips to Making THICK Yogurt
Tip #1 HEAT THE MILK TO 180! Not 175, not 170, but 180! Don’t try to rush this part. This is important.
Tip #2 Keep your yogurt in between 110-118F while incubating. Some cultures can handle being incubated at a lower temp, but if you keep getting thin yogurt, analyze your incubation temp.
Tip #3 Try straining your yogurt. If you keep getting less than thick yogurt, try straining it. Take a few layers of good butter muslin and let some of the whey drain out. Some yogurt is made to be strained! There is yogurt at the store that is a strained Greek yogurt!
Tip #4 If you are having trouble getting thick yogurt, it could be your start. Different yogurt starts are better than others and some make thicker yogurt than others.
Tip #5 If all else fails, try adding more cream to your milk. I have had success getting firm yogurt using the steps above even with not very creamy milk, but if you are doing the previous four tips and STILL having problems, try adding cream to your milk.
My yogurt is thin! Can I fix it?
YES! You can! Try taking several layers of butter muslin and straining your yogurt. I would use several layers for because otherwise it may all just flow right through the cloth!
Can I use my own yogurt as a starter?
ABSOLUTLEY! Some people say that you can only use fresh homemade yogurt as a starter culture (AKA less than 10 days old) but I have never had problems using older homemade yogurt as a culture.
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