Hey, if you want to make a cheese, and let it sit curing for 6 months (which is quite normal, really!) then you have something to look forward to!

I think you might enjoy this page
http://waltonfeed.com/old/lifes-rec/jj-cheese.html

OK, my yogurt is very thin and runny. I used the Carb countdown 2 percent milk, I heated it to about 160-165 I let it cool to 100 degrees and mixed in my starter which was greek yogurt 0 fat from TJ's. I mixed the starter with about 3 oz. of the milk to make sure it was all mixed then mixed it in the entire batch.

I used my salton yogurt maker which was heated up and let it sit undisturbed for 6 hours. I like it less tart. I then put it in the refrigerator.

Theinstructions said to use some powdered milk too. What should I try next time? The powdered milk and LC milk and half & half? I do not want to get discouraged.

Any all suggestions appreciated.

LOL! You crack me up! Actually, I have looked into cheese-making. It'd be a hoot!

Hi Shay - I made some the other night, and it came out really nicely.

Six hours sounds a little short, but I don't have a yogurt maker, so... I left mine out for about 15 hours.

I used half and half, heated it to 180 and tried to keep it there for 10 minutes or so. I'd like to try this side by side sometime with a lower temperature heating to see whether or not the casein bud trick really makes a difference.

Anyway... the half and half made a very creamy, non-tart yogurt. Pending laziness, I don't plan on buying commercial yogurt again.

try adding some cream to the 2% milk to up the fat content, that will thicken it up more.

Some interesting "tips" I just came across:

"...A Note About Yogurt Thickness:
Yogurt is a soupy liquid in most countries. In the United States, people are familiar with yogurt being much thicker and creamier. Since most yogurt makers are made overseas, their instruction manuals give details on making yogurt that is a soupy liquid. To increase the thickness of yogurt, we have discovered that adding milk powder before incubation, lengthening the incubation time, and lengthening refrigeration time helps to thicken the yogurt. Yogurt making is not an exact science and the recipe may need to be tweaked to meet your personal preferences in flavor and consistency.

*** Important Information about Homemade Yogurt ***: Yogurt is naturally tart. American store-bought yogurt typically has sugar and/or fruit added to it. To sweeten your homemade yogurt, add sugar and/or fruit AFTER the yogurt has been made in the yogurt maker.
..."

This is from the YoGourmet MultiSystem (a yogurt maker, natch) page; this is the yogurt-maker recommended by the SCD peeps:
http://www.yogurtmaker.com/product_...&products_id=30

So I'm thinking your low fat content, your desire for less tartness and therefore a low incubation time, all contributed to the runniness of your yogurt.

Hi folks,
What can I add to make my yogurt thicker? I've read powdered milk will do it, but that's real carby. Could I use Guar Gum before I eat it?

Alli

Just strain it, or use milk with more fat.

I am so getting that yogourmet machine. It's been in my Baggle bag for months now, and it's getting towards time.

Half a gallon in every batch? Yeah, baby, YEAH!

I used Carb countdown milk and strained it. I have 6oz jars eat about half at a time. The second half is really runny LOL. I guess I'll keep trying.
Alli

This whole thread is about getting thick yogurt. Maybe try some of the suggestions proposed here.

I made a batch last week and didn't take into account the temperature of the house when it was incubating. It just would NOT thicken, and I've never had a problem with it. We keep the house around 63 during the day, so for the batch I made yesterday I wrapped the machine in a bath towel and it turned out perfect.

Alli-- the second half is always going to have more whey than the first. When you break the mass that makes it...weep, I guess you could say. If you take one spoonful out of a cup, then come back in a couple hours, that indentation will be full of whey.

You could just pour it off, I suppose. I never do; there's lots of good stuff in the whey and I'd hate to dump it down the drain.

I just made my first batch of yogurt. It came out great!
As per the suggestion of some people I used half and half, Organic Valley. I wanted to make sure there's no additives in it. For starter I used Dannon Natural Plain. I have a Salton yogurt maker. First I boiled everything that comes in contact with the yogurt. (the inner container, lid, thermometer, spoon). Then I heated the half-and-half to about 190, on the bottom of the pan it was about 200. I took it off the heat when it was about to boil and left it on a hot plate. I used a hard anodized pan so it kept the heat pretty long. After about 20 minutes it was still 140, so I put the pan in cold water. After about 10 minutes it was down to 100, so I had to act fast... I mixed a big spoonful of Dannon with a little bit of milk, and then mixed in the rest of the milk (half-and-half).
I fermented it for about 25 hours and then put it in the refrigerator for the night. It came out very creamy, almost like creme freche, not tart at all (less tart than store-bought plain yogurt and way thicker). I'm very happy with the results, I'm so excited! I'll be making this forever!

By the way, I got my yogurt maker at Bed Bath and Beyond for 15 bucks!

I make my yogurt in the crockpot. 6 cups 1 % milk , 3/4 cups non fat powdered milk, 4 1/2 T starter with live active cultures, (room temp) 1/4 cup splenda and half a package knox.
Incubate at 110 give or take 5 degrees for 4 hours ish. Turns out great and I make strawberry compote to go with it. I have tossed a few batches, but along the way got the hang of it.

Chari