Yogurt makers?!
Answers: Anyone found that yogurt made in home yogurt makers is slightly different, in terms of consistency, to yogurt bought in shops?
If you like your yogurt more consistent without adding anything but milk try to put 2 tablespoons of dry whole milk (organic dry milk) in your milk before heating it. As well do your yogurt with organic raw milk if you can or at best organic pasteurized one but never homogenized!
It can be different due to several factors .
1. Type of cultures used in te making process. Sometimes store-bought use several different cultures together.
2. The %fat in the milk. Low-fat tends to be runnier.
3. Store-bought sometimes will use gelatin to 'thicken' the low-fat types.
4. The amount of time the culture is allowed to 'incubate' before being placed in the refrigerator, which stops the culture from converting the milk.
I never use a yogurt maker. I do it the way grandma taught me.
Bring 1/2galon of milk to almost a boil. Transfer over to a clean glass container with a lid. Add a 1/4 cup of yogurt to warm milk. Cover with lid tightly. Wrap in a towel and place somewhere warm. Let rest until almost cool and solidified, about 12 hrs. Promptly transfer to refrigerator. Enjoy! :)
Of course, shop yogurt have all kinds of artificial thickeners that yours won't.
A tip: Experiment with the time, leave it a bit longer than your recipe says, eg an extra 1/2 hour, and if your still not happy keep adding time with each new lot you make until you get the consistency you desire.