Any Yoghurt Makers out there?

[Glynne]

I know we have bread bakers, brewers, vintners & cooks so I just thought maybe we had some yoghurt makers?

In short I have a small domestic yogurt maker which works OK ish.
I have tried various milks, full fat, semi skimmed, UHT etc and invariably have to drain the resultant yoghurt to get something a little creamier.
But what I can't seem to reproduce is a yoghurt with the distinctive sour taste of a "Greek" type yoghurt and reluctantly I have to admit the shop stuff from Tesco is actually nicer!
Even using a starter of commercial yoghurt doesn't seem to improve things much so I wondered whether anyone has any tips?

Glynne

 

[xy mosian]

Strange this question should come up now. I have just attempted my first Greek style yoghurt.

For a number of years I have been making my own yoghurt. I use an EasiYo maker, not their powders however as I find them too sickly.
My recipe.
2 x 35mm spoons, heaped, of Yoghurt, either new pot or from the previous batch. preferable Yeo Valley no-fat basic etc., the bacteria included are the best I have found.
2 spoonfuls, same size spoon, of zero fat dried milk. I have taken to smashing granules to powder before using as I can add more and mix more easily.
1 litre of semi-skimmed UHT milk. UHT is critical here.
Leave in the EasiYo boiling water bath for 8 hours, longer gives the yoghurt a lemonny tang, then move to fridge for 6 or so hours. Opening the container to check progress tends to upset the process.
Results are very acceptable, to me.

On to the Greek style yoghurt. Generally I have found that these yoghurts too sharp for my sweet tongue. However a couple of days ago my sister in law brought over some Yeo Valley greek style and I enjoyed the flavour. I just had to try to make some.
Apparently True Greek yoghurt is made with goats milk, whereas Greek Style is made with cows milk. One of the other differences in the yoghurts is the lack of whey in the Greek style.
Yesterday I brewed some Greek Style and found that the taste, and texture, is very creamy, I may be a convert. However the cavity left by my spoon at midnight last night had filled with whey this morning. The taste is definitely not, tangy, Greek Style. I wonder if using skimmed UHT milk might make a difference, or brewing longer. Meanwhile I have a tasty alternative.

I will be following this thread to see if other options turn up.
HTH, xy