Thickener

How to Make Your Yoghurt Thicker.

Different types of yoghurt have different methods to thicken them up.

Dairy:

Traditionally dairy yoghurts were strained to remove some of the whey, making them thicker. This was how Greek Yoghurts were produced and this can still be done using a tight weave cheesecloth. This does mean that while you may start with a litre of milk you may end up with well less than a litre of yoghurt. A common way to overcome this is to add some extra dairy solids by adding 1/3rd of a cup of milk powder for every litre of milk. Adding the milk powder and mixing well before adding the culture will thicken the yoghurt very nicely

In recent years we have started adding a small amount of Calcium Chloride to our milk to help improve the curd. This is a cheese-making trick that does help make your dairy yoghurt just that little bit thicker. A 50 ml bottle contains enough for over 300 one-litre batches of yoghurt.

Lactose-Free Dairy:

Since lactose-free milk powder is not available we have had success making lactose-free dairy yoghurt thicker by adding some Smooth Gel in place of the milk powder. Try with a tablespoon or two per litre and adjust to your taste for future batches.

Non-Dairy:

• Coconut Cream & Almond Milk: We have tried a number of thickeners over the years and found Smooth Gel to be the best. Smooth Gel is a rice flour that has been pregelatinised, which basically means it has been pre-cooked so that it can be added to the coconut cream at yoghurt-making temperature and unlike cornflower or agar does not need to be heated and cooked to activate it. The problem with thickeners that require cooking to activate is that they will start to gel or set while the yoghurt mixture is cooling down to the correct temperature to add the culture, making even mixing of the culture very difficult, if not impossible. For those very few people who are allergic to rice flour or who wish to avoid it for other reasons, we can also suggest using our Classic Pectin. Try one or two tablespoons per litre at first and adjust to suit your taste in subsequent batches.

• Soy Milk: Adding a thickener in soy milk is optional as some brands of soy milk will thicken quite well when using the Vegan Non-Dairy Yoghurt Culture. This culture has a special balance of bacteria that enhances the texture and thickness of soy milk yoghurt. If you do wish for a thicker heavier texture to your soy yoghurt you can add Smooth Gel and mix well before adding the culture. Try one or two tablespoons of Smooth Gel per litre of soy milk the first time and adjust to your taste for future batches.