Heat treating methods that produce thicker yogurt?

[doabbs]

I've been experimenting with yogurt as time allows now for close to a year.  I haven't changed my recipe that much since I originally did a number of trial runs as follows:

Raw Milk
Heat treated to 185 for 30 seconds
Heat treated to 165 for 30 seconds

I stuck with the 165 since it produced the better of the three.  I've seen some recipes that call for heat treating at 185 for over 30 minutes and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to a heat treating method that produces a thicker yogurt?  I do not want to add any powdered milk, etc.

[linuxboy]

Yes, it takes that long to denature whey proteins and cause them to adsorb to casein micelles. 30 seconds at 165F will cause something like a 3-5% denaturation. Any gains in thickness you saw there were due to something other than heat treatment, that's a negligible denaturation.

If you want thick without heat treatment, you have to pick a culture with the right exopolysaccharide structure.

[doabbs]

you have to pick a culture with the right exopolysaccharide structure.

Any recommendations of type and supplier?

[MrsKK]

I fought to get good yogurt until I read the recommendations here to heat treat at 185 degrees for 30 minutes.  I also went to using Greek Gods yogurt as my culture.  Now my yogurt is always thick and flavorful without being too sour.

I've never purchased a starter culture (as in powdered or from a cheesemaking supply house), so I can't help you there.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Mine is really thick anyway, but I add a little Tapioca flour to give it a little more body. Seems to make it smoother too.

There are several different yogurt cultures on the market. Some are not available to hobbyists. The strains are selected for curd set, flavor, and "tang". Talk to your supplier and see what options that they have for you.

[Tomer1]

I fought to get good yogurt until I read the recommendations here to heat treat at 185 degrees for 30 minutes

Do you do this after the primary ripening of the yogurt?
Wont that count as sterilizing everything in it?

[linuxboy]

Tomer, no, before culture addition.
Please see http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4079.msg31275.html#msg31275

[zenith1]

I heat my milk to 180/cool to ~120 add the starter of your choice(I use ~1 cup of Stoneyfield per 2 qts fresh milk) and incubate for ~6hrs. I use whole milk(whole milk rocks!) It always is thick enough for me. If it were not thick enough for your tastes just strain through some cheesecloth in the refrigerator or a couple of hours.