For Critter - thick creamy yogurt recipe

Critter, This recipe makes yogurt that is thick like sour cream. You can vary the sourness by the length of time you let it sit in the warmth or by using lower fat milks. I've tried it with fat free evaporated milk plus skim and that was too sour for me, I like a little tanginess only.

1 13 oz can evaporated milk (1 2/3 cups)
2 1/3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup non fat dried milk (ups the protein count and thickens the mix)
1 rounded tablespoon plain yogurt with active cultures (more is NOT good)

Scald the milk to 180 degrees F, then stir in the dry milk. Let cool to between 90 and 110 degrees, then stir in the evaporated milk. Stir the plain yogurt starter in slowly, do not overmix.

Incubate around 110 deg for about 3 hours - if the temp gets hotter than 115 degrees the yogurt will be more sour. I have a 1 quart yogurt maker, much easier than back on the 60's when you had to use a heating pad or thermos! You can also use a crockpot - set it on low for about 15 minutes until it feels very warm to the fingertips, then put your yogurt containers in and turn off the heat. You have to keep turning the crockpot on every 45 minutes to keep the temperature warm enough to keep the culture active.

After 3 hours, check the yogurt to see if it has firmed up. If it is still very watery, your starter may have been dead - taste the mix to see if it is souring, if not, add another tablespoon of fresh starter from a different batch.. If it is thick and tastes sour enough to you, refrigerate it for about 3 hours to thicken it further.

I have only been able to use the yogurt for starting for about 3 batches, then I have to purchase new starter (dannon plain). I haven't tried the powdered starters, since most of it comes from China (via Canada) I'm afraid of using it.