I used to live in Portland, OR where the was an abundance Vietnamese stores where I can purchased yummy Vietnamese yogurt but after moving to the Bay Area, the only place where I can find decent Vietnamese yogurt was in San Jose (an hour from where I live). Perhaps the people in the bay have a taste for less thick and sweeter yogurt. I like mine thick and creamy and tart…almost like the thickness of the Yoplait Thick and Creamy yogurt but less gelatinous.

I was happy to find this recipe (THANK YOU!!!). I tried making it yesterday and the result was not what I expected sadly. I did adjusted the recipe and ran into a small problem in the process. I substituted half a can of condensed milk with half a can more of whole milk (hoping to achieve a less sweet result) — well, the yogurt did turn out less sweet (but also less vanilla-ee). Then here’s the small problem I ran into: I didn’t have a big pot so I plugged up the sink and did the water bath in the sink, covered it with seran wrap, then use my supersized cutting board as a weight. After 7 hours, I checked the yogurt and noticed all the water was gone *shocked*. The yogurt thickened a little bit…like a sauce. I read somewhere else that the longer you let yogurt incubate, the thicker they become (also more sour). I didn’t want liquidy yogurt and I guess I wouldn’t mind a very tart yogurt so I did another water bath for an additional 3 hours. This time I made sure the water didn’t drain. I checked the yogurt later and it seemed thick enough…the surface wiggled a little bit when I tilt it lightly side to side. I put the cap on them and put them in the fridge. After a day in the fridge, I took one out to try. There were little white dots here and there even after I strained the milk mixture but I was okay with it. I used less condensed milk so it was less sweet and less vanilla-ee, which I was also okay with. Here’s the problem: the yogurt was not tart at all and not very thick. It wasn’t smooth but the consistency was like normal, store yogurt. Does that sound like the right consistency to you? How can I make it more sour/tart and thicker (and maybe creamier)?

Note: I think compared to normal people or at least the people around me I have a higher threshold for sour…so maybe the yogurt was tart but I couldn’t taste it.

Thanks.

Thank you

Thank you so much!