another note re: personal experience–i do enjoy thicker (greek-style) yogurt but find the straining process, well, straining. having noticed that whey tends to pool in depressions in the yogurt’s surface, i got the notion to chill the yogurt initially in a container with a broader base (rather than more upright–i use a lidded pyrex casserole) and to spoon the first serving totally from the side and down to the bottom (rather than skimming from the top). after the first serving has been removed, the whey will naturally drain to the vacancy while the yogurt simply sits in the fridge. voila–”self-straining” yogurt! and no cheesecloth to scrape and rinse.