Make Your Own Greek Yoghurt

"Greek yoghurt is awesome stuff. Thick, creamy, rich beyond belief, but still lighter in fat than commercial sour cream, and a great sub for it. Now you can make your own! This is from gourmetsleuth.com. Time to make is approximate, as there is an overnight process involved."
 
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photo by PaulaG photo by PaulaG
photo by PaulaG
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
2
Serves:
4
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ingredients

  • 1000.0 ml full-fat milk
  • 29.58-44.37 ml plain yogurt (room temperature) or 29.58-44.37 ml of home-made yoghurt, mixed with a few tablespoons of milk, to thin (room temperature)
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directions

  • Bring milk to just under boiling point and then pour the milk into a glass or earthenware dish. Let the milk cool to about 42°C/104°F Pour the yogurt/milk mixture into the milk carefully without disturbing the skin that may have formed on the surface of the milk. Cover with a cloth, place in a warm, draft-free place for 8 to 12 hours or overnight, and do not disturb it until the yoghurt thickens. Drain any excess liquid and store in the fridge.
  • To make a "thick" yoghurt, remove the skin on the surface of the yoghurt (this is edible, btw, and lovely sprinkled with a bit of sugar) and pour the yoghurt into a muslin or cheesecloth bag. Hang the bag over a bowl and let drain for about 2 hours or until the desired thickness is obtained.
  • Note: I have now made this recipe using 2% milk and have achieved very good results. Obviously, richness is lost, but so are calories (and fat). ;-).

Questions & Replies

  1. Please I really want to understand the ingredients used.. Am just a novice..
     
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Reviews

  1. I bought a small container of Greek yogurt at the store out of curiosity and was immediately addicted. But at a dollar per serving, I knew I had to find a way to make this at home. I've been making this recipe for about 6 months now, and it's awesome! I've tried it with both skim milk and whole milk, both with very good results. I've also upped the yield by heating up a gallon of milk and using an entire serving of cheap-o plain yogurt for the culture. Just really keep an eye on the temperature with this recipe, and all will turn out fine! I once took the milk off the heat before it was hot enough, and I ended up with runny, gross yogurt that came through the cheesecloth. What a waste! Also, something I just tried with today's batch which works wonders -- place the cheesecloth in an embroidery ring slightly bigger than the bowl that you're using to catch the drippings, making sure the cloth is very taut. Just place the ring over the bowl's mouth, pour the yogurt on the surface of the cheesecloth, and let it drain. This keeps your yogurt from sagging down into the drippings, allows you to not rig up some intricate yogurt-bag-hanging arrangement, and, best of all, cleanup is a BREEZE! Love this recipe! Thank you for posting this, Evelyn/Athens!
     
  2. This new year I resolved to follow a healthier diet. So to avoid any added sugar, processed table salt, preservatives and additives, I've been learning how to make some of the foods I normally eat, like yoghurt. The first time I tried this recipe, I made the mistake of heating the milk on high heat so it burned on the bottom of the saucepan. The second mistake that I made was that I didn't mix the room temperature plain yoghurt "starter"/added milk into the cooled milk. I just added it without mixing it. The third (!) mistake I made was that I didn't leave the light on in the oven (for low heat) so my first attempt at making Greek yoghurt was an utter failure! The second time I tried, I heated the milk in a double boiler. I also looked at the yoghurt recipe in Joy of Cooking and it said to heat the milk to 180 degrees F. I couldn't find my yoghurt thermometer so I used a candy thermometer. I waited a long time and the milk only heated up to about 170 degrees F. It wouldn't heat higher than that in the double boiler (according to the candy thermometer). I decided to go with this and proceeded to let the milk cool down. This time I also stirred in the yoghurt starter/milk mixture, then wrapped up the bowl in a large thick warm towel and left it in the oven with the light on. The recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook said that if yoghurt was used as a starter, it should only take 3 to 4 hours to solidify; and that if a starter was used, it would take 8 hours or more. I checked my yoghurt at 6 hours and it was done enough. Only a small amount of liquid was present. It is very creamy and tasty. I have some every morning with my breakfast. Thanks for the recipe!<br/><br/>Further to the review I wrote on Jan 19, I am still making this yoghurt every few days. I drain it to the consistency of whipped cream. If you heat the milk in a double boiler with the lid on, it should take about 20 minutes to reach 180 degrees F. To cool it down to 110 degrees F it takes about 45 minutes (with the lid off) and on a trivet. I eat this yoghurt every morning sprinkled with Hemp Hearts (an excellent source of protein, fiber and healthy oils). When I crave something sweet, I eat some with a little bit of raw natural honey mixed in. I'm addicted!
     
  3. That's exactly how I make Iranian yogurt, but I keep the container covered in blankets .I add the milk when I can keep my pinky in till I count to ten. Make sure to use full-fat milk as the results are not the same with the skim milk.
     
  4. I've been making yoghurt in a crock pot for over a year now. Put 1/2 gallon of milk into a Crockpot. Heat on high until it reaches 180 or so (note the time and you'll never need to check the temperature again). Let it cool down to 105 or so (again; note how long this takes; in my crockpot it takes about 2 hours 45 minutes to heat and almost 3 and a half hours to cool). Whisk in 1/2 cup of good yoghurt with live cultures and wrap your crockpot in blankets or towels; leave for 8-12 hours (I usually start this process around 2 pm and let it sit overnight). Perfect yoghurt every time! You can strain it to make greek yoghurt. I find that wide-mouth quart jars are perfect to store the yoghurt; I even found a funnel on line that makes it easier to fill the jars without making a mess. Active work time: about 5 minutes. And only one pot to clean!
     
  5. This was so easy, I will never buy yogurt again! I did not follow the direction to "not disturb the skin" as I read other recipes where this was not necessary, and I worried about not mixing the yogurt in. I took a couple tablespoons of the cooled milk and mixed it with about 2.5 tablespoons of store-bought organic Greek yogurt then mixed that into the rest. I wrapped the bowl with 2 towels and just left it on the counter as we had been having 90 degree days here and I figured it was hot enough. I left it about 11 hours (almost forgot about it) and it turned out delicious! I drained it through cheesecloth for a few hours, though next time I will mix some of the whey back in it because it is REALLY thick. I also froze the leftover whey in ice cube trays and am keeping the cubes in a container in my freezer. I pull some out and melt it to replace water in just about any recipe for added protein. Awesome!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<style>body { background: url("http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3512121819_f2f1aaf050.jpg?v=0"); background-repeat: repeat-y; }</style> OK, here goes. I live in Athens, Greece. I moved out here many, many years ago from Ottawa, Canada - so I am blessed in having two wonderful heritages! I suffer from compulsive obsessive behaviour with regard to food and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to find a 'society' where many have the same problem and try to find a cure. So far, I've copied a couple of thousand recipes from this site and my psychiatrist has thrown the towel in and refuses to answer the phone when I call. What did I do wrong? Got 3 kids that keep me on the go - 10 and under at this point (2008) - I may not get round to updating this for a few years, so you'll have to do your own maths. I teach English full-time and Greek Cookery part-time. I would like to make the cooking part of it full-time and the English Grammar part of it part-time. That's all for now.
 
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