Grecian Goddess

Yes, I think I may officially be a Grecian Goddess, now that I am proficient in the making of Greek Yogurt. Really.

The other day I was taking a poll on Facebook to see which brands of Greek yogurt my friends prefer. Enter Sheena, who suggested I MAKE. MY. OWN. Wha??

Making yogurt sounds crazy, right? Turns out it's the best kept secret among yogurt eaters. For starters, it TASTES so much better than store-bought. To top it off, it is so much CHEAPER! $1.39 is what I spent. That is the price of ONE Chobani yogurt at Target. FAGE is $1.59. Even at Costco or Sam's Club, you'll still pay over .90 cents per serving. My $1.39 made about 10 - 12 servings, which is perfect, because yogurt will keep for 2-3 weeks.

Behold, Greek yogurt that is so thick and yummy, it tastes like cheesecake! I added a sliced plum and a little to Splenda to this:

I'm going to re-type the recipe and directions here, but full credit goes to Sheena's recipe, which you can see HERE. And her photos are WAY better than mine!

What you'll need:

1/2 gallon milk (I used 2%, but next time I'm going 1%)
4 Tbsp of any plain yogurt containing live active cultures (I used Yoplait Greek Plain)
A heavy-bottomed stock pot w/ lid
A thermometer
A colander
Cheese cloth or flour cloth
A bath towel

This is so simple....and my second batch (20 min) was TWICE as fast as my first batch (40 min), because I knew what I was doing without reading the instructions 5 times.

Start by mixing 4 Tbsp plain yogurt and 4 Tbsp milk in a small bowl. Set aside and let the mixture come to room temperature. (On your next batch you'll be able to use 4 Tbsp of your homemade yogurt as your starter.)

Heat your 1/2 gallon milk on Med/High heat until it reaches a boil. I take mine off the heat just before the boil, at 200 degrees. I stir often after 180, to avoid scorching/burning.


Once you reach 200 degrees, remove from heat and place in a sink with cool water. This will cool the milk in a few minutes. I found that stirring while heating, then stirring while cooling prevents any skin from forming on the top. If a skin does form, just remove and dispose of it.

Once the temperature has cooled to between 105 - 100 degrees, add your yogurt starter mixture that you set aside earlier. Stir to combine with the heated milk. (The reason you cool the milk before adding the yogurt starter is that the hot milk will kill the culture.)

Immediately place a lid on the pot and wrap the pot in a big bath towel. Place the wrapped pot inside your oven and turn on the oven light. Now let it sit in the oven for 16 hours. The towel and the light will maintain ~100 degree temp. It will still feel warm when you remove it from the oven the next day - this is when the MAGIC happens!

When you pull it out of the oven it will be totally congealed and look like the top of a yoplait yogurt. If you like regular yogurt, you can just put it in an airtight container and the fridge and eat it this way.

If you like the thick consistency of Greek yogurt, this is when you strain the whey from the yogurt. I line a colander with a flour cloth and place it over a tall pot. Dump the yogurt into the lined colander, cover and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours. Make sure the pot is tall enough that the colander won't sit in the liquid at the bottom of the pot.

This is what it looks like 8 hours later.



Ready to bottle. Ready to eat. Ready to share.

Worried about eating something that fermented overnight - out of the fridge? Guess what? ALL yogurt is made using a controlled fermentation process! Check this out:

The most important step in the yogurt making process, and what creates the characteristics consumers think of when they imagine yogurt, is the introduction of the bacteria. The bacteria consume natural milk sugars and excrete lactic acid, which causes the milk proteins to begin to curdle and create a more solid mass. At the same time, the increased acidity of the dairy is too high for most harmful bacteria, so the yogurt keeps itself clean.

Enjoy!