Homemade Greek Yogurt (Updated)

True confession: I used to think greek yogurt was waaay overrated. It was just a fad, a fancy item to add to your grocery list so you could feel like you were actually buying something healthy and not just a sugary cup of pastel-colored, ultra-pasteurized dairy product.  Then one day I gave in, feeling on the desperate side of hungry & very nauseous, thanks to about 16 weeks of pregnancy.  I stood staring into the refridgerator case, and then reached for that little blue cup that cost a whole entire dollar.  And when I put my groceries away at home, I actually decided to eat it and see if it would stay down.  It was delicious.  It was also the first food that had followed the natural flow of digestion in about four months, and remained so for about another two weeks and you can believe me when I say I really took advantage of finding ONE food that I could keep down.  I bought it in bulk and ate it for every meal. 

Yes, greek yogurt may well have saved my life (well, at least my protein intake), so it has certainly earned its place as the focus of this blog post. (I don't think I've ever written a whole paragraph about yogurt before!).  It continues to be a favorite snack, but I've gotten really tired of paying $1 or more for an individual cup of yogurt - especially on our modest grocery budget.  Then a couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with a bunch of really neat ladies at the Trust Birth conference who were talking about making yogurt. What?!  MAKE yogurt?!  As in, do it myself, in my kitchen, and possibly even save some money and preserve some nutritive value in the process?  Yes, please!  So, without further ado and a couple of experiments later, here is the process that I have found works best for me.

Oh...important fact:  Full-fat yogurt is sooooooo much better for you than low-fat.  (News flash: Your body needs good fats! Milk fat = good fat.)  Use whole milk!

You'll need exactly two ingredients:

• Half a gallon of whole milk (as organic as possible & not ultra-pasteurized, or it will NOT set up right.) Update: I actually just used good-ole' Great Value whole milk from Walmart. It worked just fine.
• 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt with active yogurt cultures.  Either use a 6 oz single-serving cup of store-bought yogurt (the last cup of expensive yogurt you'll ever have to buy! YAY!), or 1/2 cup leftover from your last batch (just make sure to use it within 7-10 days, or you'll have to revisit the expensive yogurt again).

You'll also need a few basic household supplies:

• A 5-6 quart crockpot
• A timer (or a good memory!)
• A whisk
• A bath towel (for insulation, not for clean up! :) Although I have used it for both... )
• A big colander that will fit down inside a larger mixing bowl.
• Flour sack towels or 2 or 3 paper towels for straining. (good quality, thick ones) 
• A container to put your yogurt in. (I re-used a large yogurt container)

Oh, and you'll need about 14 hours to make it.  This is a project you want to start around 5pm (or about 5.5 hours before bedtime) so that you can leave it overnight.

1.  Pour half a gallon of whole milk into the crockpot.  Put the lid on tight.  Turn the crockpot on HIGH for 1 hour, and then turn down to LOW for another 1.5 hours.  (This step takes a total of 2.5 hours to complete).

2. After 2.5 hours, unplug the crockpot.  Do NOT lift the lid. (I know it's tempting, but you must resist!!)  Let it stand on the counter for 3 hours.

3. Three hours later, you can remove the lid & whisk in the 1/2 cup of prepared yogurt.  (Don't worry that the milk still looks and feels an awful lot like...well...milk, at this point.  It will thicken up later, I promise!)  NOTE: the milk will have a very thin film (or "skin") on the surface.  This is normal - it's just what happens when you cook milk!

Please do not be tempted to flavor your yogurt at this point. Do not add any flavorings until ready to serve.

4. Replace the lid.  Wrap a thick bath towel all the way around the crockpot and over the lid to keep in as much of the remaining heat as possible.  Make a mental note of 8 hours from right now.  (Or 9.  Thankfully, yogurt is very forgiving.)  Go to bed. Zzzzzzz

5. In the morning, line a colander with thick paper towels or flour sack towels.  Place the colander in the sink or inside a larger bowl (best method, this way you can put it in the fridge) and pour the thickened, heavenly smelling yogurt into it.  Let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge to strain off the whey & to give it a chance to thicken up better. The longer you strain it, the thicker it will be. Strain for several hours for cream cheese texture. If you forget and it thickens up too much, you can scoop some of the whey from the catch-bowl and stir it back in a little at a time until you find the consistency you want.

(Update : The best yogurt I made was the batch that I put into the fridge to complete the straining process and forgot about for about 3 hours.  The texture was FABULOUS.  Unfortunately, it was also fajita flavored, due to a bit of renegade fajita seasoning trapped in the lid of my crockpot.  Very sad day and waste of 16 or so hours. Not recommended.)

6. Put it in a container in the fridge & write the date on it.  It will keep for 7-10 days.  Don't forget to reserve at least 1/2 a cup as starter for your next batch, and use that within the 7-10 days!

(Update: There is no pretty way to transfer the yogurt from the colander to the container.  I suggest doing it over the sink. The best method I have found is to spoon as much of it as possible into your container, and then carefully pick up the flour sack towel and scrape and/or squeeze the rest into the container. Yes, it's messy. But your hands wash and so do the towels!)


Voila! Yogurt! And it's soooo easy. Literally, all you had to do was pour the milk and stir in yogurt and sleep. It's foolproof. (Unless you lift the lid!)  Serve it with granola or fresh fruit or jam or honey.  You can sweeten it with stevia or eat it plain. I also like to puree strawberries or other fruit with stevia or honey to mix in to my yogurt.  You can even use plain yogurt in place of sour cream - it's basically the same thing except not *quite* as thick.  Enjoy!