Scratch Made: Greek Yogurt

Ready to make your own Greek Yogurt?

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I know it sounds scary and like a ton of work, but it’s not bad at all.

In fact, most of the work is done without you – the hands-on time for this process is minimal. You just need to be in the house at the right times to get to the next step.

The process I use is the one I found here (my modifications in bold):

Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot

8c (1/2 gallon) pasteurized milk ( NOT ultra-pasteurized)

1c active culture plain yogurt (to use as your starter)

3qt (or larger) crock-pot

large thick beach towel

1) Turn crockpot on low.

2) Add milk; cover & cook on low for 2-1/2 hours to 3 hours.

3) Unplug crock-pot. Keep lid on, and completely wrap crock-pot in large, thick beach towel, for insulation, and let sit for 3-4 hours. (It seems like it’s ready to me when I dip a spoon in it and the spoon is sort of slightly coated, rather than the milk running right off the spoon like water, if that tip helps you! – When I was ready to add the yogurt, I did this spoon trick, but mine still just looked like milk. I added the yogurt anyway, since it had been 3.5 hours.)

4) At the end of 3-4 hours, in a small bowl, whisk 1c (I only added 6 oz. plain yogurt) active culture plain yogurt (to use as your yogurt starter) with 1-2c of the milk from the crock-pot. Return it to the crock-pot.

5) Keeping crockpot unplugged, completely re-wrap in heavy beach towel.

6) Allow to sit for 8 hours. (I’ve let it sit for 10-12 hours!)

7) Yogurt will have thickened. Don’t be alarmed when you see a watery looking glob in your crockpot. You’re not done yet! You need to separate the watery whey from the actual yogurt. To do this, simply ladle yogurt into a basket-shaped paper coffee filter (3-1/4" base) within a fine wire mesh strainer and allow to drain into a bowl. (I set up an "assembly-line" with 4 bowls & 4 strainers to speed up the process.) I let it sit for about 30 minutes or more, so it comes out quite dry. I strained mine in two batches using coffee filters or paper towels in a colander since I don’t have a cheesecloth.

Then run the drained yogurt through the blender to make it creamier. *I didn’t do this step at all – my yogurt is creamy!

9) Serve with favorite fresh or dried fruits, honey, or jam/preserves.

10) In a non-reactive container (non-metal), set aside 1c as your starter for your next batch.

11) Store in covered container and refrigerate. Will stay fresh for 7-10 days.

 

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The first time I made my own yogurt, I didn’t strain it to make greek yogurt, and it’s still delicious! It’s not as tart as some other yogurts, but is just as creamy and has a great texture.

The most important thing to have is the pasteurized milk.

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Most milk in the grocery store is ultra pasteurized and that will not work when trying to make yogurt or cheese.

The milk I get is from a local dairy in Virginia, and I buy it at Kroger.

You can check to see if there are local dairies at Eat Wild. A local dairy will be likely to offer pasteurized milk and maybe even more products! I know Homestead Creamery offers milk, cream, butter, and ice cream (which is amazing).

 

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After making this last batch of yogurt into greek yogurt, I’m fairly sure I’ll be doing this as much as possible.

Not only is it delicious, it’s homemade, local, and cheap to make!

I paid $2.99 for a half gallon of local milk, I already have a crockpot, and the only other thing you need is 6 oz – 1 cup of plain yogurt. If you buy the plain yogurt, it might be $1. Or, if you already have yogurt at home, you don’t need to buy anything but the milk.

I do feel a bit like a hippy making my own yogurt in the crockpot, but I don’t mind.

If you have some extra time to get this started on a weekend, it will be done before you know it and you’ll be left with freshly made, creamy yogurt.

 

 

29 comments

  1. Wish I had a crock pot so I could give this a try! Would using soymilk work? I kind of doubt it but just wondering.

  2. Thank you so much for posting this! I’ve always wanted to learn how to make Greek yogurt! I don’t have a crock pot but hopefully it will work on the stove if I keep it at a really low temp.

    • You can definitely make it on the stove top – you can find tons of recipes online on making yogurt at home.

  3. I’d love to make my own! I have been intimidated by it. But it sounds so good!

  4. I love the feeling of making something that you can easily buy in the stores homemade instead, it just tastes better! :-)

  5. Wow! That’s so awesome that you made your own yogurt! Thanks for the tutorial! I’m sure it was amazing. :-)

    ps I’m having a coconut water giveaway on my blog!

  6. Thanks for the lesson! Now if only I get my hands on some non-ultra-pasteurized milk… hmm. How much yogurt did you yield?

  7. I definitely want to give this a try, with Chobani costing $1 a container, plus all the wasted packaging this sounds great. How much yogurt does it yield?

    • Before draining, it’s about 10-12 cups of yogurt!

      If you drain it to make greek yogurt, you probably get between 6-8, depending on how long you let it drain.

    • Wow! What a great deal. I’m going to have to find some pasteurized milk.

  8. I’ve always wanted to try this! You’re right – it doesn’t seem nearly as scary and intimidating as I thought!

  9. I wanna try! Next time you do it would you mind snapping a picture of the wrapped crock pot? I’m having trouble picturing that set up.

  10. wow..that definitely seems like too much work for me :)

    • It’s really not! All you have to do it dump the milk in, turn the crockpot on and be there to unplug it 3 hours later!

  11. Thanks for the great step-by-step directions for making homemade yogurt in the crockpot and on the stove top! Have you ever tried making homemade almond milk yogurt? I wonder how that would taste…Enjoy your yogurt!

  12. Very fun. I did a similar ad-hoc method a year or so ago using a heating blanket. It worked surprisingly well! Next time I’ll have to try the crockpot method and compare. I’m not sure why I find it so fun because I actually don’t like yogurt that much but I do.

  13. I would love to make my own greek yogurt, how cool! I have always been a bit intimidated because I think I’d screw it up. :)

  14. Still want to make it but don’t have enough courage quite yet! I did just make my own Koombucha though so that I was pretty proud of! ;)

  15. That’s such an awesome project! Glad it came out well.

  16. How cool! I totally want to try this. Book marking!!

  17. YOU ROCK for maknig your own Greek Yogurt! and it turned out SO good!!!

  18. thats cool. people think i that since im a chef i make my own food, but honestly, i really rather buy it and not dirty any dishes. I get to marvel at people like you that do it, but rather just buy it. Not very Chef-y of me.

  19. so impressive! i am applauding for you and your yogurt!

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  22. Glad this worked for you! :D

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