I pay a lot of attention to what I eat. As both a runner and a pescatarian, it's important to know what I'm putting in my body. Greek Yogurt is one of my favorite things to eat. I eat it for breakfast with fresh berries and granola. I use it a base for salad dressings and smoothies, and bake with it often.
But Greek Yogurt is expensive, and spending upwards of $30/week on yogurt really isn't something I'm too keen on. That plus the added sugar in a lot of brands of Greek Yogurt has left me in search of a way to make my own.
I've had two failed attempts at making yogurt. The first time, I tried the stove top method and the yogurt came out tasting good, but had entirely too much liquid and literally dripped off the spoon like soup.
The second time, I tried a double boiler and exploded a Pyrex dish all over my kitchen...leaving me picking up glass for almost six weeks after the fact.
This time, I tried the crock pot method which I found on Pinterest and was said to be "foolproof."
Foolproof, it was!
I used 2% milk which I brought to 180 degrees in the crock pot. It took about 3 1/2 hours.
Then, I turned off the pot, brought it back down to 110 degrees, which took another 3 hours. I mixed in the yogurt "starter" (2 tbsp of actual Greek yogurt - I used Oikos Nonfat Vanilla...it was all I had). I wrapped it in a towel and tossed it into my oven (cool) and put on the oven light. The next day, I took it out, poured it onto a strainer that was covered in cheese cloth, and let it strain for a 3 hours.
Once it was done, I put it into a container, tossed it in the fridge, and this morning I had homemade yogurt with fresh blue berries.
While the entire process takes about 24 hours from start to finish, it really only took about 10 minutes of actual work. I'll definitely be adding this to my weekend routine so that I have fresh, homemade, no sugar added yogurt whenever I want. Best part? Saving my own yogurt to use as a starter!
A few notes: I used vanilla yogurt because it was what I had in the house. My yogurt didn't taste like vanilla, so don't let that inhibit you if you want plain yogurt. My yogurt wasn't as tart as traditional Greek yogurt - I didn't want it that way. To get it more tart, leave it out at room temperature after you've strained the yogurt.
Lately, I've been experimenting with a lot of "adventures in homemade." Consider this a new series that I'll be posting about as I try my hand at making our kitchen a bit more homemade!
Have you ever made your own yogurt?
What method did you use?
This does seem easy, good job! And I'm sure it is much cheaper
ReplyDeleteLove this!! I totally want to try it sometime :)
ReplyDelete