Homemade Greek Yogurt

Hi everyone, sorry for the long hiatus, but what are you going to do when the kids...are kids? :)

Anyway, I've had some requests from people in my circles to share my yogurt technique. I use technique rather than recipe because it's more about how you put the ingredients together than the ingredients themselves.

I started making yogurt because we were spending $11 a week on yogurt! That's $44 a month... I'm just too cheap to let that be in my budget. So I asked my mom about making yogurt because I remembered she used to make it when I was younger. She said it was easy but you have to get a few elements right for a good result. So I started my adventure and haven't looked back.

Now I make the same amount for at most $5 a week. That's less than half and leaves more wiggle room in my food budget. Ok, onto the technique.

I'm apologizing in advance for the flexible amounts and times in my descriptions. This really is the way I make yogurt and it changes slightly from time to time but all the ranges I give, I have gotten wonderful yogurt. Also, I know that many reading this know how to cook, but for clarity I will give an exhaustive list of equipment so you are well prepared for each step.

A note on starter: yogurt is made from good bacteria processing the milk. When you see "live and active cultures" on the label, that means those good bacteria are in there. I've noticed a difference in using only starters that contain milk and live and active cultures yields the best results. Sometimes there are additives like sugar, gelatin, and emulsifiers in store-bought yogurt that might impede the process. Also, not all plain yogurt tastes the same. We discovered that Fage brand 2% Greek plain yogurt was what our family preferred. You can either use a single serving tub of your choice of plain yogurt or 1 cup of any plain yogurt, even what's left from a previous batch. Try out a few or just pick out one and give this a go. 

Last warning: This may seem time intensive but honestly it's just a few quick interactions separated by some long wait times. I start heating the milk at 9 am, start cooling it before lunch, add starter after lunch and let it sit til the next morning around 7 am, and then strain it. Some days it's delayed so I just take it out later the next morning.

Feel free to comment or email me crimsoncinder@gmail.com with any questions or to share your success!

 So here we go.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Ingredients
-1 gallon milk (I use whole but any cows milk will work)
-6-8 oz plain yogurt (I use Fage brand 2% Greek plain yogurt single serving or 1 cup of yogurt from a previous batch)

Equipment
-6 quart crockpot
-Instant-read Thermometer
-Sink of cold water/ice bath
-Oven set to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or just a cold oven with the light on, this will keep the oven at the perfect incubation temperature
-Flour sack cloth or clean smooth cotton cloth
-Colander
-Large bowl
-Small bowl
-Whisk
-Large Spoon/Spatula

Steps
1. Pour 1 gallon of milk into crockpot set to high. Stir occasionally and heat covered until temperature reads 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit. This takes my crockpot about 3 hours but yours could take as little as 1.5 hours. The important thing is this is a gradual process, heating too quickly will result in a grainy texture.

2. Remove stoneware insert and place in ice bath sink uncovered until temperature reads 110 (I bring it out if its 115 or lower) This may seem weird to heat up then reduce the temperature but its to denatures the whey protein in the milk, making it active. You will not get a high quality or quantity yield without this step.

3. Remove stoneware from sink.

4. Remove 3-4 cups of 110 degree milk from insert and add plain yogurt starter.

5. Whisk gently until smooth. Pour mixture back into insert. Stir gently to combine.

6. Cover and place in 110 degree oven (or oven with the light on) for 12-18 hours.

7. Remove yogurt from oven and pour into flour sack lined colander that is fit inside a large bowl. This will strain out liquid and give a thicker, Greek yogurt. Without straining, you have just plain yogurt. Feel free to just stir and put in an airtight container if you wish at this point. Otherwise strain for anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on your desired thickness.

8. Remove Greek yogurt from cloth and store in airtight container for up to two weeks. I use a spoon or spatula to scrap the yogurt that clings to the cloth.

9. Enjoy with add-ins or plain.

Facing a Change

Taking time for myself has always been hard. When I was younger and lived with my parents and siblings, I didn't feel like I could ask to do things because there were so many of us. I am the middle of five and when I stared being the age when activities ramp up, my older sisters were in college and my youngest brother was a toddler. My parents both worked at the college my sisters attended and we had built a new house. Money wasn't tight, but it wasn't free flowing either. I learned quickly to limit the things I asked for because not everything was going to be funded.

Then, as always, I went to an extreme. I, for some reason, decided to not make my parents spend any money on me. I had only a small scope of the expenses they incurred. I did not account for water, insurance, or electricity to name a few. I did make sure to not to ask for special snacks, gadgets, clothes, or extracurricular activities. If I did have to have them spend money, I got things on clearance and did the minimum activities possible.

This did more to make me dislike sports because of refusing to get the proper equipment or doing things where I would have to buy equipment. I missed out on fun optional field trips because i didn't want to burden them more. None of this was supported by my parents. when they found out what I was doing, they sat me down and let me know it was actually causing burdens, on them and me, by trying not to be a burden (my paraphrase of the conversation).

In college, my school came first. I rarely did things to make me happy. Normally my choices were fueled by either how it impacted my grades or by why I thought others would see and how they would judge me.

I started telling myself the lie that if everyone was happy, I wouldn't need to look after myself.

I'm realizing now as time has flown at breakneck speed, valuing myself and keeping my spiritual, emotional, and physical health a priority are my biggest weaknesses.

I want to change that.

I want, for the sake of all the people I love, to be healthy. Not bowing to what I think people think of me, but working out myself with fear and trembling in the lap of my loving Savior. If he  has valued me, I have to value me. He deserves seeing me , his child, thriving in the life he gave me.

So I choose to run, literally I've started running. I choose to make what I enjoy making without the anxiety of, "will people buy it?" clouding my mind. I choose to eat when my body needs nutrients, an cry and laugh when I need to. I choose to make things I enjoy, because God made me to make. I choose to be who he has made me in the life he has given me.