Fab Frugal Friday: How To Make Your Own Greek Yogurt (Good News – It's a Cinch!)
April 9, 2010 in Frugal Tips
It had to happen. You just can’t have a frugal food blog without at some point having a post about making your own yogurt. And, yogurt is a natch for this blog – it is both frugal and healthy and can be eaten by almost anyone. It has natural weight loss and anti-cancer powers and some researchers say it actually improves lactose intolerance. So, Here it is – FFF ‘s take on home made Greek yogurt!
I was intimidated by the process – fears of messing up the accurate measuring, exact temperatures and timing. But, it turns out it really isn’t that complicated. Just heat, stir and keep warm for 6 hours. That’s it. Really.
One of my favorite new products in America’s food world is Greek yogurt. It is tangy but less acidic than regular yogurt and has a beautiful thick creamy texture. The Greek style may be even healthier than regular yogurt. So, I decided if I was going to try making yogurt, it had to be Greek style. I added instant dried milk powder to help thicken the yogurt and hopefully mellow the tartness. I am happy to report success! The result was a thick and creamy tart – but not acidic – yogurt at a fraction of the cost of purchased Greek yogurt. Whip up your own – it’s a snap!
Using a thermometer is very helpful, but not critical to making great yogurt
A slow cooker on "warm" setting is the perfect place to incubate your yogurt, or try your oven set at 100 degrees
Home Made Greek Style Yogurt
4 cups 2% milk
2/3 cup instant dry milk powder
1/2 cup organic plain yogurt, with active cultures
Whisk milk and powder together in a medium sauce pan. Heat to 180 to 190 degrees (If you don’t have a thermometer, just wait until milk is very hot and tiny bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan. Do Not Simmer!). Remove from heat and allow to cool to 120 degrees (If you don’t have a thermometer, wait until milk is very warm but not hot to the touch). Stir in yogurt. Pour into jars and put lids on.
Keep in a warm place at 100 degrees (very warm) for 6 hours. (I used the “warm” setting on my crock pot and left the lid slightly ajar. If your oven can be heated to 100 degrees, you can use that, too.) Check to see if yogurt is thickened. If not thick enough, leave for another 6 to 8 hours, checking every hour until you are satisfied with thickness. Don’t let it go too long, though, because the longer it sits the more sour it becomes. The yogurt will thicken a little more when chilled.
Keeps in an airtight container in refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Slow Cooker Yogurt, A Year of Slow Cooking
How to Make Yogurt, Cookography
Making Yogurt at Home, One Hot Stove
How to Make Yogurt at Home, AZ Cookbook
Homemade Yogurt, Eating Out Loud
– posted by Donna
THANK YOU for taking this on, Donna! Frugal as I always aspire to be, I’ve been paying $5 a tub for the commercial brands (it’s such a perfect low-carb breakfast and treat). $5 a tub for *two* servings!
NO MORE!
I make smoothies almost every day – can’t wait to start making my own yogurt now!
I am not a yogurt fan because it is to tangy for me. I think you have sold me on to trying this! My convection oven will set at 100 degrees (bread rising temperature) and you have made this look WAY easy….Thanks!
I love making yogurt and since I had an oversupply while pumping I used to make it with breastmilk for the kids! I have since used up all the pumped milk so no more breastmilk yogurt, but we get raw milk now. I will have to try this recipe since I like Greek yogurt.
Courtney, it DEFINITELY doesn’t get any more frugal than that!
*gives you a prize*
No matter what milk you start with, I think it is the powdered milk that makes the difference in texture – mine was thick and creamy!
If any of you fab frugal friends try this, leave a post telling us about your adventures!
I was wondering, – where do you get your containers from? besides the cute green ones in your picture, do you recommend any other containers as well? thanks!
Mmm, yogurt!
Another way to keep it at incubating temperature is to put the pot on a heating pad (like the kind one would use for sore muscles) and wrap it in a towel. I’ve done this a few times with great success.
Lisa – I love these containers, too. I found them in the canning section of a grocery store. I like the kind with lids that screw on for freezing, if you can find them. That way, they will never get dislodged or pop open in your freezer!
Megan – what a great idea – a mulitasking heat pad!
So do you turn around and use some of what you’ve made as the starter for the next batch?
Kirstin – Ah, the wonders of slow cookers!
Laurel – I’m actually not sure . . . good question . . . this is the first batch I have ever made of the Greek (thicker) style. I am assuming that it would work the same as regular yogurt, and you can use your home made batch for that! I;ll try it and will email you about whether it works!
I never thought to use my crock pot instead of my oven, how easy!
We make our own yogurt too! It is the best and tons cheaper!
Maria – another reason to add to your awesomeness!
I was so happy to see this post. I’ve been thinking I needed to buy a yogurt maker with the cups to before I could make yogurt. I’m excited to give this a try!
I use recycled glass milk bottles with screw top lids (Promised Land brand milk has these) It’s more expensive than the milk I normally buy, but was worth it to me to get a few glass bottles.
I may have to try this out. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Margaret – Wow – glass milk bottles! That really takes me back to my childhood days of the milkman and milk on your front porch! Thanks for the fab tip!
Memoria – Yes, please try this – and let us know how your yogurt turns out!
I use quart jars and put mine in the oven (with the light on) over night. The light keeps the oven just warm enough. It works out perfectly!
Shellie – What a fab frugal idea! The “warm” setting on my crock pot is about 100 degrees, but many slow cookers don’t have this setting. Thanks for the tip.
Awesome post. I keep hearing about that stuff, but I haven’t tried it yet. I have a favorite favorite organic yogurt that makes my life complete and I haven’t felt the need yet, but this post and the enthusiastic response makes it tempting.
Jen – I vote “yes” – do it – and let us know how it came out!
Hi Donna ~ I’m in the middle of my yogurt batch right now! In your recipe, do you mean to say “do not boil” instead of “do not simmer?”
I talked to my mom (who has made yogurt many times) and she gave me a fabulous yogurt making book with tons of recipes. In reply to Laurel’s question, she says you can set some of your homemade yogurt and create another batch, as long as its fresh (within 2 weeks).
I will let you know how my yogurt turns out ~ can’t wait!
Frieda – I’m so excited that you are trying this recipe. I respect your culinary talent, so I hope you will give me feedback!
The recipe I sort of followed said to just let the milk get to the point of having tiny bubbles around the edges, but not simmer.
If you have a better method, please let me know!
Thanks so much.
Donna
Anne & Donna, thanks for the inspiration! I made a successful batch and it tasted wonderful!
You can view my post here: http://tinyurl.com/26vzgfo
So happy that you had success, Frieda!
I notice that you used 2% milk and instant milk.
Can I use whole milk instead of those two ingredients? Would the full cream from the whole milk make the yogurt thick?
Thanks
Amateur – I like the idea of whole milk. Yes, definitely try that. AND, be sure to come back and let us know how it turned out!
When you put the yogurt into the crock pot, do you fill the crock pot with water? I’m worried about having my crock pot on without any liquid.
Kate – I had the crock pot on low heat with the jars of yogurt inside and it did just fine. You could also put water in, just make sure your jars are closed tight!
I cannot wait to try this! I attempted yogurt-making earlier this week and failed. I think the Crockpot warmth method will sail me toward success. Thanks!
April – Please come back and let us know if you had success!
[...] a few later versions, I added a spoonful of Greek yogurt – you can even try our make-at-home version. I found that if you chill all the ingredients first, you don’t need to add ice. Also, it [...]
[...] can find it in stores these days, but it is spendy. So, I decided to make my own – check out How to Make Your Own Greek Yogurt. Good News: It’s a [...]
I’ve tried other recipes but this seems to be the best one that I have found. I mixed my milk in a glass bowl and then transferred to a wide mouth quart jar, covered the top with coffee filters and screwed on the canning ring to hold filters in place. I preheated my oven for one minute, turned it off and placed my jar very close to the oven light. This worked great. 7 hours later I had perfect yogurt.
Thanks Char – Will try your method!~