If you like Greek yogurt then there is no reason to go buy it, you can easily make it at home. It’s just 2 ingredients! What makes yogurt Greek? It’s all in the straining.

If you want a thick Greek yogurt you can actually buy plain regular yogurt and strain it through a mesh cloth or a special yogurt strainer concoction. That being said, it is much more satisfying if you make your own from scratch, and pretty easy!

Greek yogurt has a lot more protein per serving since it’s denser and regular yogurt tends to have more calcium since the whey isn’t strained off. If you do strain your homemade yogurt to make it “Greek” then make sure to save the whey (the liquid that is strained off) and use it in milk base soups like potato, broccoli cheese or chowders. It gives them wonderful flavor and a kick of calcium!

One time when I made it I thought I’d do the “upside-down guarantee” test (like Dairy Queen and their upside-down blizzard guarantee) to show that it’s so thick it doesn’t fall out of the cup. You too can do this at home :)!

You just need:

• 8 cups milk, I prefer whole or 2% but you can use skim too, if you prefer
• 4 tablespoons plain yogurt (store bought or some of the last batch you made :))

Steps:

1. Heat milk in large pot on medium-low to low heat, until temperature reaches 180 degrees (test with thermometer).
2. Once it reaches 180 degrees, take it off the heat and let stand until it cools to around 115 degrees.
3. Take two cups of the cooled milk and stir into the 4 tablespoons of yogurt to dissolve, then pour it back into the large pot and stir well.
4. Now divide the mixture into smaller glass containers, or keep it in the pot, and cover.
5. Place covered containers/pot in warm place for 8-12 hours. I put mine in the oven (don’t turn on the heat or anything) with the oven light on.
6. After this time, refrigerate the yogurt for 4 hours before straining it.
7. Now take the yogurt (which at this point is regular yogurt and you can eat it like this if you want) and put it in a yogurt maker/strainer or in 2 layers of cheese cloth over a large bowl and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. The more you refrigerate it while it’s straining the thicker it will get.

At this point you can eat it as is, or with a drizzle of honey, or use it to make tzatziki :).

Kali Orexi!

Greek Yogurt/Regular Yogurt

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Course Snack

Cuisine Greek

Ingredients

  

• 8 cups milk I prefer whole or 2% but you can use skim too, if you prefer
• 4 tablespoons plain yogurt store bought or some of the last batch you made 🙂

Instructions

 

• Heat milk in large pot on medium-low to low heat, until temperature reaches 180 degrees (test with thermometer).
• Once it reaches 180 degrees, take it off the heat and let stand until it cools to around 115 degrees.
• Take two cups of the cooled milk and stir into the 4 tablespoons of yogurt to dissolve, then pour it back into the large pot and stir well.
• Now divide the mixture into smaller glass containers, or keep it in the pot, and cover.
• Place covered containers/pot in warm place for 8-12 hours. I put mine in the oven (don’t turn on the heat or anything) with the oven light on.
• After this time, refrigerate the yogurt for 4 hours before straining it.
• Now take the yogurt (which at this point is regular yogurt and you can eat it like this if you want) and put it in a yogurt maker/strainer or in 2 layers of cheese cloth over a large bowl and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. The more you refrigerate it while it’s straining the thicker it will get.