Thick homemade Greek yogurt

I just love good thick Greek yogurt but like most people I do not love the price.  Making homemade yogurt was nothing new to me so I knew there had to be a way to make Greek yogurt.  I just didn't know it would be soooo easy.

After trying it many different ways, I found this one turned out the best.

This may look like a lot of work or steps but really it's not. Most of the magic is done while you are playing with your kids or watching a movie.

Let's get started

Ingredients
1 gallon milk (I use full fat but any kind will work)
2 cups whipping cream (optional)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (with LIVE cultures) or 1/4 cup plain homemade yogurt
thermometer

In a large pot, pour in a full gallon of milk and 2 cups whipping cream.  Turn stove on to Med-Low.  Cook slowly until it reached 180 degrees.  If you do not have a thermometer, buy one.  No really, they are only a couple dollars and I use mine ALL the time.  There are ways to judge if you do not have one but I don’t think it’s reliable.

Once it reaches 180 degrees, remove from heat.  Let it cool down until it reaches about 108-110 degrees.  At that point take out about a cup of milk and mix that and ¼ cup yogurt into a bowl.  Then mix it with the rest of the milk batch.  I have read some believe this is not a necessary step.  I do it, but the choice is yours. 

Now if you are lucky enough to have an oven that goes down to 110 degrees, just put your pot of milk in the oven.  I am not so luck and most people I assume won’t be either. There are many different ways to work around that, but this is my favorite and it works faster than the other methods.  Pour your yogurt into canning jars (once again if you don’t have them, you are missing out!  I use them for EVERYTHING). 

I like to place the canning jars into a big pot filled 1/3 the way with water ( do not get water in the jars). Turn the stove on LOW and then place your thermometer on the side of the pot to make sure it does not go over 110 degrees.  Warm on the stove for about 4 hours.  Just check about every ten minutes or so just to make sure your stove does not spike.  Hint:  If you check your yogurt at 3- 3 1/2 hours and it still looks like milk, you are fine.  There is something magic that happens the last 30 minutes.  Sometimes I let mine cook just a little longer if it does not look thick enough yet.  Keep in mind the longer your warm it the stronger (tart) the taste will be.  I warmed mine yesterday for about 4 hours 15 minutes and it turn out amazing.  It is yummy enough to eat plain. 

Now if you wanted normal yogurt you could just take the jars and place them in the fridge for a few hours.  But if you want thick yogurt aka Greek yogurt then you have one more step.

The only difference between normal yogurt and Greek yogurt is that it is strained. 

To strain the yogurt you will need some cloth to strain it with.  Cheese cloth is just to thin, so either you put a lot of layers or just a plain cotton t-shirt fabric will work perfect!

Place your colander in a bowl and then your fabric in the colander.  Pour the yogurt in the colander.  Let it drain for about 6+ hours.  You can leave it on the counter to drain or in the fridge.  After it is done draining, scoop it into jars or any container you choose.  I like to put mine in canning jars and some in little jars or baby food jars for individual serving sizes. 

If you like flavored yogurt, here are just a few of the many, many options.

Ø      My girls like a little honey with unsweetened coconut flakes on top.

Ø      I love my topped with homemade granola, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, and chopped fruit and then drizzled with raw honey. WOW, so yummy.

Ø      Fresh fruit is always good

Ø      Pure Maple syrup