Making Greek Yogurt

One of the new popular things is Greek Yogurt. Very good for you and some are even low in fat, such as the American brand "Oikos Zero" A delicious greek yogurt. Available in various flavors with low fat, no sugar and low cholesterol. Its an excellent source of healthy desert that you can eat on the go, and without the guilt..

In other Countries,Greek Yogurt can be a bit expensive. Though you may be able to find it. It may be hard to find low fat or fat free options.

So instead of having a hard time find the yogurt you like, or spending money buying Greek Yogurt, or having to deal with the fake ingredients that they put inside, to extend shelf life. Here's a quick and easy recipe that is fail proof, and works every time. Producing big batches of Greek Yogurt made right in your kitchen and on your stove top. Where you know exactly what is inside, with nothing fake. Just full/ real ingredients that are actually food and not chemicals.

Here's how it's done! 

First, some back story on yogurt making. 

Yogurt making is actual, healthy live bacteria that grows, and reproduces more live bacteria which forms the yogurt. These are natural probiotics. Which is very good for you. It is good bacteria that is great for your stomach and gut health. But in order for this bacteria to grow and multiply ( making the perfect yogurt) You have to follow strict guidelines in order to have the good bacteria grow. If not, then what you will have is a runny yogurt that doesn't settle, or you will have a yogurt that stays as milk and never turns into yogurt or many other failed attempts. So Please follow these guidelines correctly. Though simple, every step is important.

First things first. Every item that you will use when making the yogurt needs to be clean and sanitized. Thoroughly wash every item that will be used to make the yogurt. Then after washing it. Take boiling water and pour over every item being used. This will sanitize each item and ensure that only the good bacteria grows. This includes your pot, mixing spoon, measuring tools, whisk and anything being used.

Important Notes: 

1- The choice of milk that you use is up to you. It can be whole milk, low fat 2% milk or skim/ fat free milk

2- For your first batch of yogurt you will need to buy a Plain Greek yogurt that you like and use this as your live culture starter (Your live bacteria) You need to have a yogurt that has the live bacteria inside or else the yogurt will not work. This is simple. You can just go to the store and buy a small jar of yogurt that you like and look at the ingredients and it needs to say live bacteria or "live and active cultures" "Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus bulgarians, streptococcus thermophilus" To name a few. 

Something interesting to note, is that you will only need to buy your culture starter yogurt from the store for your first batch only! After making your own yogurt. You would just need to save a few spoons of your own homemade yogurt and you can use this yogurt that you made to make your next yogurt. Because now your homemade yogurt has the same live bacteria as the yogurt you buy in the store.

Ingredients

1 Gallon Milk ( Must be pasterized cannot be UHT or Ultra Pasterized) 

6 tbsp Greek Yogurt (Must contain Live bacteria)

Directions:

In a Pot on low medium heat. Heat your milk, stirring regularly to not burn. Until it reaches a temperature of 180 or just until it starts to simmer. You will know it's ready when you start to see the milk foaming around the sides and then you will notice tiny bubbles starting to form in the middle. Your milk is ready. Set aside and allow to cool to about a temperature of about 120 This should be reached leaving to cool for about about 20  - 25 minutes (Room temperature, But still warm. Cannot be cool or lukewarm. )

Remove any milk skin that forms on top of the milk. Then Take about 2 cups of the milk from the pot and place in a big bowl and to this, you can Add in your Greek yogurt. Mix well with a whisk until smooth. Then add this entire mixture to the pot of milk. Immediately cover and wrap with a towel all around. Ensuring it's keeping all of that milk warm. The goal here is to try to keep the milk at that same temperature for as long as possible. Think of it like wrapping a baby in blankets. You want to use as many kitchen towels as you can and safely wrap that pot with the warm milk nice and tug. 

Now You can place this pot that is wrapped inside of your oven that is OFF and keep it there for about 6 - 8 hours untouched! Resist the urge to want to go and check on your yogurt, or to open the oven or to move your yogurt because now you need to use the oven for some reason. It needs to be left untouched or your yogurt will not form... Now for this step you can do one of two things. You can leave it with your oven light on, which will cause enough heat in the oven to keep the same temperature of the milk. Or if you don't want to waste electricity by keeping the oven light on for hours. Then you can try this trick. Before placing your yogurt in the oven. Turn your oven on for about 10 minutes. Just enough time for it to get warm. Then turn your oven off completely and allow it to cool for about 20 - 30 minutes. Then out your yogurt in the oven and close the door. The goal is to have a place where there will be no outside temperature or movement coming in.

Leave it there for 6 - 8 hours. Once the time is up. You can open your oven door, unwrap your milk pot and twalla, you have yogurt.

Now if you like just regular yogurt. Then you are done. Here is your yogurt that you can feel free to eat and enjoy just like that. Feel free to add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

But if you are looking for a thicker consistency Greek Yogurt then you just have one final step, which is to strain the yogurt. This will produce a much thicker almost ice cream type consistency which is absolutely amazing. You just take your strainer and create a similar layer to this when making cheese. Which is to put  a strainer on top of a bowl and line the strainer with a cheese cloth. Looks something like this to strain out the liquid.

You can leave it straining for anywhere between 2 hours to overnight. The longer you leave it straining, the thicker your yogurt will be.

There you go! Whichever way you choose. Whether it be regular yogurt or thick greek yogurt. Enjoy with your favorite toppings and jam or fresh fruit and add whip cream, nuts, granola and many other toppings. Enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours

God Bless