Anyone Make Their Own Greek Yogurt?

MsCzar

Does it taste as good as the store-bought? Better? Never tried it, but thought I'd give it a go using the overnight oven method when I run low on Greek yogurt later this month. Does it expand or will the finished yogurt volume equal the milk volume?

When I have more milk than I can drink before it goes off, I freeze it in ice cube trays to use later in sauces, puddings and baking. I am guessing yogurt making would also be a good use for frozen milk?

SockSaver

yep, been doing for years. you get the same ( about) amount of yogurt as milk, but to make it Greek yogurt you must strain some of the whey off. That's what makes it thick. Plain yogurt has a bit of a tangy flavor, most store bought yogurts have stuff added to them.

MsCzar

Does the whey contain protein that I might want? Can I re-incorporate it with an electric beater? Would I want to?

penguinmama87

Oh, I'm going to follow this! I've been thinking about doing this too, using the slow cooker method. Curious to know others' experiences.

Cfranklin61161

I make mine in the Insta pot

acpgee

We used to that in my mom's household when I was a kid. We used the slower cooker. The resulting yoghurt was runnier than store bought.

marie_eve_78

I make mine in my instant pot, and drain it at least an hour. It's delicious. I'm starting to crave mine more than the one from the store.

Solarized

MsCzar wrote: »

Does the whey contain protein that I might want? Can I re-incorporate it with an electric beater? Would I want to?

The whey from yogurt does contain protein. Incorporating it back in will just thin the yogurt.

I'll use it in baking or as the liquid for pizza crust.

I use the instant pot and it couldn't be more simple. Bring milk to a boil using the Yogurt->Boil setting. Cool to between 110 and 115 degrees (ice bath can be used to speed up the process), add some yogurt from the last batch (or store bought plain yogurt). Return to instant pot for Yogurt-> 8 hour setting.

Eat as-is for a thinner yogurt.
Strain until you get the thickness you want for Greek yogurt. I use coffee filters and a colander instead of cheesecloth as I find it releases from the coffee filters easier.

Gisel2015

Nope, I don't make my own yogurt. Fage does a good job already.

mtruitt01

I used to, but now just buy Trader Joes 2% greek plain (110 cal) and put fresh blueberries with it. I felt bad straining off whey, and I don't like mess and cooking anyway.

ExistingFish

I used to do it all the time, when we were on WIC we got way more milk than the kids would drink. I made yogurt with it (you also got yogurt on WIC) so the kids ate it up, like faster than I could make.

Anyway, I made it in glass jars with a heating pad, in a slow cooker, and lastly - in my ninja foodi (which is like doing it in a slow cooker). I made it in the foodi the most. I would make a full gallon of milk into yogurt, it would all turn to the same quantity of "regular" yogurt.

How thick it gets depends on how long you keep it at temperature - as in how "not runny" it is.

If you want it thick like Greek Yogurt, you hav to strain it through a nut milk bag or coffee filters in a pinch. For a long time, like overnight. You end up with about 60% of the volume you started with.

I would mix honey and maple syrup and vanilla in mine. The kids ate it up.

It isn't worth the trouble if you don't have a lot of cheap milk. I basically turned $4 of milk into about $7 of yogurt, but it takes a lot of work and attention - because the milk (and starter) was provided through the WIC program, I was able to make tons of "free" yogurt - it just took my work. I wouldn't buy milk just to do it for fun.

penguinmama87

ExistingFish wrote: »

I used to do it all the time, when we were on WIC we got way more milk than the kids would drink. I made yogurt with it (you also got yogurt on WIC) so the kids ate it up, like faster than I could make.

Anyway, I made it in glass jars with a heating pad, in a slow cooker, and lastly - in my ninja foodi (which is like doing it in a slow cooker). I made it in the foodi the most. I would make a full gallon of milk into yogurt, it would all turn to the same quantity of "regular" yogurt.

How thick it gets depends on how long you keep it at temperature - as in how "not runny" it is.

If you want it thick like Greek Yogurt, you hav to strain it through a nut milk bag or coffee filters in a pinch. For a long time, like overnight. You end up with about 60% of the volume you started with.

I would mix honey and maple syrup and vanilla in mine. The kids ate it up.

It isn't worth the trouble if you don't have a lot of cheap milk. I basically turned $4 of milk into about $7 of yogurt, but it takes a lot of work and attention - because the milk (and starter) was provided through the WIC program, I was able to make tons of "free" yogurt - it just took my work. I wouldn't buy milk just to do it for fun.

Thanks! This is helpful.

Part of the reason I'm interested is just to learn how it's done. Another is that I try to source local food when possible. We have a standard weekly dairy order from a local farm, but they don't make yogurt. I could, however, make my own from the milk we get.

MsCzar

ExistingFish wrote: »

I used to do it all the time...

Thank you. That's super helpful! My interest is also mostly about just learning how. I also wondered if it tasted better - much like home grown produce tastes better than store-bought. I can see where it might not be all that cost-effective in the work:convenience ratio.

Question: If I were to use something like a deep glass pie plate on a warming pad, would that significantly reduce the liquid amount via evaporation?

sbmock1

Do you have a sous vide? It is great for keeping the temperature at the correct level. You can also make them in little mason jars for grab and go breakfast.
https://www.savoringthegood.com/sous-vide-yogurt-recipe/

TeaBea

MsCzar wrote: »

Does the whey contain protein that I might want? Can I re-incorporate it with an electric beater? Would I want to?

Regular yogurt is lower protein than Greek yogurt because you are "condensing" Greek by straining it. By incorporating the whey back in (negating the straining) you just have regular yogurt.


https://www.eatthis.com/greek-yogurt-vs-regular-yogurt/

MsCzar

I don't have a sous vide - but do have plenty of mason jars. I only eat Greek yogurt - so that would be my starter. My waste not/want not nature naturally wants to find a use for the strained whey. Wondering if the whey itself can serve as a starter?

Solarized

There are a number of uses for whey.

Check out The Prairie Homestead for some of them.

MsCzar

Solarized wrote: »

Check out The Prairie Homestead for some of them.

Thanks. I'd love to have a go at making ricotta!

michaelsl8

I make my own homemade yogurt. It's milder than the plain store bought yogurt. I add some milk powder in when making it. I've bought starter and used store yogurts as starter. I have strained the whey out to make Greek yogurt. I use the excess whey in bread making. It helps the bread rise better. I've also used it to try to make homemade ricotta cheese and in cakes and milk shakes. You can store whey in ice cube trays in freezer until you need it. I haven't made kefir from scratch but you can strain some brands of store bought kefir similar to straining yogurt. Produces a nice kefir cheese that makes a good substitute for sour cream.

naomi9271

Just going to add a quick tip. The whey you drain off can be frozen and used as starter for your next batch.

Wow, and I thought I was weird making my own...but look how many people do!

MsCzar

Good to know! I always thought that freezing killed the bacteria necessary to make yogurt. That's why I've always believed that there is no benefit to eating frozen yogurt. Who knew?!

dabearo

Easy to do.
Big mason jar
1 of those little cups of plain yogurt. What ever brand you like.
Fill the far with whatever milk you like. Low fat or 1/2&1/2, I use 1/2&1/2
Shake
Place in oven with the oven light on. Or my oven has a proofing feature for bread. Perfect temp.
12 to 18 hours. Shake every once in a while.

Strain with strainer and coffee filter if handy

Don’t wash jar, fill up with what ever milk you use, shake, add repeat steps,
You will always have fresh tangy yogurt. Very cheap, also.

MsCzar

FINALLY made my first batch of homemade yogurt. It set up perfectly overnight in my old skool oven that has a 24/7 pilot light. I made it with whole milk Greek yogurt. There was a wee bit of liquid on top, but the rest had a nice smooth texture with no separation. I will definitely be making more!

Question: Does anybody know if frozen whole milk can be used?

MsCzar

OK - Homemade yogurt is the absolute BEST! But it is soooo incredibly delicious that I am thinking it MUST somehow have more calories than store-bought. It isn't as simple as merely adding up the calories in all the ingredients and dividing by servings yielded since there is a good bit of liquid that drains off after the yogurt thickens.

Does anybody know? I've been logging it as Greek yogurt.