Creamy Homemade Greek Yogurt

UPDATE:

I've revised this recipe to work in any slow cooker, whether yours cooks hot or slow.  Click here for the revised recipe.

{On its way to becoming Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Yogurt}

If you've been reading my menu posts, you've probably noticed that I've been making homemade Greek yogurt about once a week for the past couple of months.  Greek yogurt is all the rage these days, and I can see why.  It's got lots of calcium and potassium, is packed with high quality protein, and it has all those beneficial bacteria swimming around in there. 

The thing is, I don't really like Greek yogurt, at least none of the commercially prepared Greek yogurts I've tried.  Y'all!  I love this homemade Greek yogurt.  It is so creamy, and almost sweet.  It is so good, I even eat it plain, although I love it with mixed berries or PB2 as well.  So if you've tried to jump on the Greek yogurt bandwagon, but just can't because of the tangy taste, try again with this easy to make homemade Greek yogurt.

Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries.
As the berries melt, the juices mix with the yogurt and the taste is oh-so-divine.

 I use this yogurt in smoothies, eat it plain or in fruit parfaits, and I use it as a substitute for mayonnaise and sour cream in recipes.

When I say easy to make, I mean just that.  This is so easy.  Even though I know the science behind the process, I'm still always a little surprised when it actually works, because it seems like making yogurt ought to be more complicated.


All right, enough talk.  On to the recipe.

Creamy Homemade Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 8 cups milk (use any fat content, organic or not--just don't use ultra pasteurized. I use skim, or a ratio of 1:3 2% to skim)
• 1/2 c. plain (no flavors, no sugar), active culture yogurt (make sure the container says active cultures and/or has bacterial scientific names in the ingredients list) -- the first time you make this, use store bought yogurt (I used Stoneyfield Organic).  For subsequent batches, save and use some of your homemade yogurt.

Method:

1. This yogurt is definitely easy, but it is also time consuming.  The entire process takes about 15 hours, start to finish, so you need to plan ahead.  Don't worry, though, only about 15 minutes of that time is hands on.  So make sure you will be around to complete all the steps for your yogurt.  I either start mine first thing in the morning so it will finish before I go to bed, or I start it around 4 p.m., so it can sit overnight and is ready in the morning.
2. Place 8 cups of milk into a crock pot, cover, and heat on low for 2 1/2 hours.
3. Turn off the crock pot and let sit, undisturbed, for 3 hours.
4. Scoop about 2 c of the still warm milk out of the crockpot, and whisk in 1/2 cup yogurt.  Add this mixture back into the crockpot and whisk to combine.
5. Put the top back on the crockpot, wrap the entire crockpot in a bath towel or blanket to keep the mixture warm, and let sit for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
6. When time is up, unwrap your crockpot, take off the cover, and give your beautiful yogurt a little stir.  If you want regular yogurt, you're done--spoon the yogurt into glass or plastic containers, and store in the fridge.
7. If you want Greek style yogurt, spoon the yogurt into a large strainer, into which you've placed a double layer of paper towels or cheesecloth.  Let sit for an hour or two, until it's the desired consistency. 

Finished Greek yogurt--so creamy and delicous