Greek Yogurt--Make Your Own, It's Easy!

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I often hear friends talking about how they have fallen in love with thick, tangy, Greek yogurt. In the last few years, several brands of this silky yogurt can be found on grocery store shelves--and at a hefty price tag.


What is Greek yogurt anyway? Basically, it is just plain yogurt that has been allowed to sit in muslin or cheesecloth over a bowl or container so that whey drains from the yogurt. What is left is very thick and creamy and different in consistency than typical yogurt.

Even if you don't make your own yogurt like I do--which is easy: just heat milk to 180 degrees, cool to 110 degrees, add some yogurt from a previous batch as the culture, put in a bowl, wrap with a dish cloth and let it sit in an oven with either the heat of the pilot light or the oven light to keep it warm overnight--you can easily make Greek yogurt with store purchased yogurt plain yogurt.

Read the labels when you buy yogurt. What you want to see is a list of the cultures/bacteria that are in the yogurt not preservatives, corn syrup or artificial flavors. If you make your own yogurt, you can buy dried cultures or buy a good organic yogurt and freeze cubes of the yogurt (in ice cube trays) to use. You can use a couple of tablespoons from a previous batch for 2-3 times then grab one of the thawed ice cubes for the next batch to freshen it. The yogurt I make has 5 cultures: S. Thermophilus. L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, and L. Casel.

What you'll need:

Plain yogurt--quite a bit of whey will drain out, about 1/3 of the amount you begin with will drain
A steamer or strainer placed over a bowl
Line the steamer/strainer with cheese cloth or muslin or a paper coffee filter

Place the yogurt in the cloth or coffee filter, cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl/strainer/yogurt in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. The whey, or liquid, from the yogurt will have drained into the bowl. Scrape the thick yogurt from the cheesecloth and store in an air tight container. You have Greek yogurt at a fraction of the price of grocery store Greek yogurt.

In my house, the whey goes to the dog who waits patiently for it! He loves it and it is good for him.

Homemade Yogurt