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

Tzatziki--Cucumber Salad with Homemade Greek Yogurt

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I picked the first Armenian cucumber today from the garden (the cold and the deer slowed their arrival) so I had to use one in one of my favorite salads: a simple Tzatziki, or Greek yogurt and cucumber salad.

Because I make my own yogurt at least once a week, I also make my own Greek yogurt. Even if you don't make your own yogurt, you can easily create a Greek style yogurt at home minus the hefty price tag. Greek yogurt is sometimes called strained yogurt because the whey is strained from regular yogurt. It is thick, tangy and so popular these days that Greek yogurt sales have grown nearly tenfold in the past few years.

To make Greek yogurt, pour plain yogurt into a strainer lined with cheesecloth, place the strainer over a bowl, and put in the refrigerator over night. That's it. In the morning, the bowl will be filled with whey (which my puppy loves!). Squeeze the remaining whey out of the cheesecloth and then scrape from the cheesecloth the thick Greek yogurt.

In a bowl, whisk together:
1 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
2 finely minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 c Greek yogurt

To this add finely chopped cucumbers, salt and pepper and stir to coat the cukes. I also added fresh dill since I have it in the garden. Chill several hours.


For an early post on making yogurt, scroll down the page and in the right hand column listing the labels, click on Yogurt.

Yogurt--Homemade, Of Course

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Yes, I make my own yogurt. I can proudly say that I have not purchased yogurt in the 15 months since Nathaniel gave me a yogurt maker for Christmas. I make one-two batches a week. There is no comparison in taste between store bought yogurt and homemade. Homemade is so much better. And making yogurt is easy!

I love yogurt and eat it daily either alone or mixed with fruit or granola. Since I have been making yogurt, I also use it in dressings or toppings. I love the yogurt blended with tart cherry juice concentrate, almond extract and orange peel, maple syrup, honey and vanilla, or with fresh fruit.

And then there is the cost incentive: my yogurt maker turns out 8 small containers that would cost $6-7 in the store. I make it for less than $1.

My yogurt maker is by Donvier but you don't need a gizmo to make yogurt. A glass jar and a warm oven will do same thing.

To make yogurt, slowly warm, stirring occasionally, 1 qt. of milk to 180 degrees F. If you are using skim milk, add 1/2 c dried milk to help it thicken.

When the milk reaches 180 degrees F, turn it off and let it cool, stirring occasionally, to 110 degrees F. To 1/2 c of the warm milk, add 2 T plain yogurt. Ok, so you have to buy a container of plain yogurt to have a culture. (Or buy a powdered yogurt culture which comes with most yogurt makers). Someone gave me a pint of plain yogurt when they were cleaning out their fridge from their summer cottage and I poured it into ice cube trays, froze, popped them out and dropped into a freezer bag, and now each cube is enough for a batch of yogurt. After you make yogurt, you can use 2 T from that batch for the next 2 batches before it loses its' potency and needs to be replaced by a new culture.

Pour the blended milk and yogurt back into the rest of the milk and stir. I then pour this into the yogurt cups, set the timer for 12 hrs. (I like it thick) and that's it.

Oven method: pour the mix into a glass jar or bowl. If you have a gas oven, just put the covered jar or bowl in the oven and the pilot light will keep the milk at a constant temperature. 8-10 hours later, you have yogurt. For an electric oven, turn the oven on until it just begins to warm up and then shut it off. Ideally, you'd want it at 110 degrees F but most oven thermostats don't go that low. Put the glass jar or glass bowl of covered yogurt in the oven and let it sit 8-10 hours. Keep the oven light on if you have an electric oven; this adds a bit more warmth.

Microwave method: pour the mix into a glass jar or bowl. Cover. Wrap in a dish towel. Place in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds every 30-45 minutes for 4 hours. Set a timer to remind you to do this every 30-45 min (I give this advice having let too much time go by). This keeps the milk at about 110 degrees.

Greek yogurt is pricey and mine is excellent at a fraction of the price. To make Greek style yogurt, pour a quantity of yogurt into a cheese cloth-linked strainer, set the strainer over a bowl or pan and place in the refrigerator over night. The next am, the cheese cloth will contain the very thick Greek style yogurt and the bowl or pan will contain the drained whey. If you want 2/3 c of Greek yogurt, begin with 1 c of regular yogurt as approximately 1/3 of that amount will drain in whey (or drain away!).

Couldn't be easier. Making gyros? Here's the Greek style yogurt for the cucumber sauce!