Homemade Greek Yogurt

[monday1957]

Huge success! The photo shows how the whey has drained off overnight, leaving the most delicious, thick, creamy Greek yogurt. I definitely recommend having a go at making this; as long as you've got some muslin and a thermometer, plus a 'starter' Greek yogurt that contains the cultures ( I used the Waitrose one that contains the live bacteria - I don't think a bog standard 'Greek style yogurt' would work somehow), it should be fine.

1. Heat 1 litre FF milk to 80c in a pan.

2. Cool milk down to 42c - 46c. Transfer to ceramic or glass bowl (not metal).

3. Whisk in 3 tbsps Greek yogurt. Cover with clean cloth and keep somewhere warm (108c) for 4 - 12 hours. I put mine in the oven with just the light switched on for 8 hours.

4. After the 8 hours, place muslin into a sieve with glass bowl underneath. Pour the mixture onto the muslin and the liquid starts to drip through. Store overnight in the fridge.

5. The Greek yogurt will be left in the muslin and I stored mine in a kilner jar. If the yogurt is a bit too thick, stir in a tbsp of the whey liquid.

6. Eat within 3 days and pay forward by making your next batch.

[BigRedDBA]

It looks good, does it taste the same as store bought Greek yogurt? I have to admit that I'm not likely to try making it when 500g is 49p from Aldi. I'm off to get a bowl full sprinkled with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

[monday1957 2kg Restart Jan 2025 in reply to BigRedDBA]

Hiya BigReDBA. I’ve not tried the Aldi yogurt myself, but a few reviews I’ve read on-line suggest it might not contain live bacteria, which is what makes the genuine article so good for you. If it doesn’t state on the tub that it contains the cultures, then it’s more than likely ‘Greek style’. I’m sure it tastes wonderful, too, though ☺️

[JiminyCricket 7lbs]

I do this too, I love Greek yoghurt!!. I find about 4 hours straining time gets the thickness I want, but that probably depends on the thickness of muslim. I use Yeo valley live yoghurt as a starter - any natural live yoghurt will work, doesn’t need to be Greek.

I’ve recently learnt that if you ferment the yoghurt for 24 hrs instead of 8ish, then it becomes lactose free - will research this a bit more the try - I make my yoghurt in a flask and it keeps water hot for about 24hrs so hoping it’ll work. Does anyone know if that’s true?

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to JiminyCricket]

It'll certainly have less lactose in it (it'll taste more tart). But probably not lactose free.

If you ferment for 24hrs and strain for a bit longer than usual, you'll get labneh.

[TheAwfulToad Visitor]

Homemade Greek Yoghurt is awesome. I keep a supply of it in the fridge at all times.

Top tip: you can make this with UHT milk and can skip the "heat to 80'C" step. Just heat to 40-something and put it somewhere warm. Turns out about the same.