I went through a stage a couple years ago where I tried time and again to make my own yogurt but it would never turn out right so I gave up. Then my friend showed me this simple, no fuss way to make greek yogurt, I went home and tried it on my own and it turned out perfect! I have been making this every week since and have been enjoying the delicious yogurt as well as the whey. This yogurt is so mild that you don't even need to add a sweetener to it, we just add berries and my nutty granola when eating it for breakfast or as a snack. I also use this as the base for all my dips and dressings instead of sour cream and mayo.
The Recipe
Let an icecube melt at room temperature in a large pan, this will prevent the milk from scalding on the bottom of the pan. I use whole milk from a local dairy that is lightly pasteurized but you can use what milk you prefer, just make sure it is at least 2% for the best results.
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Heat a half gallon of milk (or double this recipe if using a full gallon) over medium low heat until the temperature reaches between 180 and 185 degrees. I love this point and shoot laser thermometer I got for my soap making or you can use a candy thermometer.
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While your milk is heating plug in your crockpot and heat on the warm setting, if you don't have a warm setting use the low setting. Once your milk is at the correct temperature remove from the heat and let cool on your counter until it is 110 degrees. To speed up this process you can place the pan in a sink of ice water.
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Place 1/4 cup of plain yogurt in a small bowl and spoon in some of the warmed milk then stir together. Pour this mixture into your warmed milk and whisk until well combined.
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Unplug your crockpot and pour in the warmed milk. Cover with a towel and let sit for 8 hours. Place in the refrigerator overnight to let it continue to set up and develop the flavor. Pull out of the fridge and there you have some delicious plain yogurt, if you want to take it a step further and make it into greek yogurt, line a strainer with cheesecloth and pour the yogurt in it to strain all the whey (liquid) out of it.
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This picture shows what happens to cheesecloth after you wash it in the washing machine - don't do that. You can wash it by hand in your sink with liquid dish soap, wring out and hang to dry. I only learned this after my mishap, as you can see I substituted coffee filters when my washed cheesecloth didn't quite do the job - living and learning here! Once strained you will have a couple cups of wonderful whey, which looks like a yellow liquid and is packed with live cultures and used in most fermenting recipes. Here is a great blog post from The Prairie Homestead on all the things you can do with your whey. Now you can enjoy some delicious, creamy and rich greek yogurt!
Instant Pot Version
The Instant Pot is one of the best things to happen to my kitchen so here is the very simple way to whip up some yogurt.
1/2 gallon milk
1/4 plain yogurt
Pour milk into Instant Pot and press yogurt button, adjust to read boil and run until it beeps. Let the milk cool to 110 degrees, then stir in yogurt. Cover and press yogurt button for 12 hours. Refrigerate overnight. If making Greek yogurt, strain in the cheesecloth.
1/2 gallon milk
1/4 plain yogurt
Pour milk into Instant Pot and press yogurt button, adjust to read boil and run until it beeps. Let the milk cool to 110 degrees, then stir in yogurt. Cover and press yogurt button for 12 hours. Refrigerate overnight. If making Greek yogurt, strain in the cheesecloth.
