runtoryrun.com

I don't know about you, but I love yogurt. I especially love plain GREEK yogurt. But at the cost of up to $5.00 for 2-3 servings I found muself only buying it as a treat.

 

Sure, there are other yogurts out there, but many are full of additives and are more sugar than yogurt.

 

About 9 months ago I started making my own yogurt using fat free milk and a crockpot. It is probably the simplest recipe in the world. The best part is, I control the ingredients (of which there are three) and can make a week's worth of yogurt (seven healthy servings) for about $1.50.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon fat free milk

2-3 Tbs plain yogurt with live cultures

1/4 cup fat free dry milk

Pour milk (liquid milk) into a crock pot.

Set the pot to low and leave for three hours.

After three hours, turn off crock pot and leave for another three hours.

After the milk has cooled down add the started (plain yogurt) and the dry milk. Mix well.

Wrap the entire crockpot in two heavy towels and leave for 6-8 hours to "yogue".

I generally start it at 3 p.m. turn it off at 6 p.m. and let it sit from 9 p.m. to about 5 a.m.

In the morning you will have yogurt. It will be thin with lots of whey. You can eat it that way, it's about the consistency of cheap flavored yogurt from the store. But if you want Greek yogurt, all you do is strain it.

Line a colander with two-three layers of cheesecloth. Hang it over a large bowl to catch the whey.  Allow to drain for 2 or more hours, depending on how thick you like it. 

If you let it drain for a day you can make simple yogurt cheese. Add some spices and you have a tart cheese that is fat free and rich tasting. 

This may seem time consuming, but it is fully worth the effort. The effort is really minimal, it's just the time it takes.