In the forums, at PYP, we have been discussing homemade yogurt. I was intrigued because between my penchant for green smoothies and my husband’s addiction to greek style yogurt – we go through a lot of yogurt around here! I’ve tried some different methods and recipes and I’ve decided to share with you what has worked the best for me. I get a delicious thick consistency and have even made my own greek style!
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What you need: 1/2 gallon of pasteurized milk (any fat content); 1-1/3 C powdered milk (not fake milk like Morning Moo – real powdered milk); yogurt (make sure it says “live and active cultures” – you only need to purchase this the first time you buy your yogurt, after that you can use your own homemade yogurt!); a 4-5 Quart slow cooker.
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Advice: Start this process when you first wake up or at about 4-6pm. This process is very, very easy and very, very time consuming.

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Also – NEVER stir your yogurt, only scoop or fold, or it will break down and become thin.
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Process:

1. Combine the powdered milk into the milk, mixing well (I use my stick blender). The powdered milk adds milk solids to your yogurt giving it a thicker consistency than most homemade yogurt. I HIGHLY recommend it. Plus, it’s a great way to use your food storage!
2. Pour the milk into a 4-5 quart crockpot, cover and turn on low heat.
3. Leave it alone for 2.5 hours.
4. Unplug your crockpot.
5. Leave it alone for 3 hours.
6. Uncover the milk and skim off any skin. Scoop 2 C of warm milk into a bowl and whisk with 1/2 C yogurt. For my starter I used Greek Gods traditional plain greek style yogurt.
7. Pour the milk/yogurt back into the other milk and cover your slow cooker.
8. Wrap the entire slow cooker crin a fluffy towel and let it sit on your counter for 8 hours.
9. Unwrap. Scoop yogurt into clean containers and refrigerate.

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That’s it. If you follow the measurements exactly and use the proper size slow cooker this method should work for you. If you change amounts or use a smaller or larger crockpot your heat will vary and it may not work. I cannot believe how easy and INEXPENSIVE this is. I will never buy store bought yogurt again. To flavor it – just stir in some jam or homemade syrup (I combine 1 C sugar, 1 C water, bring it to a boil and then add 1 C of mashed fruit and let it simmer for about 10 minutes). Delicious!!

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GREEK STYLE

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As I said – my husband loves his greek style yogurt. To turn your yogurt into greek style yogurt, simply put a cotton dish towel (smooth, not terry cloth style) over a colander over a bowl. Scoop yogurt into the cloth, fold the sides of the cloth over the top and weight with a zip top bag of water. Let it sit over the bowl for 4 hours. Voila, greek style yogurt! This makes a great substitute for sour cream! If you leave it sitting for 8 hours you get yogurt cheese – which is very similar to and can be used as a substitute for cream cheese.

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Many of the methods I ended up using came from this blog post. You should check it out. She even has videos!

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