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Sunday, October 25, 2009

.Greek Yogurt in a Crock pot.

I am so excited to share this with you!! I am a yogurt lover. So are my children. We cannot get enough, and I cannot buy enough. We go through it like water. I am a devoted fan of Stoneyfield Farm organic yogurt. But buying as much as we do becomes pricey when on a tight budget. So what's a yogurt craving Mommy to do?? Make it, of course!

But I am a busy, homeschooling Mommy, in the middle of living a crazy camp ministry filled life - so it had to be quick and easy. I looked at several recipes. Some of them calling for a myriad of ingredients from milk (of course!) to powdered milk, to evaporated milk, to gelatin {BLECK} , to who knows what else. Some of the recipes require hours of stirring, temping, and canning. Some of them called for a yogurt maker. But at last I stumbled on the EASIEST recipe ever. The best news is it calls for two ingredients (yup two!) and is made in a crock pot. It is virtually effortless!

Not only do I love yogurt, but I absolutely ADORE Greek yogurt - you know that thick, silky melt-in-your mouth goodness? I have been known to purchase on occasion the ridiculously small containers of it, and hide it waaaay back in my fridge, so that Cadi cannot see it. Then I sneak it! {blush} When I found out that I could add a few simple steps to this recipe and come out with Greek yogurt, I was head-over-heels in love!

So, here it is! If you are a fellow yogurt lover, you must give this a try!!

Step #1: Measure 8 Cups of whole milk. (We are so blessed to be given raw jersey milk from our best friends. I did not take the cream off the top - just left it alone.)



Step #2: Pour milk into a crock pot and turn it on to the lowest setting. Leave it alone for 2.5 hours.



Step 3: After 2.5 hours turn the crock pot off.


Step #4: After 3 more hours remove two cups of the warm milk from the crock pot.



Step 5: Add 1/4 Cup full fat plain yogurt
-Please note - this is the only time you will have to use store bought yogurt as a starter. After this remember to save out 1/2 a cup of your homemade yogurt each batch.


(I had to use Dannon Natural, because this was a last minute thing, and the closest grocery store only had full fat plain yogurt in Dannon.)

Step 6: Stir the plain yogurt and warm milk together.



Step #7: Pour this mixture back into the crock pot. (Please do not be alarmed by the yellow - remember I left the cream on top of my raw milk.)




Step #8: Put the lid back on.



Step #9: Wrap the crock pot in old towels. Leave it alone over night.



Step #10: In the morning wake up to YOGURT!! (If you do not care about continuing to make Greek yogurt you can stop here and pour your yogurt into a container and refrigerate. But for the rest of us - let's move on!)



Step #11: Don't forgot to remove 1/2 a cup of yogurt to use as your starter for next time. You can freeze it!




Step #12: You will need a mixing bowl big enough to fit a colander in it. Line cheese cloth in your colander - I used two sheets.



Step #13: Pour yogurt into colander lined with cheesecloth.



Step #14: Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate over night.


Step #15: Wake up to yummy GREEK Yogurt - all natural, all yummy! Now don't you feel domesticated?!
If you try this, let me know!



I love mine drizzled with honey. Sometimes I throw on some nuts, too.
This was my first time doing a scheduled post. I hope it works okay. Right now, I should be tailgating at the Giant's game! GO GIANTS!
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7 comments:

Ryan and Katie said...

This sounds great! I just might have to try it. Also, we got Orin's skunk costume on Ebay. I think you were the one wondering about that.

Patty said...

I want to try it. Where can I buy cheese cloth?

Carrie said...

Looks yummy and easy! Two questions: If you freeze the yogurt starter, won't that kill the active cultures? A nutritionist at MOPS last week told us that freezing those yogurt pops you can buy will kill the cultures, and I just wondered if it would for this, too.

And then what is the recipe for the next time you make yogurt? The yogurt starter and how many cups of milk? I really want to try this, cause, yeah, yogurt does get expensive, and we always have extra WIC milk left!

Theresa said...

Does it make 8 cups of yogurt, Tiffany?
I love this method! My mom has a little yogurt maker, but it only does about a quart at a time.
Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

This sounds so yummy and easy!!! Do you know what happens if you don't use whole milk? I always buy fat-free yogurt, and don't want to end up with full fat yogurt.

Shannon

Carrie said...

I'm hoping to make this later this week, but do you know how hard it was to find full-fat plain yogurt, organic or not? I went to three grocery stores & finally had to go to the one with a big organic section to find it! ALL the yogurts were low-fat except one there, too!!!

Carrie said...

Tiffany, I tried this recipe last night & it didn't work - it was still milky this morning after 12 hrs with the yogurt in it! I didn't cook it quite 2 1/2 hrs to begin with, though, b/c we were heading out - it only cooked a little over 2 hrs - could that have been the problem??? I think I will try again next week when I can follow the recipe exactly...but I was so disappointed this morning!!!

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