New and Improved Homemade Greek Yogurt

I stated in the original Homemade Yogurt post that I was "100% convinced a generic brand will work equally as well" as Fage. Turns out I was right (for once).

The steps are more or less the same as before - just a different yogurt starter and two different kinds of milk.

Left: 2% reduced fat milk. Right: nonfat skim milk.

However, this batch turned out better. Maybe it was the different live and active cultures. Maybe it was the use of the oven light method.

Maybe it was the mixing of two different kinds of store bought yogurt (0% and 2% for later comparison purposes) that made it better. Or maybe more probiotic yogurt starter helped. Who knows. But the end result is a New and Improved Homemade Greek Yogurt.

Closeup of the 2% yogurt. It comes out creamier than the 0%, and it's only a minor difference in fat and overall calories, so go with this one. However, avoid the whole milk if you're looking to cut saturated fat.

After it's strained, making it Greek yogurt, do whatever you like with it. I hear putting a dollop of peanut butter on top and pairing it with half a frozen banana really makes for a killer morning. Enjoy!

New and Improved Homemade Greek Yogurt

Yield: 1/2 gallon yogurt
Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon milk (0%, 1%, or 2%)
• 1/2 cup yogurt, store-bought (fat content doesn't matter, so whichever has the probiotics you want and that you'll want to eat the rest of)

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the milk in a pot. BE CAREFUL not to boil the milk. Turn off the heat just as bubbles start to form and stir.
2. Let milk cool to about 110-115 degrees or for perhaps 10-15 minutes. The probiotics will start dying at around 118. Use a thermometer if unsure.
3. Pour milk into a container. Take the 1/2 cup of yogurt and mix it in once the milk has cooled some.
4. Turn the oven to its lowest setting for a minute. Then shut it off, turn on the oven light, and place the milk + yogurt in the oven for 6-24 hours, depending on how much you want the bacteria to grow.
5. Place in the fridge another day. Go ahead and enjoy as-is or strain the yogurt through a layer or two of cheesecloth overnight to create Greek yogurt.

And now you've made your very own homemade yogurt!