Greek and Plain Yogurt

Yogurt is a simple and easy to make cheese that, in a manner similar to sour dough bread or sour mash whiskey, utilizes previous product to kick-start fermentation. The yogurt making process is the same as for any cheese with the difference coming from how you ferment and age. The difference between Greek and plain yogurt is you strain the whey off Greek yogurt and leave it in plain yogurt. Whey is the liquid that separates from the cheese during fermentation. By straining off the whey, Greek yogurt will be thicker and richer tasting than plain yogurt, but plain yogurt will have more of the good milk by-products in whey. Making your own yogurt is way cheaper than buying it and you can control how to flavor your yogurt, if you’re the type to do such things, and you won’t get all the chemicals found in industrial yogurt. Unless you are a huge yogurt consumer, I would recommend cutting this recipe in half.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of whole milk – preferably not ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk – it’s dead
• 0.5 cup plain yogurt – at room temperature – it’s your starter yeast

Process

1. Mise en Place – Measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
2. Rinse the inside of your pot with cold water to keep the milk from scalding.
3. Slowly heat milk to 190 F (88 C), stirring occasionally to even out temperature.
4. Set milk aside to cool down to 105 F – 115 F (41 C – 46 C).
5. Add starter yogurt and gently stir until integrated with milk.
6. Cover top and wrap in blanket to retain heat and let rest 6-10 hours until firmly set.
7. Put covered pot in fridge for 6 hrs to 2 days.
8. For Greek yogurt:
   • Line strainer with cheese cloth
   • Spoon in yogurt and let drain 2-8 hours
9. Add flavoring if that’s your deal, fresh fruit and vanilla are good choices but keep in mind that fresh fruit will spoil faster than the yogurt so maybe better to add the fruit when you consume it.
10. Put yogurt in air tight containers and refrigerate, will keep up to two weeks.

Note 1: You can use the last of this batch of yogurt to start your next batch.

Note 2: If whey separates from the yogurt in the container, just stir it back into the mix, or drain it, depending on the taste profile you like.

Note 3: If you separate the whey, retain it as a healthy water substitute in baking and cooking. I use it in breads and cakes. I also drink the whey after a run or bike ride for recovery. . .that, however, is an acquired taste.