Prudent and Practical

September 18, 2009

From Milk to Greek Yogurt to Frozen Yogurt

Filed under: Headline,food — Tags: food, natural, projects — K @ 5:15 AM


I’m proud to share this article with…

Lately I’ve been on the search for some good crockpot recipes, you know, besides, pot roast.  Imagine how delighted and excited I was when I found that someone has used their crockpot for making yogurt!  I haven’t figured out how to deal with and purchase live cultures online, so I just purchased a container of yogurt (aka: starter) on my next shopping trip.  Since it’s the weekend and you may have some time on your hands or inquisitive kids, I’m going to teach you how to go from milk all the way to frozen yogurt.

Turn Milk into Yogurt

Supplies

  • 4 quart crockpot
  • A few large towels
  • 1/2 gallon milk – regular or raw, whole or low-fat
  • 1 packet gelatin, arrowroot, or agar – it is suggested as a thickener if you use a lower fat milk
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Instructions

  • Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the crockpot/slow cooker
  • yogurt milk in crockpot 300x225 photo From Milk to Greek Yogurt to Frozen Yogurt
  • Cook on low for 2.5 hours
  • Unplug and let it set for 3 hours
  • (At this point I check the temperature.  The optimum temp for yogurt cultures is 108-112 degrees F.)
  • Scoop out 2 cups warm milk and pour into a dish.  Add the 1/2 cup yogurt and mix well.
  • Adding the starter yogurt
  • Add back into crockpot.  Stir the mixture into the rest of the warm milk.
  • Cooking the yogurt
  • Wrap the crockpot with towels and leave overnight or 8 hours.
  • Wrapping part 1

Wrapping part 2

Completely wrapped crockpot

  • In the morning you’ll have yogurt!  (NOTE:  It’s quite a bit thinner than what you get at the store.)

Mmmm - yogurt!

You can enjoy the yogurt as it is or add in fruit.  I like to stir honey into mine.  Or you can go a step further…

Yogurt, berries, and honey for breakfast

Turn Yogurt into Greek Yogurt

This is actually quite easy! Next, you’ll learn how to make delicious, thick Greek Yogurt.

Supplies

  • Cheesecloth (a couple layers)
  • Colander
  • Medium Bowl

Instructions

  • Place the colander onto the medium bowl.
  • Line the colander with the layered cheesecloth.
  • Pour the yogurt into the lined colander.
  • Straining the yogurt
  • Let it set on the counter or in the fridge.  Overnight the yogurt will separate.  The whey will drip into the bowl leaving thick and creamy Greek yogurt in the colander for you in the morning.

Whey!

Greek yogurt!

This is delicious stuff!  But yet, you can take it a step further.  You can use the whey for baking and even making lemonade.  You can also use the Greek yogurt to make wonderfully tart frozen yogurt!

Turn Greek Yogurt into Frozen Yogurt

Supplies

  • Ice cream maker (at least 1 quart capacity)
  • Mixing bowl
  • 3 cups Greek yogurt (this is approximately 6 cups un-strained yogurt)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Instructions

  • Mix together yogurt, sugar, and vanilla in mixing bowl.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour.
  • Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Finally done! Frozen yogurt topped with strawberries

Last step: Sit down and enjoy a delicious bowl of frozen yogurt that contains no high fructose corn syrup or un-pronounceable ingredients.  You deserve it!

32 Comments »

  1. Thanks for the tips! Making yogurt is on my list of things to do :)

    Comment by SnoWhite — September 18, 2009 @ 7:06 AM

  2. Interesting. I’ve never thought about making my own yogurt before.

    Comment by Erica — September 18, 2009 @ 9:32 AM

  3. Oh wow… this looks like something I would like to try… and it just so happens that I bought a 4qt crock pot last week. :)

    Thanks for the great tutorial!
    ButterYum

    Comment by ButterYum — September 18, 2009 @ 9:40 AM

  4. I’ve looked for a yogurt recipe for quite a while–this is great!

    Comment by Gollum — September 18, 2009 @ 10:06 AM

  5. I have one of those nifty freezers that doesn’t use ice. This would be great to try in that. Thanks for something completely new!!

    Comment by Susan — September 18, 2009 @ 10:33 AM

  6. I’ve looked for a yogurt recipe that would work for me for quite a while now. I think I’ve just found it. Thanks. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

    Comment by Mary — September 18, 2009 @ 11:48 AM

  7. I just posted about making our first batch of yogurt in our new yogurt maker! I am gonna have to try straining it longer to get the thicker yogurt! Great post! You can check ours out below:
    http://findingtrueserenity.wordpress.com/?p=169&preview=true

    Happy Frugal Friday!

    Comment by Jes — September 18, 2009 @ 12:22 PM

  8. [...] (pressure cooker apple sauce) 7. Tara @ Feels like home (peanut butter marshmallow fudge) 8. Prudent and Practical (Homemade Frozen Yogurt) 9. Hoosier Homemade( Party Cupcakes & [...]

    Pingback by Food on Fridays: Hurried Curry Dip « — September 18, 2009 @ 3:59 PM

  9. Oh, you have brought me back to the 70s when I grew sprouts in the kitchen windowsill and always made my own yogurt and sourdough bread.

    Somewhere around here I still have the yogurt maker. . . we LOVE Greek yogurt, I may try this crock pot method. My grandmothers, who grew up in Norway, used to make something similar just leaving the milk out on the counter. I think I would have called that “spoiled milk” but they thought it was yogurt.

    Thanks! Cass

    Comment by Cass @ That Old House — September 18, 2009 @ 4:53 PM

  10. Really cool lessons–like a little science experiment. Thanks so much for sharing with Momtrends.

    Comment by Nicole Feliciano — September 18, 2009 @ 10:05 PM

  11. Making my own yogurt is something I have yet to attempt. Need to bookmark this for future reference!

    Comment by Amy @ Finer Things — September 19, 2009 @ 11:17 AM

  12. LOVE making my own yogurt! Mine turns out a bit thicker but is just as easy.
    If you have any good bean recipes, you may want to check out my carnival October 1. Details here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/18/announcing-october-fest-carnival-of-super-foods/
    Best,
    Katie

    Comment by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship — September 21, 2009 @ 2:21 AM

  13. I keep meaning to make greek yogurt….and then frozen yogurt….maybe now I’ll do it (because I can make lemonade out of the whey – how cool is that!!)

    Comment by Sarah — September 22, 2009 @ 5:26 AM

  14. That’s FANTASTIC! I loved seeing the progression of one thing to the next recipe. Thank you for sharing with TATT!

    Comment by Cole — September 22, 2009 @ 7:24 PM

  15. This is just the coolest post!! What great instructions and recipes! Awesome. Thanks for sharing for TMTT.

    Comment by Lisa@blessedwithgrace — September 23, 2009 @ 10:13 PM

  16. [...] CREEK (seed saving with biennial vegetables13. Soy Destroyed My Health–HartkeisOnline14. Prudent and Practical (Frozen Yogurt from Scratch)15. Sarah (Body Ecology Diet book review)16. Qute Idea(Make your own basil)17. Dr. Ayala (whole [...]

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  17. Wow – I just may have to give that a try. Thanks for making it look do-able. And thanks so much for swinging by my blog on my Sits Day last week:-)

    Comment by Juliet Grossman — September 25, 2009 @ 9:26 PM

  18. Thanks! It’s a lot easier than one would think. I love seeing all the different blogs on SITS, thanks for stopping by!

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:24 AM

  19. Thanks! I was just going to show how to make the yogurt, but then thought maybe someone out there would like to have a fun weekend experimenting, lol.

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:41 AM

  20. Hi Katie! What milk do you use? I’ve heard of some people adding dried milk to make it thicker. And I have a couple bean recipes in mind, I just have to figure out which one I want to submit – thanks for the invite :-)

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:44 AM

  21. Thank you! Every time I make any of these recipes, I think of how much fun my niece would have helping out :-)

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:45 AM

  22. Hi Cass, I ran across something the other day. There is a yogurt culture (powdered) that you can add to milk and just leave it out on the counter to yogurt-ify. Interesting though, maybe there’s some old technique they used. I have yet to try sourdough bread – do you make your own starters? And last weekend I purchased a sprouting kit, lol. I’m a little hesitant to try it, but I want to. I don’t know what I’ll use them for. The only thing that comes to mind right now is bread – Ezekiel-style! :-)

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:52 AM

  23. Thanks ~ I hope it works out for you!

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:53 AM

  24. Thanks for stopping by! I’ll head over to check it out…

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:54 AM

  25. Perfect timing! Thanks for stopping by. If you’re looking for more ways to use your new crock pot, Stephanie writes about using her slow cooker every day at A Year of Slow Cooking.

    Comment by K — September 26, 2009 @ 1:59 AM

  26. What a great post! And what a great use for a crockpot.

    Comment by Judy — October 8, 2009 @ 8:59 PM

  27. Thanks so much for sharing this. I love Greek yogurt and am so excited about trying this. I just wanted to let you know that Mister Linky is up for this week’s Crock Pot Wednesday. I hope to see you there. Thanks for participating last week.

    Comment by darnold23 — October 12, 2009 @ 6:52 AM

  28. I suffered from stomach pain and burning mostly, couldn’t sleep well and just hated those extra pounds I couldn’t get rid of no matter what I did. Now I stumbled upon this system that is easy and it doesn’t require expensive medication or difficult exercises.

    Comment by cleanse diet — October 30, 2009 @ 4:59 PM

  29. Hi K, We eat a lot of yoghurt, and I make my own, since we dont get Greek Yoghurt here. Method is similar to yours,also wrapped in a towel but I put mine in the oven overnite, but you dont mention when to add the agaragar/gelatine. Does this make it firmer?
    tks a lot for sharing, God bless

    Comment by Mrs Singh — November 9, 2009 @ 9:47 AM

  30. [...] 29. Beautiful Calling (Oh, Pickles!!) 30. Sandra @ A Lot of Savings (Saving on Haircuts) 31. Prudent and Practical (Homemade Frozen Yogurt) 32. Molly Green @ Econousters (Freebies) 33. Simple Bliss (Frugal & Natural Kitchen Cleaning) [...]

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  31. You don’t mentioned when to add the gelatin, arrowroot or agar.

    Comment by Shawn — January 22, 2012 @ 3:54 PM

  32. Hi Shawn and Mrs. Singh! You would add the thickener at the beginning with the cold milk. With gelatin or agar sprinkle it on top of the cold milk to soften. With arrowroot, I would add it to a small amount of milk and make sure there are no clumps before mixing into the milk in the slow cooker – similar to working with cornstarch. As the milk heats up, stir to make sure the thickener (aka gelatin, agar, or arrowroot) gets incorporated.

    Comment by K @ Prudent and Practical — January 23, 2012 @ 3:36 PM

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