homemade-greek-yoghurt 2

Today’s post will show you how easy and economical it is to make your own Greek yoghurt. Greek yoghurt never used to be popular with the masses like it is today but our family has been eating it for years. Beautiful home made Greek yoghurt made with love for many years by my grand mother who was half Greek. Rest in peace my beautiful yiayia miss you so much. I’m very proud to share my grandmother’s recipe with you all today. You will be making your very own fantastic thick and creamy yoghurt in no time, improving your health and saving money while you are it it. Sounds perfect to me. You can serve this yoghurt with home made sesame bread like my grandmother used to do, with fresh fruit and honey or just enjoy it plain. Oh it is also wonderful with healthy toppings like chia seeds, flaxseed or linseed. You cant really go past a bowl of this greek yoghurt in the morning it is a wonderful way to start your day off on the right note.

I have seen lots of recipes that claim to be for ‘Greek’ yoghurt but many are not for authentic Greek yoghurt. With my grand mother’s recipe you strain off the whey which means you have a beautiful yoghurt with less sugar, fewer carbs and more essential proteins and just as importantly a yoghurt with a delicious thick texture.

I did a little research and I just wanted everyone to know some of the amazing health benefits of eating greek yoghurt. Did you know it contains as much protein as eating red meat ? A medium sized cup of greek yoghurt contains as much protein as a chicken or lamb cutlet! Protein is really important in your diet as it keeps your muscles strong and can help you feel fuller for longer. Greek yoghurt is also an amazing source of probiotic bacteria which are absolutely essential for digesting what we eat, making sure we get the all the vitamins and minerals from our food and boosting our immune systems.

Lets get started shall we. Here is what you need to make your own greek yoghurt.  It is very easy and once you start you will never get your yoghurt from the store again. The only slightly tricky part is sourcing the live yoghurt culture but if you cant find it locally(which you should be able to) you can easily order it from Amazon. Click Here To Order Live Yoghurt Culture From Amazon. This will last you a long time deepening on how much yoghurt you or your family eat. Regardless it is much much cheaper than buying store yoghurt which is the main thing. Saving money AND getting healthy – yay!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of either full cream or low fat milk
  • 2 tablespoons of live yoghurt culture (see link above)
  • some cheese cloth for straining

Directions

  1. Take a large saucepan and add your milk. You need to use a saucepan or pot that you can place in the over. Bring to the boil over a medium to high heat. When you see bubbles forming around the edge of your saucepan you know it is time to remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and let cool for about three quarters of an hour.
  2. After half an hour warm up your oven to 110 F. Your milk needs to be about the same temperature. Use a thermometer or test with your finger.
  3. Stir your live yoghurt culture into the milk, recover the pot or saucepan and place into your warm oven. make sure the temperature does NOT get above 110 F.
  4. Now just simply leave for five to ten hours until the mixture begins to thicken. You should check on your yoghurt mixture every now and again to look for signs the thickening process is occurring and to check the temperature is ok. My grandmother never used a thermometer she would just check with her finger tip.
  5. Place the cheesecloth over a bowl and tie it firmly. Once your mixture has completely thicken remove from the oven and pour through the cheesecloth.
  6. Leave in the fridge overnight and the next day you will have nice thick very yummy yoghurt. Just discard the liquid whey and place your yoghurt in a nice bowl or container.
  7. Eat every morning for breakfast and both your body and budget will thank you.

If you enjoyed this recipe for making your own Greek yoghurt please share it amongst your friends and followers. Thanks so much.