Hello everyone! Today I’m sharing my favorite greek yogurt recipe again because I love it so much! It’s a simple and easy recipe that I have loved. I had never made yogurt before until my sister showed me how easy it is. I am a yogurt connoisseur so I am always running to the store for more. Plus, there are many health benefits that come from making your own yogurt at home!
There are a few reasons why I think it’s worth to homemake your own yogurt (or any food at home):
- It’s a great way to get probiotics naturally! There are about 30 times more healthy bacteria (aka probiotics) going into your tummy than in commercial/store bought yogurts. These bacteria’s are what keep our gut healthy, helping to fight off bad bacteria when you have too much of it.
- Yogurt is also good to eat if/when you are on an antibiotics because it is killing the good bacteria along with the bad. Yogurt helps replenish that good bacteria when you have an infection!
- Gut heath is also directly related to skin health, if you are like me and have acne prone skin, helping your gut will help fight bad bacterias. If the bacteria in your gut is imbalanced, it can cause infections and overgrowth of bad bacteria and cause inflammation, which can cause break outs!
- When you make your own food, you are in control. You pick all the ingredients that go into it and you know exactly what’s in it (fat content, sugars/sweeteners, sodium, etc!).
- It tastes WAY better!
You might need more good bacteria if:
- Your Digestive system is irregular.
- Your sugar cravings are out of control. What you crave can depend on what types of bacteria you’re hosting.
- Your metabolism is a bit slow.
- You have skin inflammation.
So with that all in mind, onto the recipe!
Homemade Yogurt
- 1/2 Gallon of Whole Milk
- 2 Heaping tablespoons of yogurt with active cultures (I like Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt or Chobani)
- About 1-2 Tbsp of sugar or pure maple syrup (If desired, not needed!)
Things you will need
- Candy thermometer
- Cheesecloth & Strainer (optional if you want a thicker yogurt like me)
- A warm moist place to let the yogurt ferment (I have a bread maker that I keep mine in)
Directions
- Heat the milk until it’s reached 180-185 degrees, using a candy thermometer to gage.
- Once heated, let the milk cool until it has reached about 110 degrees. Once cooled, add the yogurt and whisk together.
- Put mixture into bread maker/instapot (really anywhere that’s a consistently warm place) and let the yogurt incubate for about 8 hours.
- After it’s done, make sure to put a few Tbsp of the yogurt in a bag to freeze for the next batch!
- After that, add the sweetener to the yogurt (if desired)
- I prefer my yogurt thicker. So I strain the yogurt for a thicker ‘greek yogurt’ with this Strainer and this cheesecloth! You can do this for a few hours on the counter, or if you want to drain really well, you can leave in the fridge to drain over night (8 hours).
- Remove from strainer to your container!
Enjoy!
XO,
Jamie
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