How to Make Greek Yogurt at Home

What Is The Difference Between Greek And Regular Yogurt?

The difference is thickness and taste. Regular yogurt is thinner and slightly sour and Greek yogurt is much thicker and a slightly more sourer.

The Benefits Of Greek Yogurt

Not only is natural Greek yogurt without sugar, just like plain yogurt it contains probiotics and is an excellent source of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12.

How To Make Greek Yogurt At Home From Regular Yogurt?

To make Greek yogurt you simply strain plain yogurt over several hours. You can either use plain store bought yogurt or make your own yogurt.

How To Strain Yogurt

You could buy Greek yogurt strainer which has a finer mesh than the standard kitchen sieve. Or, a cheaper alternative is to make your own Greek yogurt strainer simply using a sieve and piece of cheesecloth or muslin.

Straining the yogurt:

Place a large sieve lined with a cheesecloth into a deep bowl or pot. Making sure that it is well balanced and will not tip. There should also be sufficient space between the bottom of the sieve and the base of the bowl to allow for easy drainage.

Fill the lined sieve with plain yogurt. You will almost instantly notice the whey draining away from the plain yogurt. Cover the yogurt loosely with plastic food wrap and allow the yogurt to drain in the fridge.

How long to drain the yogurt will depend on how thick you like your Greek yogurt so, check the consistency of the yogurt every so often and when it is as thick as you like stop straining it.

We like our Greek yogurt very thick and creamy and will leave it to drain for more than 8 hours to remove all the whey.

Tip: If you have drained the yogurt too much, and find that it is too thick for you, just stir back in a small amount of the whey until you get the consistency you like.

How Much Greek Yogurt Will I Get?

This will depend on how much whey is extracted from the yogurt. The longer it is drained the more whey is extracted reducing the overall weight.

For example: When we make yogurt, we will usually make about 1.4 litres (about 1.4 kg) and will strain it until most of whey has been removed, giving us between 600 – 700 grams of really thick Greek yogurt.

What To Have With Greek Yogurt

Once you know how to make Greek yogurt at home, you can use it in many different ways:

For an easy dessert or healthy snack, serve Greek yogurt with banana, or berries such as strawberries or blueberries. Greek yogurt can also be served plain with a drizzle of honey or passionfruit.

If you like Greek yogurt for breakfast you can have it with granola or oats topped with fresh fruits, such as berries or melons, or mix in chia seeds, nuts or both.

If you need more ideas? Easthis.com has a page filled with ideas on how to use Greek yogurt.

Delicious Recipes That Use Yogurt

• Easy Greek yogurt raspberry cake