Home-made Greek Yogurt

makes 600 ml - 1 L of greek yogurt

Ingredients

• 1 L whole milk
• (optional) 200 ml whole cream (Rule: 20% of the amount of milk)
• 120 g of your favorite greek yogurt (Rule: 10% of total liquid)

Necessary special equipment:
- food thermometer
- cheese cloth

Method

1. Combine milk and cream in a pot and gently heat to 84° Celcius, stirring regularly to prevent any skin from forming.
2. Remove pot from heat and let cool in a cold water bath (e.g. in the sink) until 38° Celcius (or cooler). Stir occasionally to prevent any skin from forming, or remove skin if one forms.
3. Temper the yogurt by adding some tablespoons of the warm milk/cream mixture to the yogurt and stir.
4. Add the tempered yogurt to the pot of warm milk & cream. Whisk until well combined.
5. Put lid on pot and place in cold oven. Turn on the oven light and let the mixture sit in closed cold oven for around 8 hours. Do not shake the mixture during this time. The oven light should provide enough warmth to help make the yogurt. In winter, maybe turn on the oven to the lowest temperature possible (max 45° Celcius).
   Tip: The longer you let the yogurt sit in the oven, the more sour it will be.
6. After around 8 hours, the mixture has thickened to yogurt, but it is still quite liquid. Place a cheese cloth in a large sieve and set this over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cheese cloth and let strain for at least 2 hours in the fridge or until desired thickness is reached. Stir at least once, scraping the cheese cloth.
7. Spoon the thickened yogurt into a clean glass jar, whisk thoroughly to remove any lumps. If mixture got too thick for your liking, stir in some of the filtered out whey, remembering that the yogurt will get thicker as it is refrigerated longer. Refrigerate. Yogurt will keep for about 5 days and can be used to make the next batch of yogurt.