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[flyinfaeries83]

Crock Pot Plain Yogurt

Ingredients

8 cups (one half gallon) milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt with live cultures
Insulation for crock pot (a thick bath towel works well)
Pour milk into crock pot and turn on low setting. Cover and cook for 2½-3 hours.
Unplug crock pot and while still covered, allow to sit for 3 hours. Scoop out 2 cups of milk and place in a

Comments

[rose_griffes]

I've been doing crock-pot yogurt for years now. mschaos is right that you can strain out some of the whey to get a thicker final product. Your 'starter' yogurt also makes a big difference. I use brands like Brown Cow or Stonyfield farms--basically, any brand of (regular) yogurt that doesn't rely on fake thickeners is going to result in a better product than brands that use gelatins, kerageenan, etc.

(You can use Greek yogurt as a starter, but since Greek yogurt itself is a strained yogurt, your pre-strained yogurt won't necessarily be any thicker than if you used regular yogurt for the starter.)

eta: Yes, whole milk could make it slightly thicker, but not *that* much thicker. Whole milk is only about 4% milkfat, so you're not adding that much more fat to the mix.

[delibby]

I put a couple of layers of cheese cloth in a colander, then set that inside a mixing bowl. Then dump the yogurt from the crockpot onto the cheesecloth, and put the whole thing in the fridge for the day.

It drains in layers, so some of it will be thicker, if you're careful you can stir it a couple of times during the day. Then I scrape it off the cheese cloth into a plastic container that's big enough for all of it and stir it again. If you let it go too long and it gets too thick, you can mix some of the whey back in.

[margi_lynn]

Seconds everyone else. Greek yogurt is made by straining (and if you strain it even longer, you've made yogurt cheese!). Whole milk will do one thing for you though, it'll mean that the yogurt will keep a little bit longer.

[giulina]

Just wanted to add, I use a big coffee filter in a strainer in a bowl instead of cheesecloth. I use this slow cooker method to make yogurt and it's turned out well every time. :)

[hockeycat]

I have been making yogurt on the stove for the past 3 months, and yes, to everyone who said strain it to get greek-style yogurt. The milk fat percentage won't really affect the consistency of the finished product, it is definitely the whey content.

Keep that whey, though, and use it in your other recipes wherever it calls for water! I use it in my breadmaker and pancake/waffle recipes, & my husband puts it in his breakfast smoothies. :)

Oh, and for straining, I bought some of the old-style waffle-weave kitchen towels to strain my yogurt. Washable & reusable :)