It’s my last blog post on culture and I can’t believe how many recipes we’ve covered; cheeses, accompaniments, bread. It’s been fun but it’s time to move on to other adventures. Leaving culture is bittersweet…just like Greek yogurt. This simple recipe is not a crock. All you need is a crockpot, plenty of milk, live cultures, and a good appetite.
HOMEMADE CROCKPOT GREEK YOGURT
Ali Anderson-Will of Skinny GF Chef @ the Gluten-Free Home Bakery makes this recipe every week because it’s just so easy. “It always turns out wonderful,” Ali says. You can add any milk of your choice to the crockpot. Just set a day to allow the yogurt to incubate. Ali tells us our readers will be thrilled with the results. “I eat it every morning with honey and chopped walnuts, and often for dessert with fresh or frozen berries.” Ooh, now all that sounds yummy!
Makes 2 quarts
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 quarts milk
- ½ cup yogurt with live active cultures, room temperature OR dry starter*
- Honey or vanilla extract (optional)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
- Crockpot
- Cooking thermometer
Step 1: Heat Milk
Heat oven to 110˚. Fill the crockpot with milk. Turn the crockpot on high and cover. Heat the milk to 185˚, but be careful not to scorch the milk. Just allow it to simmer on the outside edges. Allow the milk to cool in the crockpot to about 110˚.
Step 2: Add Starter
Measure your yogurt starter into a small bowl and add one cup of milk from crockpot at a time to temper. Do this until 2 or 3 cups of the milk have been added to the starter and mixed in. If using a dry starter, follow package instructions.
Step 3: Return Starter Mixture to Crockpot
Add the starter mixture to the crockpot, giving it a couple stirs. Put the cover on the crockpot and place it in a warm oven with the pilot light on. Cover the crockpot with a blanket or several large towels. Leave the crockpot in the oven for 24 hours, keeping the door closed and the light on.
Step 4: Strain
Line a mesh strainer with coffee filters and set over he sink or a large bowl. Allow the yogurt to strain for 6-8 hours or until it reachers the consistency that you prefer. Refrigerate.
5. Enjoy
Add honey, vanilla, or fruit. Get creative. Get cultured.
*Ali uses her last ½ cup of homemade yogurt as a starter. She sometimes buys a small cup of plain yogurt to add to the starter to keep batches thick. You can continue making more Greek yogurt but following Ali’s suggestion.
I Heart culture
So I bet you’d like to know why interning here is so awesome? Well here’s a tasting for ya.
Weekly cheese tastings: sometimes we have beer or wine, to see if they complement the cheese of course. And sometimes we have multiple tastings during a week.
Culture is more than cheese: we love watching funny goat videos, reading stories on ice cream, yogurt recipes…
Time to Get Cheesy: Uh-duh. Who doesn’t love cheese?
Bon voyage, cheese lovers and DIY-ers! It’s been gouda to know you. (You knew that was coming!)
Recipe and photos by Ali Anderson-Will of Skinny GF Chef @ the Gluten-Free Home Bakery
Amanda Furrer
Amanda is a BU gastronomy grad who is still getting used to repeating herself when people ask what she's studying. Although it took her longer than the average human to like all kinds of cheese besides the gooey stuff on pizza, Amanda is now proud to be a gorgonzola lover, brie bandwagoner, and pumpkin cheesecake baker.
