Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Homemade Crock Pot Greek Yogurt + Frozen Yogurt Honey Pops!

Homemade Crock Pot Greek Yogurt



Yesterday I started a batch of Greek yogurt, in my crock pot. I will never make yogurt any other way. It's so simple!
Homemade yogurt is extremely high in lactobacillus acidophilus live cultures which are great for fighting the yeast present in your body. When making yogurt make sure your starter contains 'live and active cultures'. These cultures multiply during the yogurt making process and when ingested, help your body to beat yeast infections and fight fatigue as well as assisting with weight loss. If consumed on a regular to semi-regular basis, homemade yogurt can eliminate the internal yeast infection present in your body and help you lose up to 25lbs! Plus, it tastes way better than store bought yogurts and is much cheaper!


Ingredients:
8 cups milk (whole, 2%, 1% or skim; not ultra pasteurized)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (store bought or from a previous batch) [this is your starter]

Other materials:
Crock pot
Candy thermometer
Large strainer and bowl
Cheesecloth

Directions:
Pour milk into crock pot, cover and set to low heat. Leave it to heat for approximately 2.5-3 hours.
Check the temperature using your candy thermometer. Once the milk has reached 180°, turn off the crock pot, remove the lid and leave to cool for an hour or so.
When the temperature has dropped to 110°, remove a cup of the warm milk and whisk into it 1/2 cup of plain yogurt. Pour mixture back into crock pot and stir.
Replace lid, cover crock in a heavy bath towel and place in the oven with the oven light on. Leave to rest for approximately 8-12 hours or overnight.
Carefully remove crock from the oven, unwrap, uncover and check to see that the milk has thickened to yogurt. If not, place it back in oven and re-check in an hour or so.
You now have your own homemade yogurt!

Oh, but you wanted Greek yogurt, right? Okay,

Place crock in the fridge for 3 hours to completely cool and thicken.
Line strainer with several layers of cheese cloth and place inside a large bowl. Pour yogurt into strainer and refrigerate. The longer you strain the yogurt the thicker it will be (minimum 2 hours), just don't strain it for TOO long or you'll end up with cream cheese!

The yellowish liquid in your bowl is whey. Don't throw it out! It's super high in protein, vitamins and minerals and can be used in so many wheys (ways, get it?)! My favourite uses are: lacto-fermentation or as a substitute for water in almost any recipe, especially in baking and soup. (I'm also working on a whey after-workout protein supplement recipe for El Señor, which I will post as soon as I have perfected it.)

Oh, by the way, your Greek yogurt is ready!
Isn't it so thick and creamy? Don't you just want to throw some berries in and eat it by the bowl-full?
Yum! Just make sure you save 1/2 cup for your next batch!


Frozen Yogurt Honey Pops



The other day my Brother and cuñada (sister-in-law, for all you gringos), gave me a honey flavoured Greek frozen yogurt bar, which really, was my inspiration for making yogurt in the first place.
It was delicious! Rich, creamy, sweet and surprisingly not ice cream. But I did notice that the 3rd ingredient is sugar.
So I re-created it and my bars only have 2 ingredients, not 9 (and sugar isn't one of them).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey

These proportions may vary to the size of your molds, so adjust accordingly. This gave me approximately five 1/3 cup servings.

Directions:
Measure out both ingredients into a bowl and stir to thoroughly incorporate. Spoon into molds and freeze for 8 hours or overnight.
Run bottom of mold under hot water for 10 seconds to release popsicle.
Enjoy!

I find them to be slightly more tart than the store bought yogurt bars, but I like it. Tastes like the delicious yogurt we just made!


"If they're so good for you, let me try some!"
Buen provecho!

1 comment:

  1. Mmmmm, looks yummy. I've always made homemade yogurt but never Greek - will have to give this a try.

    ReplyDelete