Greek Yogurt? YES!

I have a new obsession for the Fage brand of Greek yogurt.  It's got the greatest consistency and is not sugary.  I love it with a little honey and a fresh banana or blueberries, it's really filling too which is great.  I have a yogurt maker so I thought I would give making Greek yogurt a try.  I cruised through a few other blogs and some cooking web sites to try to figure out what the difference is between Greek and other types of yogurt.  I reviewed the ingredient list on the Fage 2% yogurt container as well.  One major difference is that Greek yogurt is strained and the additional liquid (whey) is removed giving it a fuller body and creamier taste even it a lower fat milk is used.  I also noticed that Fage uses 2% milk and cream.  I have worked in enough restaurants and known the chefs of said places to know that fat in food is GOOD, it gives it flavor and fullness.  I did not skimp, I eat well and portion my food so that should I want to indulge in something like cream in my yogurt I can and I will completely appreciate the full deliciousness.  Here is the recipe I used:

Makes 1 Qt.
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups heavy cream
yogurt culture
1tsp alcohol free almond extract


I use "yogourmet" yogurt culture, some people prefer to use yogurt from a previous batch or from the store, I found the below website to be very informative regarding different types of yogurts and the yogurt cultures.



http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000176.html


Yesterday I followed the normal procedure, boiling the milk/cream then cooling it down to the appropriate temp to add the cultures and the almond extract, stirring and pouring into the yogurt cups (I have a donvier machine) I will be switching to a different type of machine because I hate having all the little cups to mess around with all the time.  I let my yogurt set for 12 hours then refrigerated it overnight.  

This morning I set up a stainless steel bowl, colander and coffee filter and put 3 of the 6 yogurts in the filter to start the straining process.  I did not re-refrigerate it, I read that it separates better at room temperature, it's been straining for 7 hours and looks great, the yogurt is a little bitter tasting and did not have an almond flavor at all, I think I will incubate it for a shorter period of time (I heard that makes a difference so I will try it).  I will refrigerate it overnight while still straining it and then do a side by side comparison of the Fage and my City Mouse yogurt!


Oh! I can't wait, I love experiments!!!


Until then.......
~CM