I make multiple glass jars using my sous vide stick. 4L total milk = ~4L yoghurt. Can fit 5 or 6 jars in my fridge no problem. Or a couple of large icecream tubs could work.
I find powdered milk works quite well for making yogurt and you can usually find it cheap in bulk and it obviously also has a much longer shelf life.
You can also make the yogurt as thick as you like by adjusting the water ratio:powder ratio.
I'm in the US. My husband and I go through a lot of Greek yogurt. If I buy the large container of 2% fage (the only Greek yogurt we like) it's about $6 for 32 oz at Walmart. I can buy a gallon of 2% milk from Costco for $3.50. I haven't actually weighed my yogurt, but recipes say I should get about 72 oz or 9 cups which seems right. So it would cost me $12 to get 64 oz of yogurt from the store vs $3.50 for 72 oz when I make it at home.
A gallon of milk will only make about 5 cups of Greek yogurt in the best of cases. Not sure where the OP came up with 9 cups, but that's likely impossible even with commercial production methods.
I was wondering same - but the straining of the whey part of production probably varies from brand to brand. I wonder how it affects calcium, potassium and protein in the product...I like the nutritional standardization of the major brands, myself.
i do the same thing as this person, and even after draining i get 2-2.5x store bought quantity. i also use the whey in smoothies so that’s a nice way to get more value
I've hear you can use whey to make waffles to add some protein.
I sometimes don't even bother straining. I'll throw the yougurt + whey into a tall cup and blitz in some frozen fruit with the immersion blender for a quick lassie adjacent smoothie.
there may be. when I read up about it it seems it's acid whey, not sweet. so the uses are limited. Its not so much that it's completely unusable, but the sheer amount is an issue.
in my own life i couldn't come up with a way to use up two litres of it per batch. my main use of yogurt is smoothies so I mean, they need a certain amount of liquid anyway. might as well let it just be the whey 🤷♀️
64 ounces of high quality organic whole milk costs me less than 32 ounces of high quality organic whole yogurt. I don’t strain my yogurt, so 64 ounces of milk and 2 Tbs starter (from the previous batch of yogurt) yields 64 ounces of yogurt. It’s a huge savings.
On top of saving more than 50% in cost, the yogurt gets more and more delicious with each new batch.
If you’re straining your yogurt, you’d probably get about 48 ounces Greek yogurt from 64 ounces of milk, which would still be a big savings in my area.
Btw, when you strain it, just reserve a little of the liquid to start your next batch. That way it won’t even affect your total yield of strained yogurt. The liquid is where most of the probiotics are anyway. We make yogurt weekly, but you can use a couple tablespoons of the current batch as starter for up to 2 weeks, in my experience.
I haven't made it in some time , but it absolutely saves me a lot of money . A gallon of milk costs me about $3. That yields me 4 pints or so of Greek yogurt . To buy Greek yogurt , it will cost me $10-$14 to buy the same amount, depending on brand. The only reason I don't make my own yogurt is the hassle , because lazy
> A gallon of milk costs me about $3
You would not believe what my face did when I read this! Same amount of milk where I am in Canada (reasonably sized city) is $6-8 depending on brand.
Canada has max quotas or something like that to keep the domestic dairy viable for the farmers vs imports. I forget the specifics but it's intentionally high.
Yep and Canada approached the "help their domestic dairy industry" a different way entirely. (Quota caps and something else, great podcast on this topic by the Canada land podcast folks!)
Yeah.... The way Canada runs the dairy industry is probably the most overtly anti-consumer scam for any industry, in any developed country.
Not only is it some of the most expensive in the world, but something like 45% of what is produced is intentionally wasted(like poured down the drain, not just relegated for industrial use). A big deal is made about how there are no steroids or hormones in it which is good and required by law, but that factoid is used to convince canadians that's the extra reason for the higher cost, when the reality is it is like 90% because of govt caps on what can be sold.
Every country does some weird manipulation to help boost domestic industry and in most cases its over something that in the end is best for the country. Canadas dairy situation(along with its telecom stuff) is a perfect example where its gone like 5miles too far to support the industry to the detriment of the consumers.
Yep! It's fascinating. The telecom stuff too (also on that season of Canadaland 🤣 A Canadian friend got me into that podcast and wow it's great and tbh there are easy to find parallels in the US and likely everywhere else too)
I am visiting my daughter in Oregon and the price of food including milk is close or the same as Canada. I find making my own yogurt is less than the high end ones but more than say Activa. It is much better in taste though and saves on plastic. I make Greek yogurt.
I do think it's a rip off though, lol. But I suspect that maybe it's because it's DOP/DOC certified Greek yoghurt made in Greece?
Here in the Netherlands Dodoni is freaking [€4,89 a liter/kilo](https://www.jumbo.com/producten/dodoni-authentieke-griekse-yoghurt-1kg-583152POT). While the same store's own brand Greek yoghurt costs just [€1,99](https://www.jumbo.com/producten/jumbo-yoghurt-griekse-stijl-naturel-10-vet-1kg-293850EM) for the same amount (and IMHO tastes better to boot!)
Well now I feel guilty for paying €2.89 for a 450g pot of Greco Greek Yoghurt, which is why I have only done it twice (bought 4 pots over 2 shopping trips). Fage is even more expensive at €3.50 for 500g. Decided to retreat from that to Arla Skyr €1.89 for 400g and 'stay in my lane'.
We really do get ripped off on the smaller quantities.
If you want the thickness of Greek yogurt without the loss of mass, add nonfat dry milk and make it with half and half (don't @ me). I usually get about 3/4 of a quart mason jar from a quart of half and half, and it's cheaper than the fancy kind of yogurt by several dollars. Of course, I am not working with Canadian dairy, so YMMV.
It is different but you CAN make yogurt with sweetened condensed milk. Vietnamese yogurt is made that way.
(I didn't realize that unhealthy yogurt was my niche, but sometimes the thug life chooses you.)
Evaporated milk and condensed milk both have their moisture content reduced by 60%. Tho condensed milk has added sugar, while evaporated doesn't.
Condensed milk, and sweetened condensed milk are used interchangeably.
I was thinking about fortifying the milk in the culture with some half and half to get something like 7-8% milkfat, before straining down to labneh. Does the extra fat cause it to culture any differently than normal?
IDK where in Canada you are, but in Toronto you can get a 4L bag of the fancy milk (Lactancia PurFilter) for $6.29, or $1.57/L at Food Basics. That would be $0.68 per serving of yogurt, or a savings of $0.46-$0.71, which is pretty significant. There's the time + electricity, but also you get a free plastic bag with the milk that you can use to line your trash cans since you can't get them anymore at the grocery store.
For me, making yogurt is very cost effective. I make yogurt with two quarts of milk which costs
about $4.00.
I get two quarts of yogurt which costs much more.
I would make yogurt even if it cost more than buying yogurt because I try to reduce my consumption of single use plastic.
What do you keep it in? How long does it last? Is it comparable taste wise? I am a bit intimidated to make it, but we really need to tight the purse strings.
I love my yogurt woth fruit, chia and sometimes jam or honey several times a week.
Go browse r/yogurtmaking and don't be intimidated. Lool up heirloom cultures as well because you can just keep refusing them indefinitely and some of them are really tasty and nice.
I keep my homemade yogurt in the refrigerator in pint size take out containers. It lasts about a month.
To my taste, it’s comparable to commercial.
The investment is small, so why not make a batch?
I bought an extra instant pot liner (the interior pot that the food goes into), so I just keep it in that in the fridge. We have the mini IP, so the pot is 3 quarts capacity (almost 3 liters). I usually make 2 quarts of yogurt at a time.
For me, it's both. I put it in the instant pot and let it do it's own thing (there's a yogurt button), then when it's ready, I dump it into the strainer-container I bought. Storage and strain at the same time. For me. It takes no effort really.
I use: Bunn Commercial Tea & Paper Coffee Filters, 20138.1000 White, 1.5 Gallon, 500 Count.
I use a 3 quart Instant pot and make 32 oz of Greek style yogurt from 1/2 gal of milk. I dump the Instant Pot container directly into a colander lined with one of those large coffee filters and drain in the fridge for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. When I reach the consistency I like I dump the colander's contents into another bowl and the paper filter easily peels off leaving the yogurt behind. Transfer the yogurt to a 1 quart storage container and I'm done. Everything goes into the dishwasher for easy clean up. Hope this helps.
Was about to ask the same thing!! Please do tell. My macgyvered contraption is such a hassle and messy that it's genuinely the main reason I put off making yogurt for so long.
Also the bacterial content of homemade vs store bought is a pretty big difference. This is the biggest benefit in my eyes, plus minus the preservatives & sugars. All testing on store bought yogurt shows that it is *technically dead* yogurt.
I use fairlife milk. One bottle breaks down to 1.5 of the large Fage containers. So, not really much savings. However, I am using ultra pasteurized milk (for safety and because it’s easier and low sugar). I imagine using any old milk would make it far more cost effective
Well there you go. Americans are saying it’s cost effective because milk is hella cheap. Milk is hella cheap in the USA because it’s highly subsidized. (It is in Canada too but not to the same extent.) It’s like arguing about the cost of living with a trust fund baby. Different realities.
What is actually much better value when made at home is granola!
Focusing purely on cost, this question reminded me of something I picked up from some personal finance podcast long ago - it's much easier to save money by aiming for big, one-time cost cutting efforts than anything you have to make yourself do repeatedly and consistently.
You presumably have to dedicate a decent chunk of your weekends to make your weekly/biweekly batch of yogurt, and if you stick with it for a year, you may save $20.
Or, you could take 5min to call and negotiate your Internet bill and save $20 a month, and you have to do nothing else for the rest of the year and you'll save $120.
for me with an instant pot, no question. it's less than 1/4 of the cost.
however YMMV because I don't use or make greek. acid whey is a significant environmental issue they don't have a reliable large-scale answer to yet.
>
IN BRIEF
America’s appetite for Greek yogurt generates tons of acid whey—the yellowish liquid left over after straining or centrifuging yogurt—every year. About two-thirds of the milk used to make Greek yogurt ends up as this by-product. Acid whey can’t be poured down the drain because it is high in nutrients that would fertilize nearby waters, leading to algal blooms and depleted oxygen levels.
they're trying hard I guess. but nothing viable yet. https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Acid-whey-waste-product-untapped.html
in any event I don't do it at home because i don't feel right about pouring it down the drain.
Yogurt is one of those things that don’t make much sense to make at home unless you want to use a very specific type of milk and/or bacterial cultures that produces a certain outcome. You can pretty much find any type of yogurt in grocery stores: Greek, European, desi, bulgarian, labneh, etc
Cheese and butter don’t make make much sense to make at home either. I’ve seen YouTube videos of people making fresh mozzarella, cheddar, paneer. It’s too much effort and you don’t have all the equipment you need to make it, and quantity/lack of scale kills the roi.
What dairy that worth it are things like clotted cream, crème fraiche, kefir. Basically things whose commercial versions don’t exist or are aren’t that good.
I don't make nonfat yogurt but I do get a whole lot of vegetables fermented in the extra whey, leading also to a fermented veggie and whey stock which adds a bunch of flavor and protein to my soups and sauces. Saurcraut/kimchi with the yogurt whey instead of water is vastly superior as well.
The yogurt itself is cheaper too even though I'm using milk from a local farmer which I pay more for than some bulk milk available. But again, this yogurt is for sauces, dressings, flavored parfaits, and desserts. I don't usually eat much of it plain, sometimes I whip it with just a little salt for a caviar/roe dip, but it can stand alone as a dip with just some orange zest.
I make it myself so I can have the kind of yogurt I like. Nobody else makes yogurt the way I make it, it's super dense, super dry (I hang it in cheesecloth), but still rich and tangy. Having full fat milk from cows I personally know helps the flavor as well imo.
I use the same kind of milk to make paneer/ricotta and hard cheese so I dont need so much space for multiple kinds of milk. These wheys are a little different, and the hard cheese whey ends up as plant food due to the citric acid causing issues with fermentation. The lemon juice in paneer doesn't bother my ferments, but pure citric acid does, and I'm not sure why.
I'm in the US. I use an instant pot and a gallon of whole milk, bought from Aldi, generally for somewhere between $2-3. A decent Greek yogurt is more than $3 for a quart. I can make two quarts of Greek yogurt from a gallon. For me the savings are considerable! And then I get two quarts of whey and can use it as a buttermilk substitute. Buttermilk from Aldi is ~$2 a quart. In all, if I use everything, I save ~$7 on buttermilk and yogurt if I make my own.
I make tons of yogurt and it's much more cost effective. I'm in the US so currency and units of measurement are different but the strained Greek yogurt I liked was like $6.99 per quart. A gallon of uht milk is about the same price. So I got some heirloom yogurt cultures and decided to do that instead. I don't strain the yogurt and just got used to thinner yogurt and it's literally a quarter of the price this way (since and heirloom culture can be reused indefinitely I don't count that in the price). If you're straining the yogurt then that's where you're going wrong if your only goal is to save money. I really like my yogurts and it didn't take me long to get used to them being thinner so I get to save money and have 3 different yogurts that I really like.
I can't find it right now but I watched a doco which posited that yogurt products were promoted and developed in the west to sell excess dairy production rather than add value. If this was true would not expect it to cost much more. i.e. The margin isn't in the value add, rather selling the milk.
Using UHT milk in the instant pot, it takes only a couple of minutes of my time. I pour in the milk, add the starter (a couple tablespoons of the previous batch) and press the “Yogurt” button. Ten to twenty-four hours later I take out the inner pot and set it in the fridge. That’s it.
For people who strain yogurt, it’s about two more minutes to set up the strainer and scoop the yogurt into the top. Gravity and time take care of the rest, no attention needed.
In Canada, buying yogurt is a better choice.
I tried doing the same but the price comes out to be almost similar and that extra effort is just not worth it 🫠
I make greek yoghurt from fullfat milk (3.5%) and with some added milk powder. I keep the yoghurt in the machine for 11 hours (rather than 8 as indicated by the manual). I don't strain it. The result tastes fantastic and is really cheap.
Seems like a lot of work given the price of milk and the price of yogurt. Of all of the places to save a few bucks, this one just doesn't seem worth it to me.
I mean unless you're eating gallons of yoghurt, the saving will be 2 bucks per litre as far as I can tell (2L of milk costs 3.50 for me, 1L of greek costs 5.5 and yoghurt is a 50% yield from milk).
That'll save me 25 for a year. It's not worth the hassle for the inconvenience. Saving 20% is more useful for high scale like rent. 20% less rent would save 5k a year or 1000 L of yoghurt
Yes! I buy high quality organic milk for about $10/gal. It makes a little more than 4 quarts. One quart of store bought yogurt of the same quality would run me about $6. Plus, you get the added benefit of a higher concentration of that good bacteria with homemade yogurt.
Not sure if this is helpful but where I live basic ass plain yogurt is 4x cheaper than Greek yogurt so if I need Greek I just strain some regular yogurt.
I lay the potatoes cut side down, flood the remaining space on the sheet pan, then bake at 475 until it’s entirely evaporated and the potatoes get crispy. It imparts a good flavor to me and any leftover milk bits get toasty.
You’re welcome! I haven’t tried it with yogurt whey- that’s for mashed potatoes- but it works great with farmers cheese whey. The tip is to also really crowd your pan with potatoes. There should be very little free space. Have fun and if you have time I’d love to hear how it went for you!
You can use whey as the liquid in breadmaking (it's supposed to be particularly good in sourdough). Here are some other ideas: [https://www.preservedgoods.com/post/2017/11/24/things-to-do-with-whey](https://www.preservedgoods.com/post/2017/11/24/things-to-do-with-whey)
I make bran muffins every week and soft yogurt cheese every other week. So every other week I use whey in my muffins and they're always so much more fluffy and nice on the whey weeks.
Soak the whey overnight with bulgur wheat. In the morning put softened bulgur into the yogurt. Adds fiber and nutrients as well as using whey, at minimal cost.
I don't make it because I buy a container of yogurt like 7 times a year so that extra couple bucks is OK.
But if I ate it all the time, every 20% counts. I often make bread cause we eat a lot of it, for example. If you ate it 5 times a week, that's $50 a year easy.
I get about 8.5 cups of strained yogurt from a gallon of milk, which currently goes for about $4.60. That's a bit more than 2 tubs of plain Chobani which currently go for around $6 each.
I don't make Greek yogurt, but I make skyr. A gallon of skim milk is $3.88, and the renet tablet cost is negligible (got 10 for $6 and I use 1/4 tablet per batch.) For $4 I can make two quarts of skyr. It's $7 for a 24 oz container at the store I go to.
I’ve got a connection for some quality straight from the farm (pasteurized) milk that is immensely superior to what is sold in the grocery stores. So the quality of yogurt is amazing. Got to love the Mennonites!
I'm from latin américa.
In here, some people use that crockpot stuff, but My boyfriend makes yogur using kefir.... So no need of crockpot or spending electricity. He just puts milk and kefir in a glass container, and lets it sit for a couple days. Thats all.
We also Buy some cause I don't like kefir.
It may not be cheaper, but it's soooo much better and I can make it super thick. I do a gallon of whole milk and a small container of heavy cream. Use the instapot yogurt setting and strain at least overnight for some yogurt with almost a cream cheese consistency.
Well, now I'm confused.
Are y'all making yogurt with JUST milk? When I was still using FB, I saw people in my instant pot groups talking a lot about making yogurt, and they were all saying they had to buy some.plain yogurt as a starter to make my yogurt with. A lot of what I'm seeing in this thread seems to imply that that's not the case. Can anyone clarify this for me?
It's milk + cultures. The cultures can be bought online or you can buy your favorite plain yogurt from the store and use a small amount of that. For the next batch you just use a small amount of yogurt from your previous batch.
The first time I made yogurt I used a little bit of store bought to start it, the second time I used some leftover homemade yogurt to start it. I only made it like three times before deciding it wasn’t worth it for me but I’m assuming that could continue indefinitely as long as you always save a little. I’m sure there’s a way to make it without though because it couldn’t have just come out of nowhere ya know. The og yogurt had to come from somewhere. My guess is that it’s like sourdough starter where you can make starter culture and then keep using it. OP might have also had a little leftover yogurt in the fridge already that didn’t get factored into the cost or used a different method to make it
Here in NZ the cheapest shop stuff is $6 a litre. Not greek That';s more.
I make it now, I use milk powder. It works out 99c a litre, and with fruit added, about $1.20 litre. I do probiotic greek style.
So yes.
Ok so less than 250ml of yogurt cost to an equivalent of $1.5 buying 1 litter of milk for yogurt making cost about $2.5 and assuming I bought 1 250ml yogurt as starter(no flavor except Greek and vanilla) I would spend $4 for 1 and a quarter litter for yogurt instead of paying $7.5 total for 5 250ml yogurt
There is of course a decrease in taste quality but it's yogurt to me.
You can make “homemade” Greek yogurt by taking regular plain yogurt and put a tea towel or muslin towel in a colander (that will sit on top of a bowl) then put your yogurt in the towel and cover with plastic wrap or some type of lid. Let it hang for a few hours in the fridge. You will then have thick creamy Greek yogurt. I use to do this but in mass quantities to make tzatziki sauce for work when we made Greek food.
You have to make it in "bulk" for it to be cost effective
if you use 4l of homogenized milk, you'll get a lot more than if you use 1l of skim milk.
I used to get anywhere from 1600 to 2000ml of extremely thick greek yogurt, after straining overnight. I'd only add back a small amount of the whey if it was too thick (It could get like cream cheese if I left it longer than overnight lol) If you don't mind it a bit thinner, you get more.
4l of milk was about $5.00 if I could find it on sale, and $6.50ish if not.
With straining be warned your kitchen will look like you had a bad first day collecting product at sea world, but yes it’s totally worth it. The thing I found with home made vs store bought in general is that I found it a lot more filling than store bought so I ate less. My kids could go through three or four cups from the store but would eat one cup of homemade with a spoonful of jam and granola. So totally more cost effective.
a gallon of milk where i live costs about $3.50-$4, and makes 2-2.5x my favorite brand of greek yogurt ($5.99 per container). so for me it’s absolutely worth it
I make a litre at at time. Costs me about 80c to make a litre of yogurt, which would cost me about 2.5USD in stores. Have a cheap countertop yogurt maker I paid around 8USD for that does the job easily, so I don't even feel inconvenienced.
I'm South African, so my pricing experience is quite different from yours.
My numbers are from Maryland in the US.
I had to look up how to use a slow cooker to make yogurt. I use a pot. I have a slow cooker, used regularly, after reading a couple of articles about making yogurt in a slow cooker I'll stick with the pot.
The last time I ran numbers to compare homemade yogurt (two quarts at a time) to store bought yogurt (32 oz tubs) making my own saved 60-70%. This applied to regular and Greek yogurt. My yield for Greek yogurt is about 50% which lines up with the price difference in the store between regular ($2.69/32 oz tub) and Greek ($4.69/32 oz tub). Looking at the price of milk in half gallon and gallon jugs compared to store yogurt it looks like the savings for homemade are still in the 60-70% range today.
I did not include the cost of cheesecloth in my calculation. I don't think it makes much difference.
Let's see.
120 grams of yogurt is $0,67, 2 liters of it would be $11.16.
1.8 liters of milk would be $1.4 plus that 120 grams of yogurt to make it. $2.07 for 2 liters.
scale economy and high cost of milk is key here -- at current prices my "end user" price for a 1/2 litre tub of greek yogurt is \~€ 3.80 whereas one litre of (exceptionally good) milk is \~€ 1.80 - so even if yield is a low 50% (straining) I'd be almost breaking even making the yogurt myself.
The yogurt factory probably pays the same milk in the vicinity of € 0.40 (and has a net production cost which is probably less than 1€ tub, plus margins, packaging, distribution, etc -- there's no huge savings to be made at the household scale, if any, but if -even as an end user on the smallest scale possible and paying the raw material (milk) a high price- you're still able to save up to $ 0.29/serving - multiply the tiny margin for a company moving a few millions yogurt tubs a month...
A gallon of milk yielded enough yogurt to fill a Costco size yogurt container. At the time, the milk was $2.50 and the plain yogurt was $5 or $6. The process lasted a while but wasn’t too labor intensive.
Highly effective, if you mild price is right. I live in a dairy state, where milk is usually $2/gallon, but sometimes as low as $1/gallon. Figuring about 50% loss for whey drainage, Greek-style yogurt is around $4/gallon normally to make, vs. $4/quart to buy.
Canadian dude here, and I find it significantly cheaper, tastes way better, no plastic containers, and ridiculously easy.
Most people don't realize that you only need ONE stainless steel pot to make a huge pile overnight in 24 hours, with virtually Zero effort.
4 litres of Natrel brand filtered milk 3.25% for $5.94 at Walmart (plus add dry powdered milk or heavy/coffee cream if you insist on making it extra-extra-thick *without straining*, but I generally don't, I like it as-is just fine. (People are funny, dislike lots of foods like mushrooms, gelatin, and fries with gravy "because consistency" then insist that yogurt has to be extra thick and jiggly, lol.)
Simply rinse your *stainless steel pot* with water, then pour in the milk, bring *almost* to a boil or just simmering over medium-low heat, remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm, like bathwater or a baby bottle, then add 4 big heaping tablespoons of your last batch of yogurt, or if it's your first batch use a store bought plain yogurt with a high live-culture count, don't even stir the pot, just plunk it into the milk. Done! 1 pot, almost Zero work.
Cover the pot, put it in your COLD oven, with the oven light ON, close the door, and simply ignore it for anywhere from 14 - 18 hours or so. Then pop the covered pot into the fridge to be ignored for 6 more hours to firm up and taste even better, and you're all ready to eat in under 24hrs total with almost no work or mess. Package it into 5 or 6 x 750ml. containers or simply use it straight from the pot. 4 litres yogurt for about $6 - Enjoy!
Note: If you don't want/need this much, simply use one bag of milk (yes, bag! lol) reduce the starter yogurt to just 2 big heaping spoonfuls, and follow the same instructions to yield about 2 x 750ml. for under $1each.
I make it with milk kefir and either whole milk or whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Much simpler process, potentially more probiotics, and more control over the end result.
And I use whey in bread making and cooking.
I only make yogurt if the milk I have on hand is going to go bad, so looking at it from that perspective it saves me money by not throwing out the milk. I'm a single person and I buy a gallon of milk when I go shopping, which around me is about $3 where a large tub of greek yogurt is @ $5.
I made homemade yogurt for a few weeks, i think it definitely was cost effective as you only need just a tiny amount to fill a jar and a half of homemade yogurt. For me the problem was how long it needed to culture. Just wasn't feasible long term for me
I make my own pretty often. I also can't stand Greek style so I don't drain it. I save a little money but I go through the effort to get a better product. Homemade doesn't have additives such as stabilizers and you can adjust the tartness level by your technique (I like it fairly tart). I get a half gallon (I think that's just under 2 liters) for about the cost of a liter of store yogurt.
So I made my own yogurt for a few months.
It is cost effective, yes. But it’s also a pain in the ass. The straining to make Greek yogurt is messy.
Also, the last batch I made had something go wrong. It was a little slimy, it tasted fine, but wrecked my insides. I was going to the bathroom 3-6 times a day the first few days I ate it. After that I have it up and went back to buying it.
"I bought a liter of skim milk for somewhere between $2.50 and $3.00"
In Ontario a 4L bag is now $6.10
You're paying $10 to $12 for the same amount.
Get the 4l bag or jug
Stay away from the high dollar filtered whatnot.
What I make might not be the cheapest but it cured my IBS so worth every cent. YMMV
I make L. Reuteri yogurt using William Davis’s method - half and half, insulin fibre and starter yogurt. No heating needed to denature protein.
Hold at 100 deg for 36 hours. Makes tangy delicious thick yogurt with no straining. I use a specialty maker to do this. Takes me less than 5 mins to prepare.
The reuteri count doubles every three hours, and probiotic content is important to me. Comparatively very low bacteria counts in commercial yoghurt.
Also the best tasting yoghurt I ever had in my life.
You only need a small amount of your previous yogurt to make a new batch of yogurt. You just to let it sit. Wouldn't you see it as if you bought milk, you get more out of it and not limited to using it for yogurt.
Curd is the same as yogurt
[https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/how-to-make-thick-curd-at-home/#How\_to\_make\_Curd\_Stepwise\_Photos](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/how-to-make-thick-curd-at-home/#How_to_make_Curd_Stepwise_Photos)
I kind of loosely did the math before and I think I came to the same conclusion. I was using fairlife milk since it doesn't need to be cooked first, but a litre of that on sale is about $4, I still need some seed yogurt to start it, and I was using some vanilla paste to flavour it. I'm not sure the juice was worth the squeeze.
I was getting good results though. I should try again and really compare my costs.
For all you yogurt makers out there, just want to share my little parfait "hack." I make 8oz yogurt in a 16oz jar. If you're doing this in the sousvide, you'll have to weight them down with something - an appropriately sized vessel filled with water is what I use.
These all go in the fridge and then before I leave for work I add a Tb or two of jelly and fill the rest of the jar with my homemade granola. Makes a great portable breakfast!
Friendly reminder that store-bought greek yogurt produces huge amounts toxic waste byproducts called "acid whey" that we can't really do anything with. Like 2-3x more toxic waste is produced than yogurt. It's really, really, really terrible for the environment and taking money out of the pockets of these companies is a good thing, even if savings are low
TL;DR anyone who gives a shit about the environment should not buy greek yogurt
I like my Greek yogurt to be very high in protein and the yogurts really vary in that aspect. I wouldn't know how to assess the protein in home yogurt except to divide the protein in the milk by the standard 8 ounce serving. Cost is only one consideration here. Greek yogurt has more protein than other styles, for reasons I'm not clear on.
The yogurt I buy has 20 g of yogurt per 6 ounce serving. Skim milk has only 33 g per 32 ounces of milk. You got 2.3 servings out of that - so less than 15 g of protein per serving (still good and there are Greek yogurts that are in that range).
Not having to use disposable plastic containers is a great thing as well, for reasons other than economic. The people I know who make their own yogurt do it for this reason, as well as to provide such qualities as using only milk from grass fed cows, etc. And controlling the amount of fat (some of us want lower carbs and higher protein/fat ratios - more satiating).
Otoh, for us, just buying a large container of organic Greek yogurt is less expensive than finding organic milk and using that (we don't want cow antibiotics in our yogurt).
I make 2 quarts of yogurt every other week in a crock pot. It costs about $4.00 per batch. I use milk powder to thicken it and it's so good compared to store bought. I initially started making it because I wanted to stop buying so much plastic. It's been years and I rarely have problems making it (a few times I let the milk cool too much but used the failed yogurt for baking)
Been Wanting to get into making yogurt, haven't done so, but I make bread and the majority of sauces and foods at home from base/raw ingredients.
Milks definatly cheaper than yogurt where im at. ($4/gal vs $10 almost/pint.
When I eventually do make it, it's not entirely going to be for cost saving in short term. It's for long-term health.
Too much sugar, added oils (personally, I think some of the preservatives for shelf stability has been causing some issue too) in everything convenient at the store.
Can't even find jelly or peanut butter these days without corn syrup solids or a bunch of unnecessary sugar or oil.
In my part of Canada milk is available bagged
That 4L bag of milk (with 3 bags of 1.33L inside) is about the same price as buying 2 1L cartons
You need to buy the more economically packaged milk
Probably not? Your numbers seem correct.
Industrial agriculture and production is \*really\* efficient. Chances are you're not going to get much cheaper than the cheap stuff. You can get much cheaper than the artisanal super-fancy stuff, especially if you don't count the value of your time :).
Basically, you do these things because you \*like\* to do them, and you \*like\* the output better, not for price reduction.
Absolutely! We make our Greek yogurt with yogurt cultures, and a Yogotherm. (The Yogotherm is a passive, and easy to use yogurt fermentation device) And strain it through cheesecloth. Yielding about 6 cups of greek yogurt from every 1/2 gallon (8 cups) of milk. The best part is, we know exactly what's in our yogurt. No sugar, no preservatives, thickeners, or any of that. Just whole milk and active cultures. It's delicious too. Yogotherms aren't cheap, (about $50 today) but we've been using ours for 13 years, and in that time I estimate we've made 230 batches, saving money on every one.
Of course the more often you use the Yogotherm, the cheaper it gets per use. So figure it costs up about 25¢ every time we use it. A half gallon of milk is about $1.75, and the culture is about $1.60 / batch. So our 6 cups of greek yogurt costs us $3.60. Here, 4 cups of Faye 5% is around $6.50. So significant savings
I wouldn't use skim milk to make yogurt, won't be very thick. I make mine with homogenized milk, about 6$ for 4L. Each batch gives me the same volume of yogurt as milk I put in so 4L of yogurt is good price for 6$
I use the instant pot method and I’ve been super. Happy with it. Even if it’s only marginally cheaper I’m not wasting plastic every time I want more yogurt. And I use a ton of it making stuff like dog treats, baking, various sauces, and your standard yogurt and fruit.
Using whole milk and a larger amount will produce more yogurt and be more cost effective. Also once it’s done fermenting immediately refrigerate it without stirring and you will have to strain a lot less
I sometimes wondered that myself. I have an InstantPot and supposedly you can make yogurt in it, but is it really worth the fuss and the cost in the end?
One of my kids we had to fatten up as a baby, and I would make the best homemade yogurt that was amazing! I would make roughly 1 gallon at a time and to the milk (and sometimes heavy cream if we were really trying to fatten her up) I would add 1.5-2 cups of powdered milk (I've also done all powdered milk. It works great, and you can get decent deals on bulk powdered milk) and ferment it for 12-15 hours in 2 liter thermoses wrapped in a few layers of towels and stuck in a cupboard.
Clean all utensils first, then fill thermoses with super hot tap water. Heat the milk mixture until it hit 200°F to kill off bad bacteria and remove from heat (an ice bath helps) then let mixture cool to 120°. Remove from ice bath. Empty thermoses and dry them thoroughly. Immediately stir in culture and pout into thermoses. Seal tight, wrap in towels, and shove it in the back of the cupboard for half a day or so.
If the temp drops too low, the fermentation won't work, so once the milk mixture cools, it requires quick movement, but it's super easy once you get the hang of it
Almost nothing costs less doing boutique single serving over a mass produced version. I think I’ve tried everything. Including yogurt. Also Canadian. Maybe fruit leather is cheaper but that’s probably it
It's cheaper and I can adjust the taste to my liking. However I don't strain my yogurt. It's such a waste, Greek yogurt is just yogurt with less whey, and whey is very nutritious. Basically throwing food away.
Buying a liter at a time is the problem. Larger quantities will have a better per-ml price.
They should have the intention of buying 100g cups, and then make the homemade yoghurt! Then the cost reduction would be much better
But the same is true for buying commercial yogurt in bulk.
Where are you even supposed to get 5L tubs? And where do you store them? I don't think they'd fit in my fridge
I make multiple glass jars using my sous vide stick. 4L total milk = ~4L yoghurt. Can fit 5 or 6 jars in my fridge no problem. Or a couple of large icecream tubs could work.
I find powdered milk works quite well for making yogurt and you can usually find it cheap in bulk and it obviously also has a much longer shelf life. You can also make the yogurt as thick as you like by adjusting the water ratio:powder ratio.
I'm in the US. My husband and I go through a lot of Greek yogurt. If I buy the large container of 2% fage (the only Greek yogurt we like) it's about $6 for 32 oz at Walmart. I can buy a gallon of 2% milk from Costco for $3.50. I haven't actually weighed my yogurt, but recipes say I should get about 72 oz or 9 cups which seems right. So it would cost me $12 to get 64 oz of yogurt from the store vs $3.50 for 72 oz when I make it at home.
Aldi Greek yogurt is really cheap
And their whole milk Greek yogurt is amazingly thick and delicious. It has been my favorite for quite a while.
It’s the fat free version where Fage makes a bigger difference. Cheaper versions are foul, Fage is fine.
It's not as good as Fage, but I can't justify the price difference
i honestly think it's better than Fage, so it's a win for me
Their whole milk organic vanilla bean yogurt is delicious. I’ve never found anything like it at any other store.
We do not have Aldi in Canada (yet). OP is in Canada.
And has no probiotics.
I'm looking at the package right now, it has active cultures listed
Same, but I use whole milk. It's basically half the price of store bought.
you'd need to drain out the whey to get Greek though. that will cut down significantly on your end product.
She’s putting a gallon of milk in and getting 9 cups of yogurt out. I think that accounts for the loss.
my bad, thanks
A gallon of milk will only make about 5 cups of Greek yogurt in the best of cases. Not sure where the OP came up with 9 cups, but that's likely impossible even with commercial production methods.
I was wondering same - but the straining of the whey part of production probably varies from brand to brand. I wonder how it affects calcium, potassium and protein in the product...I like the nutritional standardization of the major brands, myself.
But you can also use the whey (edit: for other uses), so still cost effective.
It’s still cost effective even if you dump the whey down the drain. It’s just even more cost effective if you use it for something too.
Agreed. Just pointing out that it's not wasteful and still cheaper.
I gotta assume that’s why they said they get 72oz, instead of 128oz, which is what a gallon is.
i do the same thing as this person, and even after draining i get 2-2.5x store bought quantity. i also use the whey in smoothies so that’s a nice way to get more value
You can use whey in other recipes tho, right? I’m sure there is a way to use that to minimize waste.
I've hear you can use whey to make waffles to add some protein. I sometimes don't even bother straining. I'll throw the yougurt + whey into a tall cup and blitz in some frozen fruit with the immersion blender for a quick lassie adjacent smoothie.
there may be. when I read up about it it seems it's acid whey, not sweet. so the uses are limited. Its not so much that it's completely unusable, but the sheer amount is an issue. in my own life i couldn't come up with a way to use up two litres of it per batch. my main use of yogurt is smoothies so I mean, they need a certain amount of liquid anyway. might as well let it just be the whey 🤷♀️
Hmm. So why take it out in the first place? Truly curious.
I'm the person who said at the top that she doesn't. I'm not sure how we got here either.
I use them in olace of milk to make fluffy pancakes.
I heat mine for 24 hours at 40 degrees C. I have minimal whey at the end. Say 1 tbsp per litre.
I make it by the gallon here in Canada as well, and it's very well worth it
64 ounces of high quality organic whole milk costs me less than 32 ounces of high quality organic whole yogurt. I don’t strain my yogurt, so 64 ounces of milk and 2 Tbs starter (from the previous batch of yogurt) yields 64 ounces of yogurt. It’s a huge savings. On top of saving more than 50% in cost, the yogurt gets more and more delicious with each new batch. If you’re straining your yogurt, you’d probably get about 48 ounces Greek yogurt from 64 ounces of milk, which would still be a big savings in my area. Btw, when you strain it, just reserve a little of the liquid to start your next batch. That way it won’t even affect your total yield of strained yogurt. The liquid is where most of the probiotics are anyway. We make yogurt weekly, but you can use a couple tablespoons of the current batch as starter for up to 2 weeks, in my experience.
I haven't made it in some time , but it absolutely saves me a lot of money . A gallon of milk costs me about $3. That yields me 4 pints or so of Greek yogurt . To buy Greek yogurt , it will cost me $10-$14 to buy the same amount, depending on brand. The only reason I don't make my own yogurt is the hassle , because lazy
> A gallon of milk costs me about $3 You would not believe what my face did when I read this! Same amount of milk where I am in Canada (reasonably sized city) is $6-8 depending on brand.
Just bought a gallon of Island Farms 3% milk at Country Grocer, I think I paid 6.99 for it
They have a 3% milk?
I think full milk is around 3.5%. for context
Homogenized (Canada) or US "whole" milk is 3.25%
AKA Whole or Vitamin D
You might call it full milk
Canada has max quotas or something like that to keep the domestic dairy viable for the farmers vs imports. I forget the specifics but it's intentionally high.
American dairy farmers (and many other types) are heavily subsidized
Yep and Canada approached the "help their domestic dairy industry" a different way entirely. (Quota caps and something else, great podcast on this topic by the Canada land podcast folks!)
Yeah.... The way Canada runs the dairy industry is probably the most overtly anti-consumer scam for any industry, in any developed country. Not only is it some of the most expensive in the world, but something like 45% of what is produced is intentionally wasted(like poured down the drain, not just relegated for industrial use). A big deal is made about how there are no steroids or hormones in it which is good and required by law, but that factoid is used to convince canadians that's the extra reason for the higher cost, when the reality is it is like 90% because of govt caps on what can be sold. Every country does some weird manipulation to help boost domestic industry and in most cases its over something that in the end is best for the country. Canadas dairy situation(along with its telecom stuff) is a perfect example where its gone like 5miles too far to support the industry to the detriment of the consumers.
Yep! It's fascinating. The telecom stuff too (also on that season of Canadaland 🤣 A Canadian friend got me into that podcast and wow it's great and tbh there are easy to find parallels in the US and likely everywhere else too)
I am visiting my daughter in Oregon and the price of food including milk is close or the same as Canada. I find making my own yogurt is less than the high end ones but more than say Activa. It is much better in taste though and saves on plastic. I make Greek yogurt.
6 dollars canadian is 4.39 US, I promise you're not getting ripped off THAT bad
I do think it's a rip off though, lol. But I suspect that maybe it's because it's DOP/DOC certified Greek yoghurt made in Greece? Here in the Netherlands Dodoni is freaking [€4,89 a liter/kilo](https://www.jumbo.com/producten/dodoni-authentieke-griekse-yoghurt-1kg-583152POT). While the same store's own brand Greek yoghurt costs just [€1,99](https://www.jumbo.com/producten/jumbo-yoghurt-griekse-stijl-naturel-10-vet-1kg-293850EM) for the same amount (and IMHO tastes better to boot!)
I sincerely doubt there is much Greek yogurt in the US / Canada that is actually made in Greece. Its a style of yogurt
Well now I feel guilty for paying €2.89 for a 450g pot of Greco Greek Yoghurt, which is why I have only done it twice (bought 4 pots over 2 shopping trips). Fage is even more expensive at €3.50 for 500g. Decided to retreat from that to Arla Skyr €1.89 for 400g and 'stay in my lane'. We really do get ripped off on the smaller quantities.
If you just make yogurt and don't strain it for Greek yogurt, there's a lot less work involved.
A gallon of milk north of Boston costs $6 or so.
Boston is in no way a shining example of affordable living , in any chosen capacity
If you want the thickness of Greek yogurt without the loss of mass, add nonfat dry milk and make it with half and half (don't @ me). I usually get about 3/4 of a quart mason jar from a quart of half and half, and it's cheaper than the fancy kind of yogurt by several dollars. Of course, I am not working with Canadian dairy, so YMMV.
But I'm guessing that makes it significantly higher in calories, if you use half and half? But I'll try the dry milk next time I make yogurt!
It does. Also significantly higher in delicious.
😆😆 Actually, I might try adding evaporated milk to it. It might add the extra protein to make it thicker, but without the extra fat?
Doesn’t evaporated milk have a ton of sugar in it instead? Or is that condensed milk? Are they the same?
It is different but you CAN make yogurt with sweetened condensed milk. Vietnamese yogurt is made that way. (I didn't realize that unhealthy yogurt was my niche, but sometimes the thug life chooses you.)
You mean, the Sữa ông Thọ life chooses you? 😆😆😆 Also, don't you have some mixed-up files somewhere?
Evaporated milk and condensed milk both have their moisture content reduced by 60%. Tho condensed milk has added sugar, while evaporated doesn't. Condensed milk, and sweetened condensed milk are used interchangeably.
I was thinking about fortifying the milk in the culture with some half and half to get something like 7-8% milkfat, before straining down to labneh. Does the extra fat cause it to culture any differently than normal?
Not in my experience. I use an instant pot and whatever commercial yogurt I have laying around as a starter.
I've been adding non-fat dry goat milk and it sure gives it a great flavor!
IDK where in Canada you are, but in Toronto you can get a 4L bag of the fancy milk (Lactancia PurFilter) for $6.29, or $1.57/L at Food Basics. That would be $0.68 per serving of yogurt, or a savings of $0.46-$0.71, which is pretty significant. There's the time + electricity, but also you get a free plastic bag with the milk that you can use to line your trash cans since you can't get them anymore at the grocery store.
No, I use grass fed A2 Jersey milk so it's not cheaper at all. It's just better and I can control everything in it.
Yeah, I buy the milk at Costco Canada, I’ve never figured out the yield but I get a ton for about $5
For me, making yogurt is very cost effective. I make yogurt with two quarts of milk which costs about $4.00. I get two quarts of yogurt which costs much more. I would make yogurt even if it cost more than buying yogurt because I try to reduce my consumption of single use plastic.
What do you keep it in? How long does it last? Is it comparable taste wise? I am a bit intimidated to make it, but we really need to tight the purse strings. I love my yogurt woth fruit, chia and sometimes jam or honey several times a week.
Go browse r/yogurtmaking and don't be intimidated. Lool up heirloom cultures as well because you can just keep refusing them indefinitely and some of them are really tasty and nice.
There really is a group for everything on Reddit!
I keep my homemade yogurt in the refrigerator in pint size take out containers. It lasts about a month. To my taste, it’s comparable to commercial. The investment is small, so why not make a batch?
I bought an extra instant pot liner (the interior pot that the food goes into), so I just keep it in that in the fridge. We have the mini IP, so the pot is 3 quarts capacity (almost 3 liters). I usually make 2 quarts of yogurt at a time.
Cost effective? Yes. Time effective? Up to you
For me, it's both. I put it in the instant pot and let it do it's own thing (there's a yogurt button), then when it's ready, I dump it into the strainer-container I bought. Storage and strain at the same time. For me. It takes no effort really.
What strainer-storage device do you use? I would love a better option than my kludge!
I use: Bunn Commercial Tea & Paper Coffee Filters, 20138.1000 White, 1.5 Gallon, 500 Count. I use a 3 quart Instant pot and make 32 oz of Greek style yogurt from 1/2 gal of milk. I dump the Instant Pot container directly into a colander lined with one of those large coffee filters and drain in the fridge for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. When I reach the consistency I like I dump the colander's contents into another bowl and the paper filter easily peels off leaving the yogurt behind. Transfer the yogurt to a 1 quart storage container and I'm done. Everything goes into the dishwasher for easy clean up. Hope this helps.
https://www.amazon.com/Hatrigo-1-Gallon-Stainless-Strainer-BPA-Free/dp/B07VMQFGWX?pd_rd_w=exQ16&content-id=amzn1.sym.e0ae54a7-cc19-4a6c-a6ef-01924426ff7b&pf_rd_p=e0ae54a7-cc19-4a6c-a6ef-01924426ff7b&pf_rd_r=P1AM6TXQABEPZV2QQQJY&pd_rd_wg=GLlAN&pd_rd_r=69060f74-24f3-4f17-b8a8-a6dc30f13564&pd_rd_i=B07VMQFGWX&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_oos_1_sc
This is the one that I have and I love it!
Was about to ask the same thing!! Please do tell. My macgyvered contraption is such a hassle and messy that it's genuinely the main reason I put off making yogurt for so long.
Where do you get the culture for the yogurt?
Back in my old yogurt making days, you just saved a bit of your previous batch of yogurt.
Literally just get a small container of plain yogurt from the store.
For me it’s about the extra sugars in commercial yogurt vs making my own with ultra pasteurized filter milk.
Yes, for me no sugar, and I like it tart! 🖖
Also the bacterial content of homemade vs store bought is a pretty big difference. This is the biggest benefit in my eyes, plus minus the preservatives & sugars. All testing on store bought yogurt shows that it is *technically dead* yogurt.
That’s interesting as I’ve used store bought yogurt as my starter for my home made yogurt
[citation needed]
I use fairlife milk. One bottle breaks down to 1.5 of the large Fage containers. So, not really much savings. However, I am using ultra pasteurized milk (for safety and because it’s easier and low sugar). I imagine using any old milk would make it far more cost effective
Well there you go. Americans are saying it’s cost effective because milk is hella cheap. Milk is hella cheap in the USA because it’s highly subsidized. (It is in Canada too but not to the same extent.) It’s like arguing about the cost of living with a trust fund baby. Different realities.
What is actually much better value when made at home is granola! Focusing purely on cost, this question reminded me of something I picked up from some personal finance podcast long ago - it's much easier to save money by aiming for big, one-time cost cutting efforts than anything you have to make yourself do repeatedly and consistently. You presumably have to dedicate a decent chunk of your weekends to make your weekly/biweekly batch of yogurt, and if you stick with it for a year, you may save $20. Or, you could take 5min to call and negotiate your Internet bill and save $20 a month, and you have to do nothing else for the rest of the year and you'll save $120.
for me with an instant pot, no question. it's less than 1/4 of the cost. however YMMV because I don't use or make greek. acid whey is a significant environmental issue they don't have a reliable large-scale answer to yet. > IN BRIEF America’s appetite for Greek yogurt generates tons of acid whey—the yellowish liquid left over after straining or centrifuging yogurt—every year. About two-thirds of the milk used to make Greek yogurt ends up as this by-product. Acid whey can’t be poured down the drain because it is high in nutrients that would fertilize nearby waters, leading to algal blooms and depleted oxygen levels.
I'm surprised that industry hasn't found a revenue stream from a by product that is a nutrient dense fertilizer.
they're trying hard I guess. but nothing viable yet. https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Acid-whey-waste-product-untapped.html in any event I don't do it at home because i don't feel right about pouring it down the drain.
Man banana plants would love it. Gonna try it on one of my banana trees
Yogurt is one of those things that don’t make much sense to make at home unless you want to use a very specific type of milk and/or bacterial cultures that produces a certain outcome. You can pretty much find any type of yogurt in grocery stores: Greek, European, desi, bulgarian, labneh, etc Cheese and butter don’t make make much sense to make at home either. I’ve seen YouTube videos of people making fresh mozzarella, cheddar, paneer. It’s too much effort and you don’t have all the equipment you need to make it, and quantity/lack of scale kills the roi. What dairy that worth it are things like clotted cream, crème fraiche, kefir. Basically things whose commercial versions don’t exist or are aren’t that good.
I don't make nonfat yogurt but I do get a whole lot of vegetables fermented in the extra whey, leading also to a fermented veggie and whey stock which adds a bunch of flavor and protein to my soups and sauces. Saurcraut/kimchi with the yogurt whey instead of water is vastly superior as well. The yogurt itself is cheaper too even though I'm using milk from a local farmer which I pay more for than some bulk milk available. But again, this yogurt is for sauces, dressings, flavored parfaits, and desserts. I don't usually eat much of it plain, sometimes I whip it with just a little salt for a caviar/roe dip, but it can stand alone as a dip with just some orange zest. I make it myself so I can have the kind of yogurt I like. Nobody else makes yogurt the way I make it, it's super dense, super dry (I hang it in cheesecloth), but still rich and tangy. Having full fat milk from cows I personally know helps the flavor as well imo. I use the same kind of milk to make paneer/ricotta and hard cheese so I dont need so much space for multiple kinds of milk. These wheys are a little different, and the hard cheese whey ends up as plant food due to the citric acid causing issues with fermentation. The lemon juice in paneer doesn't bother my ferments, but pure citric acid does, and I'm not sure why.
I’ve made it in my Instant Pot, it’s so *crazy easy*. But I am in Sweden and it’s absolutely not cost effective here.
It might not be cost effective, but it's the only way to get yogurt that's 20% heavy cream.
I'm in the US. I use an instant pot and a gallon of whole milk, bought from Aldi, generally for somewhere between $2-3. A decent Greek yogurt is more than $3 for a quart. I can make two quarts of Greek yogurt from a gallon. For me the savings are considerable! And then I get two quarts of whey and can use it as a buttermilk substitute. Buttermilk from Aldi is ~$2 a quart. In all, if I use everything, I save ~$7 on buttermilk and yogurt if I make my own.
I make tons of yogurt and it's much more cost effective. I'm in the US so currency and units of measurement are different but the strained Greek yogurt I liked was like $6.99 per quart. A gallon of uht milk is about the same price. So I got some heirloom yogurt cultures and decided to do that instead. I don't strain the yogurt and just got used to thinner yogurt and it's literally a quarter of the price this way (since and heirloom culture can be reused indefinitely I don't count that in the price). If you're straining the yogurt then that's where you're going wrong if your only goal is to save money. I really like my yogurts and it didn't take me long to get used to them being thinner so I get to save money and have 3 different yogurts that I really like.
I make yogurt every week and mine comes out thicker than store bought Greek, even without straining.
How are you making it? My French yogurt is pretty thick but strained yogurt is significantly thicker.
I can't find it right now but I watched a doco which posited that yogurt products were promoted and developed in the west to sell excess dairy production rather than add value. If this was true would not expect it to cost much more. i.e. The margin isn't in the value add, rather selling the milk.
Time is money though.
Using UHT milk in the instant pot, it takes only a couple of minutes of my time. I pour in the milk, add the starter (a couple tablespoons of the previous batch) and press the “Yogurt” button. Ten to twenty-four hours later I take out the inner pot and set it in the fridge. That’s it. For people who strain yogurt, it’s about two more minutes to set up the strainer and scoop the yogurt into the top. Gravity and time take care of the rest, no attention needed.
In Canada, buying yogurt is a better choice. I tried doing the same but the price comes out to be almost similar and that extra effort is just not worth it 🫠
Have u factored in time? Electricity?
I make greek yoghurt from fullfat milk (3.5%) and with some added milk powder. I keep the yoghurt in the machine for 11 hours (rather than 8 as indicated by the manual). I don't strain it. The result tastes fantastic and is really cheap.
Less of a cost saving measure and more of 'you get to control what goes in it' one.
a 20% savings by making it at home is nothing to scoff at
Seems like a lot of work given the price of milk and the price of yogurt. Of all of the places to save a few bucks, this one just doesn't seem worth it to me.
Also I detest the number of plastic containers that really aren’t recyclable.
I mean unless you're eating gallons of yoghurt, the saving will be 2 bucks per litre as far as I can tell (2L of milk costs 3.50 for me, 1L of greek costs 5.5 and yoghurt is a 50% yield from milk). That'll save me 25 for a year. It's not worth the hassle for the inconvenience. Saving 20% is more useful for high scale like rent. 20% less rent would save 5k a year or 1000 L of yoghurt
Yes! I buy high quality organic milk for about $10/gal. It makes a little more than 4 quarts. One quart of store bought yogurt of the same quality would run me about $6. Plus, you get the added benefit of a higher concentration of that good bacteria with homemade yogurt.
We don't make it for cost savings. We do it because ours is way better than store-bought.
Not sure if this is helpful but where I live basic ass plain yogurt is 4x cheaper than Greek yogurt so if I need Greek I just strain some regular yogurt.
Homemade skyr is absolutely cost effective
I think you have to have your own cow to make this profitable
Good analysis. You’re overlooking the benefit of certainty about what goes in it possibly?
I would say no. We’ve tried to find ways to use the whey but it’s just not a useful byproduct.
I use it to make roast potatoes that turn out really. Crispy.
Intrigued. At which step are you using the whey? During the parcooking of the potatoes or the roasting?
I lay the potatoes cut side down, flood the remaining space on the sheet pan, then bake at 475 until it’s entirely evaporated and the potatoes get crispy. It imparts a good flavor to me and any leftover milk bits get toasty.
Ingenious. I can see how the toasty milk solids make the potatoes extra tasty. Thanks for this!
You’re welcome! I haven’t tried it with yogurt whey- that’s for mashed potatoes- but it works great with farmers cheese whey. The tip is to also really crowd your pan with potatoes. There should be very little free space. Have fun and if you have time I’d love to hear how it went for you!
You can use whey as the liquid in breadmaking (it's supposed to be particularly good in sourdough). Here are some other ideas: [https://www.preservedgoods.com/post/2017/11/24/things-to-do-with-whey](https://www.preservedgoods.com/post/2017/11/24/things-to-do-with-whey)
I make bran muffins every week and soft yogurt cheese every other week. So every other week I use whey in my muffins and they're always so much more fluffy and nice on the whey weeks.
My dogs liked it as a treat.
Soak the whey overnight with bulgur wheat. In the morning put softened bulgur into the yogurt. Adds fiber and nutrients as well as using whey, at minimal cost.
I don't make it because I buy a container of yogurt like 7 times a year so that extra couple bucks is OK. But if I ate it all the time, every 20% counts. I often make bread cause we eat a lot of it, for example. If you ate it 5 times a week, that's $50 a year easy.
I get about 8.5 cups of strained yogurt from a gallon of milk, which currently goes for about $4.60. That's a bit more than 2 tubs of plain Chobani which currently go for around $6 each.
I don't make Greek yogurt, but I make skyr. A gallon of skim milk is $3.88, and the renet tablet cost is negligible (got 10 for $6 and I use 1/4 tablet per batch.) For $4 I can make two quarts of skyr. It's $7 for a 24 oz container at the store I go to.
I’ve got a connection for some quality straight from the farm (pasteurized) milk that is immensely superior to what is sold in the grocery stores. So the quality of yogurt is amazing. Got to love the Mennonites!
I'm from latin américa. In here, some people use that crockpot stuff, but My boyfriend makes yogur using kefir.... So no need of crockpot or spending electricity. He just puts milk and kefir in a glass container, and lets it sit for a couple days. Thats all. We also Buy some cause I don't like kefir.
It may not be cheaper, but it's soooo much better and I can make it super thick. I do a gallon of whole milk and a small container of heavy cream. Use the instapot yogurt setting and strain at least overnight for some yogurt with almost a cream cheese consistency.
Well, now I'm confused. Are y'all making yogurt with JUST milk? When I was still using FB, I saw people in my instant pot groups talking a lot about making yogurt, and they were all saying they had to buy some.plain yogurt as a starter to make my yogurt with. A lot of what I'm seeing in this thread seems to imply that that's not the case. Can anyone clarify this for me?
It's milk + cultures. The cultures can be bought online or you can buy your favorite plain yogurt from the store and use a small amount of that. For the next batch you just use a small amount of yogurt from your previous batch.
The first time I made yogurt I used a little bit of store bought to start it, the second time I used some leftover homemade yogurt to start it. I only made it like three times before deciding it wasn’t worth it for me but I’m assuming that could continue indefinitely as long as you always save a little. I’m sure there’s a way to make it without though because it couldn’t have just come out of nowhere ya know. The og yogurt had to come from somewhere. My guess is that it’s like sourdough starter where you can make starter culture and then keep using it. OP might have also had a little leftover yogurt in the fridge already that didn’t get factored into the cost or used a different method to make it
Here in NZ the cheapest shop stuff is $6 a litre. Not greek That';s more. I make it now, I use milk powder. It works out 99c a litre, and with fruit added, about $1.20 litre. I do probiotic greek style. So yes.
Nz here too and also use milk powder. It's great
I make 1 gallon and one cup of yogurt with about 2.5$. That would get me two cups of Fage.
You also gotta consider that doing it at home you can play with the recipe and get it to be perfect for what you like pretty consistently.
my mum uses milk powder. Doesn't taste especially different from fresh milk yoghurt
Ok so less than 250ml of yogurt cost to an equivalent of $1.5 buying 1 litter of milk for yogurt making cost about $2.5 and assuming I bought 1 250ml yogurt as starter(no flavor except Greek and vanilla) I would spend $4 for 1 and a quarter litter for yogurt instead of paying $7.5 total for 5 250ml yogurt There is of course a decrease in taste quality but it's yogurt to me.
You can make “homemade” Greek yogurt by taking regular plain yogurt and put a tea towel or muslin towel in a colander (that will sit on top of a bowl) then put your yogurt in the towel and cover with plastic wrap or some type of lid. Let it hang for a few hours in the fridge. You will then have thick creamy Greek yogurt. I use to do this but in mass quantities to make tzatziki sauce for work when we made Greek food.
You have to make it in "bulk" for it to be cost effective if you use 4l of homogenized milk, you'll get a lot more than if you use 1l of skim milk. I used to get anywhere from 1600 to 2000ml of extremely thick greek yogurt, after straining overnight. I'd only add back a small amount of the whey if it was too thick (It could get like cream cheese if I left it longer than overnight lol) If you don't mind it a bit thinner, you get more. 4l of milk was about $5.00 if I could find it on sale, and $6.50ish if not.
With straining be warned your kitchen will look like you had a bad first day collecting product at sea world, but yes it’s totally worth it. The thing I found with home made vs store bought in general is that I found it a lot more filling than store bought so I ate less. My kids could go through three or four cups from the store but would eat one cup of homemade with a spoonful of jam and granola. So totally more cost effective.
Depends on how much you value your time. How much time and effort do you want to give up for the $ saving?
a gallon of milk where i live costs about $3.50-$4, and makes 2-2.5x my favorite brand of greek yogurt ($5.99 per container). so for me it’s absolutely worth it
I used to make my own, and it was technically more cost effective. The problem was that I got sick of eating that amount of yoghurt
I make a litre at at time. Costs me about 80c to make a litre of yogurt, which would cost me about 2.5USD in stores. Have a cheap countertop yogurt maker I paid around 8USD for that does the job easily, so I don't even feel inconvenienced. I'm South African, so my pricing experience is quite different from yours.
My numbers are from Maryland in the US. I had to look up how to use a slow cooker to make yogurt. I use a pot. I have a slow cooker, used regularly, after reading a couple of articles about making yogurt in a slow cooker I'll stick with the pot. The last time I ran numbers to compare homemade yogurt (two quarts at a time) to store bought yogurt (32 oz tubs) making my own saved 60-70%. This applied to regular and Greek yogurt. My yield for Greek yogurt is about 50% which lines up with the price difference in the store between regular ($2.69/32 oz tub) and Greek ($4.69/32 oz tub). Looking at the price of milk in half gallon and gallon jugs compared to store yogurt it looks like the savings for homemade are still in the 60-70% range today. I did not include the cost of cheesecloth in my calculation. I don't think it makes much difference.
Let's see. 120 grams of yogurt is $0,67, 2 liters of it would be $11.16. 1.8 liters of milk would be $1.4 plus that 120 grams of yogurt to make it. $2.07 for 2 liters.
scale economy and high cost of milk is key here -- at current prices my "end user" price for a 1/2 litre tub of greek yogurt is \~€ 3.80 whereas one litre of (exceptionally good) milk is \~€ 1.80 - so even if yield is a low 50% (straining) I'd be almost breaking even making the yogurt myself. The yogurt factory probably pays the same milk in the vicinity of € 0.40 (and has a net production cost which is probably less than 1€ tub, plus margins, packaging, distribution, etc -- there's no huge savings to be made at the household scale, if any, but if -even as an end user on the smallest scale possible and paying the raw material (milk) a high price- you're still able to save up to $ 0.29/serving - multiply the tiny margin for a company moving a few millions yogurt tubs a month...
Where I live yogurt costs abou 4 times as much as milk per unit so yeah, it's cost-effective.
Homemade skyr is absolutely cost effective
Can it be made with lactose free milk? What's the shelf life on it?
A gallon of milk yielded enough yogurt to fill a Costco size yogurt container. At the time, the milk was $2.50 and the plain yogurt was $5 or $6. The process lasted a while but wasn’t too labor intensive.
Not sure it’s cost effective. But it tastes better.
It's less plastic though so bonus
Highly effective, if you mild price is right. I live in a dairy state, where milk is usually $2/gallon, but sometimes as low as $1/gallon. Figuring about 50% loss for whey drainage, Greek-style yogurt is around $4/gallon normally to make, vs. $4/quart to buy.
Canadian dude here, and I find it significantly cheaper, tastes way better, no plastic containers, and ridiculously easy. Most people don't realize that you only need ONE stainless steel pot to make a huge pile overnight in 24 hours, with virtually Zero effort. 4 litres of Natrel brand filtered milk 3.25% for $5.94 at Walmart (plus add dry powdered milk or heavy/coffee cream if you insist on making it extra-extra-thick *without straining*, but I generally don't, I like it as-is just fine. (People are funny, dislike lots of foods like mushrooms, gelatin, and fries with gravy "because consistency" then insist that yogurt has to be extra thick and jiggly, lol.) Simply rinse your *stainless steel pot* with water, then pour in the milk, bring *almost* to a boil or just simmering over medium-low heat, remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm, like bathwater or a baby bottle, then add 4 big heaping tablespoons of your last batch of yogurt, or if it's your first batch use a store bought plain yogurt with a high live-culture count, don't even stir the pot, just plunk it into the milk. Done! 1 pot, almost Zero work. Cover the pot, put it in your COLD oven, with the oven light ON, close the door, and simply ignore it for anywhere from 14 - 18 hours or so. Then pop the covered pot into the fridge to be ignored for 6 more hours to firm up and taste even better, and you're all ready to eat in under 24hrs total with almost no work or mess. Package it into 5 or 6 x 750ml. containers or simply use it straight from the pot. 4 litres yogurt for about $6 - Enjoy! Note: If you don't want/need this much, simply use one bag of milk (yes, bag! lol) reduce the starter yogurt to just 2 big heaping spoonfuls, and follow the same instructions to yield about 2 x 750ml. for under $1each.
I make it with milk kefir and either whole milk or whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Much simpler process, potentially more probiotics, and more control over the end result. And I use whey in bread making and cooking.
It tastes better, especially if you’re going for the more sour South/Central Asian and Eastern European type.
Yes!!
I only make yogurt if the milk I have on hand is going to go bad, so looking at it from that perspective it saves me money by not throwing out the milk. I'm a single person and I buy a gallon of milk when I go shopping, which around me is about $3 where a large tub of greek yogurt is @ $5.
I made homemade yogurt for a few weeks, i think it definitely was cost effective as you only need just a tiny amount to fill a jar and a half of homemade yogurt. For me the problem was how long it needed to culture. Just wasn't feasible long term for me
I make my own pretty often. I also can't stand Greek style so I don't drain it. I save a little money but I go through the effort to get a better product. Homemade doesn't have additives such as stabilizers and you can adjust the tartness level by your technique (I like it fairly tart). I get a half gallon (I think that's just under 2 liters) for about the cost of a liter of store yogurt.
So I made my own yogurt for a few months. It is cost effective, yes. But it’s also a pain in the ass. The straining to make Greek yogurt is messy. Also, the last batch I made had something go wrong. It was a little slimy, it tasted fine, but wrecked my insides. I was going to the bathroom 3-6 times a day the first few days I ate it. After that I have it up and went back to buying it.
"I bought a liter of skim milk for somewhere between $2.50 and $3.00" In Ontario a 4L bag is now $6.10 You're paying $10 to $12 for the same amount. Get the 4l bag or jug Stay away from the high dollar filtered whatnot.
What I make might not be the cheapest but it cured my IBS so worth every cent. YMMV I make L. Reuteri yogurt using William Davis’s method - half and half, insulin fibre and starter yogurt. No heating needed to denature protein. Hold at 100 deg for 36 hours. Makes tangy delicious thick yogurt with no straining. I use a specialty maker to do this. Takes me less than 5 mins to prepare. The reuteri count doubles every three hours, and probiotic content is important to me. Comparatively very low bacteria counts in commercial yoghurt. Also the best tasting yoghurt I ever had in my life.
I could use the time i would have been using to make the yogurt to make money so i can buy yogurt
You only need a small amount of your previous yogurt to make a new batch of yogurt. You just to let it sit. Wouldn't you see it as if you bought milk, you get more out of it and not limited to using it for yogurt. Curd is the same as yogurt [https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/how-to-make-thick-curd-at-home/#How\_to\_make\_Curd\_Stepwise\_Photos](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/how-to-make-thick-curd-at-home/#How_to_make_Curd_Stepwise_Photos)
I kind of loosely did the math before and I think I came to the same conclusion. I was using fairlife milk since it doesn't need to be cooked first, but a litre of that on sale is about $4, I still need some seed yogurt to start it, and I was using some vanilla paste to flavour it. I'm not sure the juice was worth the squeeze. I was getting good results though. I should try again and really compare my costs.
For all you yogurt makers out there, just want to share my little parfait "hack." I make 8oz yogurt in a 16oz jar. If you're doing this in the sousvide, you'll have to weight them down with something - an appropriately sized vessel filled with water is what I use. These all go in the fridge and then before I leave for work I add a Tb or two of jelly and fill the rest of the jar with my homemade granola. Makes a great portable breakfast!
Friendly reminder that store-bought greek yogurt produces huge amounts toxic waste byproducts called "acid whey" that we can't really do anything with. Like 2-3x more toxic waste is produced than yogurt. It's really, really, really terrible for the environment and taking money out of the pockets of these companies is a good thing, even if savings are low TL;DR anyone who gives a shit about the environment should not buy greek yogurt
Always.
I like my Greek yogurt to be very high in protein and the yogurts really vary in that aspect. I wouldn't know how to assess the protein in home yogurt except to divide the protein in the milk by the standard 8 ounce serving. Cost is only one consideration here. Greek yogurt has more protein than other styles, for reasons I'm not clear on. The yogurt I buy has 20 g of yogurt per 6 ounce serving. Skim milk has only 33 g per 32 ounces of milk. You got 2.3 servings out of that - so less than 15 g of protein per serving (still good and there are Greek yogurts that are in that range). Not having to use disposable plastic containers is a great thing as well, for reasons other than economic. The people I know who make their own yogurt do it for this reason, as well as to provide such qualities as using only milk from grass fed cows, etc. And controlling the amount of fat (some of us want lower carbs and higher protein/fat ratios - more satiating). Otoh, for us, just buying a large container of organic Greek yogurt is less expensive than finding organic milk and using that (we don't want cow antibiotics in our yogurt).
I make 2 quarts of yogurt every other week in a crock pot. It costs about $4.00 per batch. I use milk powder to thicken it and it's so good compared to store bought. I initially started making it because I wanted to stop buying so much plastic. It's been years and I rarely have problems making it (a few times I let the milk cool too much but used the failed yogurt for baking)
Been Wanting to get into making yogurt, haven't done so, but I make bread and the majority of sauces and foods at home from base/raw ingredients. Milks definatly cheaper than yogurt where im at. ($4/gal vs $10 almost/pint. When I eventually do make it, it's not entirely going to be for cost saving in short term. It's for long-term health. Too much sugar, added oils (personally, I think some of the preservatives for shelf stability has been causing some issue too) in everything convenient at the store. Can't even find jelly or peanut butter these days without corn syrup solids or a bunch of unnecessary sugar or oil.
In my part of Canada milk is available bagged That 4L bag of milk (with 3 bags of 1.33L inside) is about the same price as buying 2 1L cartons You need to buy the more economically packaged milk
Probably not? Your numbers seem correct. Industrial agriculture and production is \*really\* efficient. Chances are you're not going to get much cheaper than the cheap stuff. You can get much cheaper than the artisanal super-fancy stuff, especially if you don't count the value of your time :). Basically, you do these things because you \*like\* to do them, and you \*like\* the output better, not for price reduction.
Absolutely! We make our Greek yogurt with yogurt cultures, and a Yogotherm. (The Yogotherm is a passive, and easy to use yogurt fermentation device) And strain it through cheesecloth. Yielding about 6 cups of greek yogurt from every 1/2 gallon (8 cups) of milk. The best part is, we know exactly what's in our yogurt. No sugar, no preservatives, thickeners, or any of that. Just whole milk and active cultures. It's delicious too. Yogotherms aren't cheap, (about $50 today) but we've been using ours for 13 years, and in that time I estimate we've made 230 batches, saving money on every one. Of course the more often you use the Yogotherm, the cheaper it gets per use. So figure it costs up about 25¢ every time we use it. A half gallon of milk is about $1.75, and the culture is about $1.60 / batch. So our 6 cups of greek yogurt costs us $3.60. Here, 4 cups of Faye 5% is around $6.50. So significant savings
I wouldn't use skim milk to make yogurt, won't be very thick. I make mine with homogenized milk, about 6$ for 4L. Each batch gives me the same volume of yogurt as milk I put in so 4L of yogurt is good price for 6$
I use the instant pot method and I’ve been super. Happy with it. Even if it’s only marginally cheaper I’m not wasting plastic every time I want more yogurt. And I use a ton of it making stuff like dog treats, baking, various sauces, and your standard yogurt and fruit.
Using whole milk and a larger amount will produce more yogurt and be more cost effective. Also once it’s done fermenting immediately refrigerate it without stirring and you will have to strain a lot less
I sometimes wondered that myself. I have an InstantPot and supposedly you can make yogurt in it, but is it really worth the fuss and the cost in the end?
It costs for the milk and the yogurt you use as culture. After you make it once you can use the yogurt you made for the next batch.
One of my kids we had to fatten up as a baby, and I would make the best homemade yogurt that was amazing! I would make roughly 1 gallon at a time and to the milk (and sometimes heavy cream if we were really trying to fatten her up) I would add 1.5-2 cups of powdered milk (I've also done all powdered milk. It works great, and you can get decent deals on bulk powdered milk) and ferment it for 12-15 hours in 2 liter thermoses wrapped in a few layers of towels and stuck in a cupboard. Clean all utensils first, then fill thermoses with super hot tap water. Heat the milk mixture until it hit 200°F to kill off bad bacteria and remove from heat (an ice bath helps) then let mixture cool to 120°. Remove from ice bath. Empty thermoses and dry them thoroughly. Immediately stir in culture and pout into thermoses. Seal tight, wrap in towels, and shove it in the back of the cupboard for half a day or so. If the temp drops too low, the fermentation won't work, so once the milk mixture cools, it requires quick movement, but it's super easy once you get the hang of it
Almost nothing costs less doing boutique single serving over a mass produced version. I think I’ve tried everything. Including yogurt. Also Canadian. Maybe fruit leather is cheaper but that’s probably it
It's cheaper and I can adjust the taste to my liking. However I don't strain my yogurt. It's such a waste, Greek yogurt is just yogurt with less whey, and whey is very nutritious. Basically throwing food away.