I know that a lot of my readers are WAY ahead of the whole foods curve. You garden. You cook from scratch. And I know some of you are just starting the whole garden and cooking business. That’s great. Whichever camp you reside in, this year, I want to show you how some of those foods that we mindlessly purchase and consume are made. Some of them are just kinda scary.
Maybe, just maybe, it will be enough to convince you to grow your own produce and get back to basics. Then, we can all meet up to sing Kumbuya and talk about the good ol’ days. Ha!
Seriously, though, I hope you find some of this information has eye-opening as I did.
This week: Greek Yogurt. The HH loves the stuff {I think it smells like barf}. I had NO IDEA that commercial versions created an environmentally unfriendly bi-product though.
Greek yogurt is basically strained yogurt. The yogurt is strained from the whey, leaving a thicker creamier version of yogurt. The problem is that commercial greek yogurt leaves literally MILLIONS OF POUNDS of toxic acid whey every year.
Last summer, in a CNN article, James McWilliams said “Anything is potentially toxic. But the acid whey that’s a byproduct of the Greek yogurt industry is, at the level at which it’s produced and disposed, toxic enough to rob aquatic ecosystems of enough oxygen to harm fish and other species.”
According to the CNN article, many yogurt companies responsibly dispose of the majority of acid whey to farmers. The farmers then turn around and use the whey as part of a fertilizer or as a protein supplement in their animal feed. I don’t know about you, but I thought cows were suppose to eat grass, not leftover acidic whey.
The good news is that you can make your own greek yogurt–and then put the resulting whey to good use in other recipes–basically leaving no waste. Wahoo!
Are you a fan of greek yogurt?
~Mavis
Desi says
Love my greek yogurt, make it all the time. So easy and healthy.
Mavis Butterfield says
Do you make it in a crock pot?
Katie says
I use my crockpot. It takes longer than the method you linked to, but it is inactive time. I do use a digital thermometer because I have found that hitting the right temp is really important. Heat milk to 180, cool to 110, then add starter, put in the oven with a thick towel on the lid (my oven light is out) and leave overnight. In the morning strain. I originally used a small container of plain Fage for starter, now I just save a cup of yogurt from a previous batch. I use the whey instead of water when I bake bread, and it gives the bread a nutty flavor. I won’t go back to buying yogurt, this way is so easy, delicious and cheap!
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
I have an Aroma rice cooker/strainer that has two settings, cook and warm. I find that 2 T of starter (purchased or saved from previous batches) to a 1/2 gallon of scalded milk turns into beautiful, thick tasty yogurt overnight. I strain if I want it thicker and save the sweet tasty whey for baking or smoothies. If left in the strainer too long you get more of a softened cream cheese consistency that’s pretty tasty on muffins!
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
Forgot to say, the longer you let the yogurt culture grow, the thicker it’ll be without straining but it’ll also be more tart, as the cultures use up the natural milk sugars.
Julie says
We’ve been making it for a bit now. I’m a little confused about the whey though. If it’s too toxic to dump, why would consuming it be better?
Cecily says
It’s not that it is toxic in and of itself it is acidic and large amounts dumped into a stream can create a toxic environment for aquatic life. So feeding it back to the cows as a portion of their diet is safe. The article also brought out that anything is potentially toxic. I remember a while back when some kids died after a water drinking contest.
PattyB says
The whey is part of milk. You drink the milk with no repercussions. I get about half yogurt solids and half whey. Whey also contains protein so you will add nutrition to what ever you are cooking with it. Also, you can freeze it. I make so much yogurt that I have an over abundance of whey. Most people just dump it. If you can dump milk down the drain, you can dump whey. Or, better yet, you can probably give it to the chickens if you have any. =-)
Julie says
Thanks! I don’t get much whey at all so I dump it. Maybe I’ll start freezing it for smoothies.
Carol says
Julie, unfortunately the information in the cited article has been grossly misinterpreted. Whey is simply the liquid part of milk; curd is the solid. Whey is obviously NOT toxic. In addition to milk, whey is also available for human consumption in powdered form as it is an excellent source of protein. That’s also why some add it to their animal feed.
Organic material depletes oxygen in water as it decomposes. It would, therefore, take an enormous quantity of whey–or any other organic material, for that matter–in a fairly small body of water to cause an aquatic kill.
Incidentally, if one reads the full CNN article, one will discover that nowhere does it say that anyone is dumping any whey in any waterway. What it does say is that there is potential for toxic side effects *IF* whey disposal occurred within specific parameters.
PattyB says
I’ve been making my own yogurt for about a year now. Will not go back to store-bought. I found that a candy thermometer is very helpful for perfect yogurt every time. Heat milk to 150 degrees. Cool it down to 105 degrees, any hotter and you will kill the cultures. Then I add a full container of organic Greek yogurt with the active cultures. I put the pot and all with the cover on in an oven with the light on overnight (I obviously make start the yogurt in the early evening). The next morning, I line a colander that I place over big bowl and put in the fridge for about 6 hours. If the yogurt comes out too thick I just stir in some whey until I get the consistency I want. One time I accidentally put the cultures in before I cooled down the milk mixture… didn’t make yogurt…. no bueno… had to throw it out.
Tammy says
I personally don’t care for Greek yogurt, because most of it is made with 0% milk – so the texture is not naturally creamy. To compensate, other ingredients are added to make it more palatable and make it feel creamy. I’ve previously read about this problem that is created by the by-products from companies making Greek yogurt, and it made me even less interested in buying it.
Tisha says
I admit it, I am lazy. I make our yogurt (I found a refurbished yogurt maker cheap several years ago) but I refuse to take the time to drain it so excess whey is not a big problem but I have used the little bit here and there for mixing with milk for a buttermilk substitute. I make the yogurt with whole milk for the best texture/flavor. It tastes good, has much less sugar, only contains milk and culture, and also only costs about 75 cents for a quart to make.
mary says
It’s near impossible to find any commercial yogurt with any fat in it, so disappointing. I have been making my own yogurt for a few years now for a few reasons. One is that I want there to be some fat in my yogurt and another is that I want less sugar in it. Many stores don’t even carry the individual servings of plain yogurt. I also don’t like when they add pectin and other stuff to the yogurt. I use the oven method without a thermometer. My little pinky finger tells me if the milk is the right temp. or not. If I can hold my pinky in the milk and count to 20 then the temp is right. You don’t want to really go much cooler than that though cause you have to activate the bacteria but not kill it. It’s very easy but sounds intimidating.
elizabeth says
I make yogurt 4-5 quarts at a time evry 2-3 weeks. I do not strain it tothicken it. I don’t want to lose the whey-after all, it’s part of milk and I know I won’t use it all in my cooking (I tried but always had whey left over). I add 1/2-1 cup of dry milk powder to a gallon of milk before I heat it and I incubate it in glass canning jars in an igloo cooler. The resulting product is thick and creamy. I use the basic method at thefrugalgirl.com but add the dry milk and make it vanilla flavored.
suzanne hissung says
I make mine similar to Elizabeth. I add powdered milk to thicken, stovetop. It’s not necessary if you have issues with it (powdered milk) but it gives the denser texture that my HH prefers. I incubate mine in my rice cooker after I place them in 3 separate 1 quart mason jars. Thats what fits and no mess! He flavors with whatever jam or honey we have on hand at the time. Do this about every 3 weeks for the 2 of us.
Linda says
Love my homemade yogurt!! Made some today and didn’t strain the whey. I do sometimes, but if I do, I use the whey in baking. I also add powdered milk sometimes due to the fact that my family prefers the texture of the yogurt made with the powdered milk. They can tell if I didn’t add it and will comment every time!! LOL!
yas says
For the people looking for full-fat yogurt, Brown Cow makes some (cream on top, yay!). But if you want the extra thick & creamy, you’ll have to strain it yourself. I don’t think they do a strained version, though I could be wrong. I have found it also tends to be a bit more tangy than some of the other brands (which is a plus in my opinion. Too many yogurts have horrifying amounts of sugars in them.)
You do have to hunt for the cream on top variety though – more & more places that carry it where I live have taken to just carrying their lower-fat products.
I agree with Mary who said she doesn’t like pectin etc added to her yogurt. I don’t either! And I have noticed most of the “Greek” yogurts are actually “Greek style” yogurt with added thickeners instead of being strained yogurt. Buyer beware yadda yadda.
One of my “things I’d like to do this year” projects is making my own yogurt. 🙂 Looking forward to experimenting!
Ellen says
Hurry for Brown Cow cream-top yogurt! Good stuff! 🙂
Kari says
I use the crockpot method and make a gallon at a time, slick as a whistle. If I use organic whole milk, and my favorite starter (Fage yogurt) my yogurt turns out so thick and creamy that I don’t find it necessary to strain it. I will never go back to the commercial yogurts! Once you get used to homemade, the other stuff is gross!
Kari says
By the way, when I put it in my oven overnight, I leave the light on in the oven which keeps it at the perfect temp. Then refrigerate all the next day before transferring to storage containers.
Teckla says
Kari, would you mind sharing your recipe for crockpot yogurt. I’ve never tried it and would like to. Thanks so much! Teckla
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
I agree!
Allison says
You can also use whey as a starter for lacto-fermented vegetables. I haven’t tried it, my sauerkraut bubbles along just fine without it, but it might help for a quicker pickle.
Cynthia says
Considering that millions of pounds of chicken poop is fed to cows every year, a little whey doesn’t bother me.
Emma says
I used to hate Greek yoghurt but now we go through bucket loads. I use it instead of sour cream in Mexican food, make it into Labna instead of cheese, use it instead of cream in pasta and use it for dips and marinades. It even makes beautiful moist chocolate cake! Now I make my own and if I want sweet yoghurt I just add in some homemade berry syrup. Whey is fantastic in the no knead bread or I love it in soup or smoothies. If you have enough whey you could even make your own fresh ricotta with it
sindy says
I agree with you Maivs. It is nasty.
Lisa says
Not sure what they mean by toxic whey. You can buy bags of dried, powdered whey at dairies to add to cooking. My parents brought me a big bag they got on a tour of a big national brand.
What makes whey toxic or not?
I love the orange cream flavor of Oikos, made by Dannon. It’s really thick and really smooth and really creamy!
Someone mentioned no fat in yogurt, but this says it contains “milk,” so I guess that means whole milk. It has carob bean gum to thicken it too, which is fine with me.
Elizabeth says
The toxicity has to do with the fact that whey, when released into the environment (waterways) by large scale yogurt makers has detrimental effects on plants and animals. Yogurt whey is very acidic and can kill the environment if it f released in large enough quantities. It’s fine for cooking or feeding to farm animals but not by the tens of thousands of gallons.
Many yogurt flavors are mostly artificial flavorings and sweeteners. The orange cream yogurt you mentioned has lemon juice concentrate but no orange. That’s an issue for me, but not for others and that’s ok.