Greek yogurt is extremely popular with those who love gourmet food for one important reason; it’s really really good.

But thick and delicious Greek yogurt can be very expensive to enjoy on a regular basis…unless you make it yourself at home.

The easiest way to make Greek yogurt is to strain much of the water out of your favorite unflavored yogurt in a bowl over a number of hours.

To do this, New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman recommends using a large clean cotton dishcloth, a colander placed over a large bowl, and your favorite variety of unflavored yogurt.

After a few minutes of easy setup, just allow your ordinary yogurt to strain in the refrigerator while you go off and do other things. (This is multitasking at its best!)

The longer you leave your yogurt to strain, the thicker (and more like Greek yogurt) it will get. After a couple of hours, you’ll notice that your ordinary yogurt has become noticeably thicker. If you prefer, you can leave your yogurt to strain overnight for more authentic texture and concentrated flavor.

You can see a video where Mark Bittman shows how to painlessly make Greek yogurt at home below. The technique for transforming less expensive ordinary yogurt into Greek style is so easy that he also shows you how to make a quick raita spread with it so your crackers and chips won’t get too lonely.

Wondering what to do with all that delicious yogurt? Please see our links at the bottom of this post for 3 recipes that use yogurt.

You might also want to read Mark Bittman’s NY Times Minimalist column about making Greek yogurt here.

The secret to achieving the thick and delicious texture of Greek yogurt at home is now yours…enjoy!

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