Is it possible to make Fage-style yogurt at home?

[Lori in PA]

So far, I've tried straining Stonyfield Farms whole milk yogurt overnight in the the fridge. It's ok, but not Fage.

The trouble is, I live over 1 1/2 hours from the nearest source of Fage Total Greek, so I'm looking for alternatives. Is anybody else as addicted to this stuff as I am?

[slschnur]

I make my own yogurt using Fage as the starter. It's not as good as Fage, but is better than other commercial yogurts. I think the difference is that mine is made with cow's milk, while Fage is made with a combination of sheep's & goat's milk, which is much tangier. Mine comes close, though, especially when I remember to drain it!

[Sneakeater]

I live within three blocks of TWO supermarkets that sell Fage Total Greek.

I know this isn't helpful. But I enjoyed saying it.

[judiu]

Maybe if you added a bit of goat cheese stirred into your Stonyfield?

[petite tête de chou]

So far, I've tried straining Stonyfield Farms whole milk yogurt overnight in the the fridge.  It's ok, but not Fage.

The trouble is, I live over 1 1/2 hours from the nearest source of Fage Total Greek, so I'm looking for alternatives.  Is anybody else as addicted to this stuff as I am?

←

Are you interested in making yogurt from scratch? Yogurt-making @ home, Any experiences? (merged)

[Lori in PA]

Are you interested in making yogurt from scratch? Yogurt-making @ home, Any experiences? (merged)

←

Maybe. I mean, no, I don't really want to: I don't have time, space, or desire, and I think it will be about as expensive as buying Fage. But, I'd like to eat Fage more often! Perhaps if I change our town's ordinances to allow sheep and goats, fence the backyard, and...

or, maybe I'll just keep campaigning my local markets to carry Fage.

[pounce]

Fage Total is cow's milk. No sheep or goat milk. They do have a product called "Authentic Greek Sheep's & Goats milk yogurt" that does contain sheep and goat milk. The sheep yogurt is not strained of whey. The Fage Total is strained to give it the thick texture.

Fage is building or has built a US facility in NY. I expect that it wil be easier and easier to find. If you must have it you can find it at amazon. You'd probably have to buy a few to make the shipping cost justified. You can get the 18ounce tubs for $4.50 each.

Trader Joe's sells Fage, but don't know if there is one near you.

http://www.traderjoes.com/locations/search/PENNSYLVANIA.asp

You can mail Fage to find out where you can find it in your area. info@FAGEUSA.com

Making Yogurt is not hard or expensive to do, but it is more involved that say pealing the top off a tub of Fage and kicking back on the couch with a spoon. I think if you posted that you wanted to make it at home you would want advice on how to actually do that.

Take a look at the yogurt thread. Next time you get some Fage save a few tablespoons to get the exact lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilitus strains that give Fage the flavor you like. Us that as your starter culture for making yogurt. Follow all the directions for making plain yogurt and keep it at 40 °c for 5-6 hours. The long incubation will give you the tanginess. Then strain the whey out in the fridge using cheese cloth or a comercial yogurt cheese making tool. These are cheap. The reason you may not be very successful with straining store bought yogurt is that most contain gelatin or lots of pectin to make them more solid. This helps hold onto whey.

Good luck.

Edited May 20, 2006 by pounce (log)

[Jujubee]

If it is thickness that you are going for, it's definitely possible. Plan on draining the yogurt for several days, and change the cheesecloth/filter/paper towels/whatever you are using whenever it gets soaked and be sure to drain off the whey before it touches the bottom of the strainer. This will be once every couple of hours the first day and less frequently in the subsequent days. Also, stir in a pinch of salt after draining for the first day. If you start with a quart of yogurt, you can get it down to a little more than a cup. The resulting yogurt cheese is so thick you can roll it into little balls. Of course, if you don't actually want it that thick (Fage isn't) just don't drain it as thoroughly.

I first tried this method for this recipe:

http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/coo...eese_balls.html

I found that her draining times were way too short (maybe my yogurt had too mant stabilizers? I'm pretty sure I used Stonyfield Farms whole milk yogurt though), but I was intrigued by the idea of actually getting rollable yogurt so I stuck with it. Most recipes just tell you to drain for a couple of hours or overnight and leave it at that. Changing the liner frequently and just giving it time are key.

[Lori in PA]

Thanks very much for the advice. I have read the yogurt thread and am not wanting to commit so much time and effort. If I get desperate enough...

I am buying my Fage from a Trader Joe's -- it's just very far away -- for $4.19 for the almost 18 oz. size.

[Abra]

I too have to travel for Fage Total, a ferry ride and a drive to TJ's, in fact. I now buy 4-5 at a time, and have found that it keeps well in the fridge for about 2 weeks. That makes the travel a little less onerous, but I know what you mean. There's nothing else remotely like it on the market.

Although they've had availability issues with importing it from Greece, I'm dismayed about a US factory. I'm thinking (just cynical, I guess) that there's no way it'll ever be as good once they start manufacturing it here. I sure hope I'm wrong.

[gwilson]

Alton Brown's method doesn't seem to be too complicated. (Although I haven't actually tried it yet. And I'm not sure if it was covered in the egullet 'how to make' yogurt thread.)

And if you want to read his thoughts about making yogurt (he adds powdered milk to make the yogurt thick - if I remember correctly), here is the transcript of his the Good Eats yogurt show.

-Greg

[Lori in PA]

Thanks, Greg. It does seem pretty straightforward. Who knows? I may give it a whirl...

[pounce]

I would modify AB's instructions I bit and take your milk to 180-185F before letting it cool down to maybe 115 before adding your culture. The reason isn't pasturization completely, but there is a change in the milk that leads to better yogurt in my experience. If you use Fage as a culture so use their temperature of 40 °c which is lower than most cultures want. I do yogurt at 109F for instance. 115F/40c with the Fage culture might not produce the right flavor. The way it works is that different bacteria like different temps and you generally put the temp in between both ideal temps. Too high on one and you might kill it or it wont grow to low on one and it wont activate and grow.

I would encourage you to try making yogurt. It really is so much better...

[Jujubee]

Oh, one more thing about the method I described above: I'm not sure if the salt does anything, i.e. is it required to get really, really thick yogurt, or is it just included because that happened to be a savory recipe. My feeling is that it is just because it is a savory recipe, but if you happen to try without the salt and are unable to reduce the yogurt down to 1/3 of its original volume, that would be interesting to note.