It's Greek to me

Have you noticed more and more “Greek style” yogurt popping up on your grocery shelves lately? Other than my husband’s knowledge of Greek yogurt (from a college trip there to stay with his best friend’s extended family), I had no experience with Greek yogurt, nor had I cooked with it until a couple years ago. When I started using Greek yogurt in recipes, I instantly saw its appeal: it is thicker, less runny and richer than it’s American cousin. But perhaps because it is not as widely available as traditional yogurt, Greek yogurt will cost you up to 2-3 times the cost of traditional yogurt. Want a money-saving, flavorful tip? Make your own Greek yogurt at home, with little effort at all. No, I am not suggesting you culture and created yogurt at home (something I have yet to try and have heard it quite tricky). But you can easily transform traditional yogurt into Greek-style with merely a strainer and a coffee filter, or alternatively, two paper towels. The goal with straining yogurt is to remove the excess liquid in traditional style yogurt until it becomes creamier like Greek-style. To do this, place a coffee filter or layer two paper towels * in the bottom of a large strainer. Scoop in the yogurt you wish to strain and place the strainer in a shallow bowl to catch the draining liquid. Place the yogurt in the fridge for half an hour or up to 8 hours. Be sure to check the bowl periodically to remove the drained liquid. After the excess liquid has been removed, the resulting yogurt will be creamier, richer and oh-so-good. It is perfect for dips or dressings, or as a treat, mixed with some maple syrup and drizzled over a dessert. Tuesday’s Tip of the week: Don’t feel like you have to spend extra money on Greek yogurt, make your own with some simple tools you probably already have on hand. (* only use plain paper towels, as you do not want the dyes in decorative paper towels to leach into your yogurt.) SPC