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Method · Updated on 9 October 2026

How to make skyr-style strained yogurt at home

Skim milk, a live culture and a cloth: how to culture and strain milk into a thick, skyr-style result, with temperatures, times and the yield to expect.

You need
Skim milk, live culture, cloth
Incubate
6–10 hours at 42–46 °C 1
Strain
8–24 hours in the fridge 1
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A bowl of thick white skyr with a spoon

Skyr was historically closer to a fresh cheese than to yogurt, and today it is made with defined culture blends and separated or strained after fermentation. 52 We have not found a tested home skyr method from an extension service, so this page gives the closest one that is tested: cultured skim milk, strained in the fridge until thick. The result is a skyr-style strained yogurt, not a copy of any brand.

You need

  • 2 L pasteurised skim milk 2
  • Starter: a skyr culture at the dose on its pack, or plain skyr or yogurt with live cultures, 2 tablespoons per quart (about 1 litre) of milk 1

Equipment

  • Heavy pan and a thermometer
  • A covered container for incubation and a way to hold 42–46 °C: oven with the light on, insulated box or yogurt maker 1
  • A colander lined with two layers of cheesecloth or a fine cloth, set over a bowl

Method

  1. Heat the milk

    Heat the milk to 82–85 °C (180–185 °F) without boiling. Industrial concentrated yogurts use 90–95 °C held for about 5 minutes; the higher heat gives a firmer gel and more product after straining. 123

  2. Cool

    Cool the milk to 42–46 °C (108–115 °F). Hotter milk can kill the culture. 14

  3. Add the starter

    Stir the starter into a cup of the warm milk until smooth, then stir it into the rest. 14

  4. Incubate

    Cover and keep at 42–46 °C for 6–10 hours without moving the container, until the milk has set like a thin pudding. 1

  5. Chill

    Refrigerate the set milk at 4 °C (40 °F) or below; cooling stops it from souring further. 14

  6. Strain

    Spoon it into the cloth-lined colander over a bowl, cover and strain in the fridge. After 2–4 hours it is Greek-style; for a skyr-like thickness, strain 8–24 hours. 1

  7. Finish

    Stir or whisk the strained curd until smooth and refrigerate it in a clean, covered container. The whey drained off is acid whey.

How to tell it is ready

  • Before straining: lightly gelled, like thin pudding; if it is still milky, give it about 2 more hours 1
  • After straining: thick enough to hold a spoon. Strained products of this kind have their protein raised to at least 5.6% 6
  • Expect roughly a quarter to a third of the milk weight as finished product; the rest drains off as whey 3

Storing it

  • Refrigerate at 4 °C (40 °F) or below and eat within 14 days; this is the limit extension guides give for home yogurt, and we apply it to strained yogurt too 1
  • Use it as a starter for the next batch within 5–7 days 1

Why skim milk and why the fridge

Skim milk keeps the result lean and firm, the way skyr is usually made. 2 Straining in the fridge keeps the curd cold while it loses whey; strain covered so it does not pick up odours. 1 For your next batch, change one thing, such as the straining time or the heat treatment, and compare the yield and texture in a Batch Card.

Next batch: change one thing

Write down what you did in a Batch Card, change a single variable (time, temperature, starter or ingredient) and compare. Problems? See Skyr and strained yogurt problems and fixes.

Sources

  1. University of Illinois Extension: Making yogurt at homeHeat milk to 82–85 °C (180–185 °F); cool to 42–46 °C (108–115 °F); 2 tablespoons of yogurt per quart of milk; incubate 6–10 hours; ready when lightly gelled like thin pudding; refrigerate at or below 4 °C (40 °F) and eat within 14 days; use homemade yogurt as starter within 5–7 days; strain 2–4 hours for Greek-style and 8–24 hours for yogurt cheese, covered in the refrigerator; troubleshooting table. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  2. Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook: Fermented milk productsIndustrial yogurt milk is heated to 90–95 °C for about 5 minutes; incubation 4–5 hours at 42–43 °C to pH 4.2–4.5; concentrated yogurts including strained yogurt and skyr lose whey after fermentation; raising protein too high before fermentation risks sandiness; kefir is made with 1:20–1:30 grains to milk at about 23 °C for about 20 hours; temperature controls the acid, alcohol and carbon dioxide in kefir. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  3. Karastamatis et al. (2022), Foods 11:3953Strained yogurt leaves 1.8–2.75 kg of acid whey per kg of product depending on heat treatment of the milk; higher heat gives more product. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  4. University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension: Making yogurt at home (FNH-00062)Heat to 85–93 °C (185–200 °F) for 10–20 minutes, do not boil; culture is killed above 54 °C (130 °F) and grows poorly below 37 °C (98 °F); adding culture to milk over 46 °C (115 °F) can kill it; incubate 4–7 hours at 43 °C (110 °F); sets at pH 4.6; one 5 g freeze-dried packet or ¼ cup yogurt per quart; discard batches that fail to set or show microbial growth or odd odours; keeps about 10–21 days at 4 °C. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  5. Sacco System: Skyr culture informationA culture maker describes skyr as historically a fresh cheese and documents defined modern skyr culture blends; not a home recipe. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  6. Codex Alimentarius: Standard for fermented milks (CXS 243-2003)Defines yogurt and kefir by their cultures; kefir grains hold lactic acid bacteria, Acetobacter and yeasts; concentrated fermented milks such as strained yogurt have protein raised to at least 5.6%. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  7. US FDA: The dangers of raw milkRaw milk can carry Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Campylobacter; soft cheeses and yogurt made from it are high-risk. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  8. UConn Extension: Handling food with mould (citing USDA FSIS)Yogurt, sour cream and soft cheeses such as cottage and cream cheese are discarded entirely if any part is mouldy. Accessed 2026-10-09.

Numbers on this page come from these sources. Where sources give a range, we quote the range rather than a single figure.

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