MAKING YOGURT AT HOME
To make or not to make yogurt at home? My vote = to make! (But then again, I’m an avid DIY-er who has been known to attempt ambitious projects with minimal knowledge or skill). ((BUT! Then again, if you are reading my blog, chances are we have this in common.))Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comI love plain yogurt and consume it often. In my mind it’s literally one of the best things I can do for breakfast is to pour myself a bowl of yogurt, top it with fruit and granola, and drizzle the entire thing with honey. Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comThus after buying container after container of yogurt, I felt it was a very natural question to ask myself- what if I could just make this at home? And lo-and-behold, I attempted to create this tangy dairy treat, and was rewarded with the tastiest yogurt I have ever had. (And that is saying a lot, my friends).Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comThe flavor profile: Rich, creamy, lightly tangy, with the subtly sweetness that comes from using full-fat dairy. It has been the perfect backdrop to numerous breakfasts, lunches, and desserts. And hopefully can now inspire you to make your own batch.Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comTo make my yogurt, I followed the instructions from The Kitchn. I was a little skeptical about the part that I had to purchase yogurt to make my own yogurt, but after looking into options decided this method is infinitely easier (and less expensive) than starting with a separate yogurt culture. (Incidentally, if you want to start with a separate yogurt culture you can find them here.) The idea is that you just need an approved bacterial culture, and probably the easiest way to find this is to just buy a small container of plain yogurt that says “active cultures” on the label, and you are all set to go.Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comAnd! (similar to a sourdough starter or kombucha starter), once you grow your first culture you can re-use it over and over for future batches (as long as you don’t eat it all up first!) Once the bacterial culture starts feeding on the milk sugars, it begins a fermentation process that yields the familiar souring and thickening of the dairy proteins that we call yogurt. The recipe below includes step-by-step instructions on how I created my batch of yogurt at home. Making Yogurt at Home – thegourmetgourmand.comIt’s decidedly simple, and a perfect recipe for the extremely frugal and DIY-crazed alike.
