Almond Milk Yogurt (Recipe #86)

        For a while now, I have been wanting to make my own yogurt. When I saw the recipe for almond milk yogurt in the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, I was super excited. The recipe was quite easy to put together! This recipe was quite simple. It called for hot water, agar agar, almond milk, and a probiotic capsule. Essentially, I mixed it all together (mixed in the probiotic at 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and let it sit in the oven overnight with the light on. Then, I blended it in a blender until smooth and let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 

I liked how the yogurt turned out, but it was a little too “tangy” for me. I was speaking with a friend and they were explaining all of the different variables to me. She explained that the milk, the starter/probiotic, and the time that you let the yogurt sit changes the taste of the yogurt. I used almond milk this time with a probiotic and I let it sit for about 14 hours in the oven with the light on. Knowing that each of these variables can lead to a different taste tells me that I need to adjust where I feel necessary. My friend also suggested that soy milk in the instant pot makes a great yogurt. I think the next time that I try to make yogurt that I want to make it in the instant pot because I have heard such good things about it!

I loved how I had such control over what was going into my food (I also made the almond milk so total control there!). I could choose to flavor the yogurt or not, I could choose to add sugar or not, I could choose to mix in fruit or not. I really love all of the options and how I can choose to make the yogurt that I want to eat. I think the best part about making something for yourself is that you see what goes into your food. I understood every ingredient that went into my yogurt. Am I the only one that gets a little overwhelmed when I cannot pronounce something on the ingredient list? I know I can’t be alone in that! I am sure I will do another post ranting about food processing, packaging, and all that good stuff, but for the sake of this post we are talking about yogurt. Anyway, I thought it was a very cool experience to make my own yogurt! It also gives me more hope for the other things that I can make from whole ingredients in my kitchen.

Taste: 7/10

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I will try again to see if it can be a little less tangy.