One of the foods that I missed the most when I first stopped consuming dairy, in all its soft creaminess and versatility, was yogurt. Growing up, it was one of my favorite snacks, and as I got older, I would enjoy it as an afternoon pick-me-up, have it with granola as a dessert, and use it as a smoothie base.
Thankfully, with vegans’ ability to “vegan-ify” just about everything, there are many soy or nut-based yogurts available to enjoy on the market nowadays, without contributing to the cruelty of the dairy industry. However, if you live in a remote area without access to these products, or tend to prefer your yogurt unflavored and unsweetened (as I do), going to the store and picking up what you want might not be an option.
It didn’t occur to me until recently that making my own yogurt might be a viable (practical, affordable, etc.) option, but turns out that it’s not as complicated as one might think. That’s where Belle and Bella YogurtStarter comes into play. A non-dairy product made with billions of gut-friendly live cultures, and free of additives and preservatives, it’s a no-frills, convenient powder that can help you achieve your very own homemade yogurt from soy, almond, or coconut milk.
The basic steps for making homemade yogurt are fairly simple:
- Choose your desired milk and heat it up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (to kill off wild bacteria), then cool to about 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix warm milk with starter containing live bacterial cultures. (Using a small amount of store-bought yogurt instead of a starter works, too.)
- Incubate for several hours. Times will vary depending
on type of milk, but non-dairy milks typically require 10-12 hours.
Not so bad, right?
I decided to try Belle and Bella YogurtStarter with soy milk, for the higher protein content. The product was convenient to use, contained detailed directions, and my wallet was happy to learn that each small carton (retailing around $7) could produce four whole quarts of yogurt. I did find it to be a bit more finicky than using a bit of store-bought yogurt as my “starter” (which I had tried prior to using Belle and Bella’s product)—I had to be diligent about mixing the powder well with the milk—and seemed to produce firmer yogurt if I was swift about incubating the mixture before the milk cooled too much. Mixing in a bit of agar agar or cornstarch also seemed to aid in creating a thicker consistency.
Though one does not need a special yogurt incubator to use this product, I think having one made my good results easier to achieve, and is a worthwhile buy if you intend on producing a lot of DIY yogurt. (Belle and Bella even makes one, which you can check out here.)
If you are looking to start creating homemade yogurt, or would like to cut out using store-bought yogurt as a starter, consider giving Belle and Bella YogurtStarter a try and let us know how it goes. You can easily pick some up online and in health food stores such as Whole Foods Market and Wegman’s. If you’ve tried these techniques before, do you have any special tips? Which milk is your favorite to use? Leave a comment below if you’d like to share, and happy yogurt making!