26.May.2009 Homemade Sorta Soygurt

Here’s a batch of freshly made, happily bubbly lemon agave yogurt. It is calling your name, can you hear it? Come closer. No, closer. There. Now?

Don’t know if you have trouble finding nondairy yogurt at an affordable price, or if you only sporadically find it in places like Grocery Outlet, but here’s a good way to replace it on the cheap, and with tasty results.
(Keep in mind that this homemade yogurt does not contain active and live cultures the way most store-bought versions do!)

“I almost never eat yogurt on its own, but like many people, enjoy the texture it gives to baked goods.” was what I was going to say, but it would technically be a lie since I had to try it that way while testing the recipe and enjoyed it so much that I am now…sort of hooked?

But anyway, you might be happy to know I’ve used it in several baked goods already, and found it to work just like any other nondairy yogurt I’ve tried thus far.
(Speaking of which, expect the recipe for a Peanut Butter & Jam Pie really, really soon.)

Oh, and since yogurt and granola go together comme cul et chemise: tomorrow is the deadline to enter the granola contest, and here’s some some great news from the lovely granola peeps: everyone who reads this blog will receive a $3 promotion code, not just the runner-up. To this I say, hooray.

Homemade Sorta Soygurt

1 cup (235 ml) soymilk: use vanilla or plain; I always have unsweetened at hand, so that’s what I go for. Update: tried it with coconut milk, but with a few changes. Info here.
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) fresh lemon juice: 1 is enough to curdle the milk, but I like the slight sourness it brings to the stuff, kind of like the taste I remember from dairy-based yogurts, so I usually go for 2 or whatever quantity half a lemon yields.
2 tablespoons (24 g for sugar, 42 g for agave) sweetener: I usually go for agave, but have also tried it with Sucanat and raw sugar, both with great results; increase or decrease amounts depending on preference and use.
1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch: I haven’t tried using arrowroot, but I’m sure it’d be great here too. If you like thick-thick-thick yogurts, you might want to up it just a bit, but don’t go too crazy. I’d say, 1 1/2 tablespoons (12 g) at the most.
Pinch fine sea salt, optional

As for the flavorings: I almost always add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, sometimes 1 packed teaspoon lemon zest (be sure to grate the zest while the lemon is still whole!), but have also used a huge handful of blackberries, and pretty much everything you can think of. You’re the boss, you choose.
If using whole berries, I recommend adding them only once the yogurt is done cooking.

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Now follow the mayo method, which is basically what got me started on this soygurt trip:

Combine soymilk and lemon juice in a medium bowl, let curdle for a few seconds.
Add sweetener, cornstarch or arrowroot, optional salt, and any other ingredient that wouldn’t be whole berries.
With an immersion blender, combine ingredients by blending for about one minute.
Heat in microwave for one minute: throughout cooking, keep a close eye on it to make sure the mixture doesn’t bubble up to make a mess in your microwave. Blend again.
Heat in microwave for one minute again, blend again or simply stir with a fork.
Heat one last minute, blend again (if adding fruit: this is when you’d go for it) or stir with a fork; let stand to cool.
Store in fridge to thicken. You might have to stir again before using.
Enjoy chilled.

Yield: Between 1 and 2 cups (240 and 480 g), depending on ingredients used.