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, optionalAs 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.
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.
Courtney said,
May 26, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Brilliant! I am gonna try it with unsweetened almond milk…I will let you know how it turns out!
Courtney
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Tami (Vegan Appetite) said,
May 26, 2009 at 3:16 pm
That looks so fresh tasting!
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Isobel said,
May 26, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Ooh what a good idea! That sounds like it will be delicious with some muesli. Maybe I will make some pomegranate yogurt since I have some of that juice in my fridge (would it still work to add that liquid in addition to the lemon juice? I will try it out and see!)
I wonder if there is a way to make homemade cultured yogurt with soymilk, too!
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Celine Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 2:04 am
don’t be too generous with other liquids, or you will have to up the starch like crazy. do they make pomegranate extract? I’m only half-joking.
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Deb Schiff said,
May 26, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Yay! I wonder how it will work with almond milk.
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Celine Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I tried the mayo with almond milk and you will probably need to up the starch for it. the consistency I got for the mayo was not quite up to par with the soy version, unfortunately.
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Josiane said,
May 26, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Sounds like there was a bit of magic in that mayo method! It’s so great that it led you to try that sorta soygurt… and that it got you hooked on it! I love how easy and fast it makes the whole thing. A portion of the next batch of soymilk I’m making will definitely turn into sorta soygurt. :)
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Clea said,
May 26, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I’ve done this a few times for baked goods and found it tastes good on its own, too! Of course, I am usually lazy and don’t immersion blend and microwave for 30 seconds rather than a minute, but if I were to eat it plain (and I will now, thanks to your directions) I will try it the longer way. Yum!
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Keira said,
May 26, 2009 at 6:19 pm
mmm! Do you think this would work in the oven, too? I guess instead of 1 minute in the microwave it might be 5 or more minutes in the oven? Any ideas? I’d love to hear about how the almond milk turned out too – that’s what I use at home. Thanks Celine!
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Celine Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 2:03 am
in the oven or on the stove? because the latter, probably, the former…might be a bit of a pain, and kind of not worth turning on the whole thing just for a small batch.
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AJP said,
May 26, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Do you think double boiling would work instead of nuking? I don’t own a microwave. Definitely want to try this one though, I hate buying soy yogurt in the store. I can never finish it before it goes bad!
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Rosa said,
May 26, 2009 at 9:56 pm
This soy yoghurt looks delicious and refreshing!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Ola said,
May 26, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I join AJP – I would love to try it but I haven’t got microwave .
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Lovliebutterfly said,
May 27, 2009 at 12:34 am
Oh wow! I’m sure gonna try that! But damn I’ve got no milk left at this time otherwise I would have gone and done it just now! I’ll try the mayo as well!
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Deb Schiff said,
May 27, 2009 at 2:37 am
Thanks for the info on the almond milk, Celine. Guess we’ll have to become food chemists after all. ;) Will put it on the list after I finish this master’s degree.
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Celine Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 4:34 am
good luck with the degree, Deb! you can do eet.
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Oh She Glows » Blog Archive » Homemade 10-minute Yogurt said,
May 27, 2009 at 5:03 am
[...] thought I was seeing things too when I stumbled across Celine’s latest post over at Have Cake Will [...]
veggie wedgie said,
May 27, 2009 at 8:30 am
This looks great Celine! I actually bought some live cultures to make vegan yogurt, since the health food store always run out of the plain flavor and I want to avoid eating too much soy. I used young coconuts in an attempt to also make the yogurt raw, and turned in a big fat failure of soured coconut yogurt that smelled like feet. Ewww.
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Shellyfish said,
May 27, 2009 at 11:55 am
J’ai vaguement l’impression d’avoir déjà vu la cousine de cette recette quelque part…trop bonne ton idée! Comment vas-tu? Ca va? Je t’envoie mille bisous et un calin en plus!
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A&N said,
May 27, 2009 at 3:46 pm
This looks so cool! A refreshing dessert!
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Diann said,
May 27, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Great idea!
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Vegetation said,
May 27, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Yum! Must experiment with soy free options!
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Vegetation said,
May 27, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Err I mean me of course (not telling you what you should be doing :P)
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veggievixen said,
May 27, 2009 at 9:11 pm
yummmy!! i am amazed at how much you can come up with!
i have given your blog an award. please visit: http://vegetarianismisforeverybody.blogspot.com/2009/05/things-to-celebrate.html
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vegancowgirl said,
May 28, 2009 at 5:49 am
ohhh Celine – when you write the directions like that I feel like I can do anything!!!! You kick! Thanks for sharing.
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penny said,
May 28, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Looks great! w/o all the pesky fillers and sugars like the store bought kind.
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kitchenspoon said,
May 28, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Dang girl, I’m so impressed! Being without a microwave, I may have to to go borrow my neighbor’s. Is this the yogurt you used in poppyseed soda bread?
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Heather said,
May 28, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I just attempted to make this with almond milk. I used unsweetened chocolate milk & almond extract. I followed your directions, using 2 tbsp lemon juice & 1 tbsp cornstarch. It definitely needs more starch! I just made it so it might thicken up overnight in the fridge but it’s quite thin as is. I’m a fan of thinner yogurts but this is a little too soupy. Still, it is possible to make this soy-free!
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Elyse said,
May 28, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Ooo, I’ve never made my own yogurt, but this sounds fabulous! I love the endless possibilities for using yogurt in baked goods. Can’t wait to try out this recipe. OH, and I love your new blog header. It looks fabulous!
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bazu said,
May 29, 2009 at 8:53 am
that looks yummy! I <3 yogurt, but don’t often buy it because of the price and now I’m mad at Silk… do you think this recipe would work with coconut milk????
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Celine Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I think it would. coconuts whisper sweet nothings into my ear, and that’s one of the things they keep going on about.
I’ll try soon and let you know if they’re nothing but liars.
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bazu said,
May 29, 2009 at 8:53 am
p.s. you’re so pretty. xoxo
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Celine Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am
ha. HA!
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Ricki said,
May 29, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Finally, a soy yogurt I think I might actually like!! Thanks, Celine. :)
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yari said,
May 30, 2009 at 12:10 am
OK, I came even closer and finally I could hear it :-)
It must be delicious, I’ll try it for sure while waiting for the coconut milk version!
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Wheeler's Crew said,
May 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm
This is a great recipe! Store bought soy-yogurt never hits the spot, and I hate that they come in the little plastic containers. Thanks!
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