Yogurt, buy or make?

Locally and regionally produced yogurt is available at mainstream grocery chains and natural food stores throughout the Hudson Valley. The Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany is a mecca for any yogurt and yogurt based product that is produced in New York State. Hannaford carries Ronnybrook and Butterworks of Vermont. Mother Earth’s and Adams Fair Acre Farms in Kingston stock an impressive selection that includes Coach, Seven Stars, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company and Maple Hill Creamery (Maple Hill is 100 percent grass-fed by the way).

While local yogurt can be pricey, cheaper commercial varieties often add preservatives and stabilizers – the most common and benign being pectin.  Large companies like Stonyfield face enormous pressure to create a consistent formula that continually satisfies consumer expectations.  Most smaller producers make yogurt the old fashioned way with a few quality ingredients, and without stabilizers, but the expense of creating a premium small batch artisanal product can make for a hefty price tag.

Making your own yogurt is easy.  All it requires is a small amount of high quality local yogurt, which serves as a “starter” for each larger batch of homemade yogurt.  Once you have perfected the yogurt making routine, try mixing things up with different flavors like honey, maple, molasses, and almond extract.

Making your own – consistently every time

The texture of homemade yogurt is thick like pudding.  Sometimes a finished batch may be thin or will lack tanginess.  Yogurt with a flat flavor and a thin, watery texture may not have been kept warm enough, or the yogurt used to start the batch was old and didn’t have enough bacterial strength to thicken the batch. Creating a warm environment for the yogurt, 90-105 degrees, is key. Sterilizing every tool and container involved in the yogurt making process is also very important. Always use the freshest yogurt possible to start a new batch of yogurt.

Using your own yogurt to start a new batch

Using your own homemade yogurt to culture a new batch of yogurt can create some unpredictable results especially when it comes to the consistency. Using the same brand of fresh, commercially produced yogurt to start each new batch will help guarantee consistent results.