In Praise of Yogurt.

As I write this, I’ve got seven jars of vanilla soy yogurt fermenting in my handy-dandy yogurt maker.  It’s a habit that I keep intending to continue week after week, only to be thwarted a month or so in by Life, at which point I fall off the wagon for days/weeks/months before I start anew.  This time, though, as berries hit their peak and the fall fruits come into season, I’m committed.  Yogurt every week!  Yogurt for all!

I confess I didn’t know just how good homemade yogurt could be until my dear friend Robyn brought a couple of jars over to Chez Recessionista a couple of years ago as part of a barter for some of my homemade jams.  Even then, as happy as I was to partake in her handiwork, it took me a couple of years to take the plunge myself.  For some reason, the thought of making my own yogurt out of milk and a starter seemed so very difficult, so I kept putting it off and putting it off, opting instead to make pickles, preserves, salsas, pasta sauces, and bread.  All of which, it turns out, is much more complicated and time-consuming than making yogurt.

A year ago, LeeLee surprised me with my very own yogurt maker for our anniversary (looking back, I see that Year Eight is bronze – I have no idea how we determined that a yogurt maker fit into the theme, but who cares, it was a great gift), and I plunged in to make my own batches right away.   I was shocked at how easy it is to make – mix a 6-ounce container of plain (or vanilla) yogurt with seven cups of soymilk, let the yogurt maker work for 10 hours, and voila, you’ve got yogurt!  And, too, I was shocked with how good it tasted.  Admittedly, homemade yogurt can be an acquired taste for some; the real deal lacks the high sugar content of the store-bought versions, and that can be difficult for some people’s taste buds.  My palate must have been primed, though, because there was never a time when I turned my nose up at homemade!  Add a little honey and/or fruit on top, and you’ve got a breakfast fit for a champion.

But as usual, the question arises: Is it frugal?

Well, consider this.  A single-serve container of store-bought yogurt costs $1.39.  A container of soymilk – and, as a general rule, it takes one container of soymilk to produce seven jars of yogurt – costs $2.89.  So for that overhead, you get the aforementioned seven jars for $0.62 apiece.  A steal!

These days, I find it hard to go back to store-bought yogurt.  All the more reason to keep up the habit of making it myself!  So I’m going to work hard to make a batch each week this autumn.  I’ll try not to fall off the yogurt wagon yet again!

:)