sprinklefingers

homemade yogurt. you’re going to try it out, right? you should. even if you only ever make it once, it’s the kind of thing that makes you feel like a kitchen superhero. and everyone deserves to feel that way at least a few times in life, right?

now that you’ve made your own yogurt, or are planning to make your own yogurt, let’s discuss taking that yogurt from vanilla to fruity! yes, let’s!

the best thing about creating your own fruity yogurt is that how you do it is, basically, entirely up to you. my only suggestion: you’re the one who actually prepares whatever fruit you’ll be adding to your yogurt. and if you add jam or preserves, again, i think you should be the one who made them. why? well, hello, because homemade jam/preserves are about 1 million times more delicious than commercially prepared jam/preserves. and if you’ve never made your own jam, never fear, the ultimate jam making post will be here soon.

back to fruity yogurt. it’s as simple as adding fruit. but there are few ways to go about it, so read on.

1. the first, and simplest way, is to plop a bit of jam into the yogurt after you’ve refrigerated it for a few hours (OR at serving time) and mix completely. this ‘method’ also works with fresh fruit - simply dice the fruit and mix in completely. fruity yogurt!
2. another way is to follow the instructions for vanilla bean yogurt base, and while the milk/half & half mixture is coming to a boil, heat 4-5 tablespoons of jam in a saucepan. once you’ve followed the steps to mix the yogurt starter into the remaining milk, mix in this warm jam - stirring to completely incorporate (but not too much, especially if you’re using the jar method. stirring incorporates air which has the tendency to drop the temperature of your mixture.)

of course, there are many more ways to create fruity yogurt, and you can have a ton of fun experimenting. just remember: adding fresh fruit to the milk base before it’s actually yogurt will add a bit of moisture to the mix - this will result in a looser yogurt.

and, to be honest with you, each time i try to add fruit to the base the results are always the same: runnier than i’m happy with yogurt. so, just so you know, i always add my fruit after my yogurt is finished becoming yogurt. after it’s been in the fridge for a few hours, i take it out and then mix in my homemade jam or fresh-from-the-farmer’s-market berries. back into the fridge my now fruity yogurt goes!