I have been making homemade yogurt for our kids since our 18-year-old was a baby-- in fact, it was one of his first and favorite foods (and still is!) If our fridge runs out of yogurt, or the cupboard out of their favorite Aldi brand granola... well, they let me know about it. A bowl of creamy, probiotic yogurt, low in fat, high in protein, perfect for the gut biome-- topped with crunchy granola-- it is a definite staple in our house.
Recently, though, I experimented with adding some flavor to the homemade yogurt. Why? Well, while the kids devour our naturally tart homemade yogurt, I've found that when I am pressed for time or just decide to splurge, the store-bought vanilla yogurt I bring home on these occasions disappears even faster than our homemade. I mean, who doesn't love sweet vanilla creamy goodness? So, on our last couple of batches, I experimented with adding some vanilla extract to the milk before culturing. Bingo. Winner.
I'm not actually adding any sugar, but somehow the resulting vanilla-hinted yogurt seems sweeter, creamier, and just perfect. The eldest is the biggest fan, and he implores me never to make it without vanilla again. I simply added 2 tablespoons of extract to my gallon batch of milk before heating!
If you have reluctant yogurt eaters but want to stay away from the sugar, try making our homemade yogurt with this new, secret ingredient that you already have in your pantry!