My husband grew up drinking horchata, a rice milk spiced with vanilla and cinnamon that is popular in Latin America. It sounds a little odd if you're not from a culture that pairs milk with cinnamon but during the years I lived in California, I developed a love for this drink.
The smooth, creamy horchata I enjoyed on the other coast is not so readily available on this one. I've experimented with making it from scratch with mixed results. (If you're interested I think this recipe is tasty as long as it sits in the fridge overnight to smooth out the taste).
But then I had a brainstorm the other day when I found I was running low on vanilla powder to make my weekly supply of yogurt. I decided to throw some cinnamon in and give an horchata-inspired yogurt a try.
The yogurt was thick and creamy with a strong, but not overpowering, flavor of cinnamon. It isn't the most attractive yogurt because a bit of cinnamon floats to the top white the majority sank to the bottom of the jar. But the entire quart jar had a cinnamon-spiced taste that my husband and the kids loved.
Here's the homade horchata yogurt recipe if you want to try it yourself If you've never made your own yogurt before you can check out this story that offers tips on the process.
HOMEMADE HORCHATA YOGURT
1 gallon of milk
¾ cup of sugar
¾ cup of dry milk
1 tablespoon of Madagascar vanilla bean powder (found at a natural food store)
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of plain active-culture yogurt
Candy thermometer
Mason jars with lids
Heat the milk in a large pot on medium high heat. Do not set the heat on high, as it could scald the bottom of the pan. Attach your candy thermometer to the side of the pot to monitor the milk's temperature. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Depending on your stove top, this can take 20 to 30 minutes. When the temperature climbs to 150 degrees, keep a close eye on the milk, as the jump to 180 degrees happens quickly. It is important not to allow the milk to boil.
Once at 180 degrees, submerge the bottom of your pot in a pan with cold water and ice cubes to cool the milk quickly. Add sugar, dry milk, vanilla bean powder and cinnamon and stir well. The mixture needs to cool until it is 110 degrees, so keep the thermometer in the pan to monitor.
At 110 degrees, add the plain yogurt.
Mix the yogurt starter well before pouring into your mason jars. Place jars in a pot of warm water so that the water is just below the top of the jar. Then put the pot in the oven.
Set your oven at 110 degrees to incubate. This process can take 6 to 8 hours, depending on your taste preference. I prefer removing mine at the 6-hour mark to put in my refrigerator.
Recipe makes about 5 quarts of yogurt.
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