Making
yogurt is a tradition in my family, but making dairy-free yogurt has been a
trial and error process. My grandmother has dabbled in the kitchen making
yogurt out of soymilk and occasionally mixing in a little almond milk (although
I must warn you making homemade yogurt from commercial almond milk is quite
literally impossible). For me, coconut milk yogurt is the holy grail of
dairy-free yogurts. However, as I have
previously blogged about, the price of commercially processed coconut yogurt is
enough to make the best yogurt taste sour! Although, I love the store-bought
stuff but I hate exposing my little one to all that added sugar in it as well (the
typical store bought yogurt has about as much added sugar as 2 tablespoons of
frosting).
My
go-to recipe is a recipe I found over 4 years ago that I’ve been tweaking ever
since and will likely continue to tweak as my yogurt making progresses. I have
only ever used a "yogurt maker" that is a warming plate with a lid
that is specifically designed to keep yogurt at the correct temperature for
fermentation (I have the Euro Cuisine Digital Automatic Yogurt Maker YMX650
). Therefore if you have any
questions about making yogurt in a crockpot, dehydrator I’m not the best
resource for a good response. But I’ll work hard to find good links to these
methods and update this blog post accordingly.
). Therefore if you have any
questions about making yogurt in a crockpot, dehydrator I’m not the best
resource for a good response. But I’ll work hard to find good links to these
methods and update this blog post accordingly.
The
biggest downside to this recipe is that coconut milk does not naturally contain
any calcium and I love having the addition of calcium in commercially prepared
coconut yogurt. I’ve started to play around with adding calcium in the form of
calcium to the yogurt. I’m starting small and I’ll gradually increase the
amount as time goes on and see if it affects the consistency at all. So if
calcium is a concern for you check back periodically to see how the recipe
evolves. I’ll also keep you posted via facebook as I tweak the recipe.
Oh!
Before I forget, as far as add-in's to the yogurt go, after it's all fermented
and chilled I like to mix in fresh fruit, mango chutney is amazing in this
yogurt, homemade pineapple jam, apricot preserves, the list goes on! You're
only limited to your imagination! It also makes a great add-in
to smoothies.
Three 14.5 ounce cans coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon non-dairy yogurt starter/probiotic (I use Custom Probiotics Formula 2 - the company can add in additional strains and customize the blend for you as well)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 – 1 ½ tablespoons unflavored vegan gelatin
1/4 teaspoon non-dairy yogurt starter/probiotic (I use Custom Probiotics Formula 2 - the company can add in additional strains and customize the blend for you as well)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 – 1 ½ tablespoons unflavored vegan gelatin
¾ teaspoon calcium citrate powder, divided
1)
With boiling water, sterilize your yogurt containers, mixing
spoons and other utensils.
Note: Depending on what type of
dishwasher you have you might be able to forgo this step and sterilize in your
dishwasher. Mine has a high-temperature wash setting as well as a sanitizing
rinse setting. I use both of these settings in combination with a heated dry to
sterilize my equipment. This takes more time and water but I like using this
option on the weekends I can get everything sanitized while I’m eating
breakfast then just reach in the dishwasher and grab the tools I need. This
will keep bad bacteria from competing with the good yogurt bacteria
2) Pour coconut milk
into a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil, you’re shooting for 180oF
so you’ll need to use a food grade thermometer to check the temperature and
make sure it doesn’t go over 180oF. Once milk has reached 180oF
remove it from the heat. And whisk in the gelatin and then agave nectar until
thoroughly combined.
Note: You must use some type of sugar in order for your
yogurt to culture properly. This is probably the #1 question I get. Without
sugar the culture has nothing to eat and cannot grow. Non-nutritive sweeteners
like xylitol and stevia will not culture your yogurt. Using granulated sugar or
agave nectar is your best option. The bacteria will eat most of the sugar and
very little will be present in your end product.
3) Find a cool spot in
your kitchen and allow milk to cool to 95oF, checking occasionally
with a food grade thermometer (make sure you sterilize the thermometer after
each check). This is a long process and can take up to an hour, sometimes
longer so this might be a good time to pull up a little light reading or get
some chores done around the house.
4) Once milk has
cooled whisk culture into the milk and continue to whisk until thoroughly combined,
at least 60-90 seconds.
5) Pour cultured milk
into your yogurt maker jars. Cover and ferment at for 9-12 hours. The longer
you ferment the yogurt the more the bacteria will consume the sugar within it
therefore longer fermentation times yield a sourer yogurt.
6) Once yogurt has
been fermented remove the jars from the yogurt maker and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon
of calcium citrate powder into each jar and stir to combine. Cover jars with
lids and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, I prefer overnight and sometimes up
to 24 hours. If you peak in on
your yogurt and it appears to have separated now worries, just give it a quick
stir and you’ll be back on track!
looks amazing thanks! i havne't made yogurt before and haven't liked the soy yogurt..and the almond one is so expensive.. i have to try this!
ReplyDeleteLike you I love commercial coconut milk yogurt but hate that sugar is the second ingredient! I have been vegan for almost a decade but have never tried to make my own yogurt yet. My toddler is suffering from tooth decay (despite a very good diet), and he has had bouts with thrush, so I really want to keep letting him have yogurt, but without the sugar that will exacerbate his dental issues. Have you tried any other sweeteners besides agave nectar? I was wondering about using xylitol because of its beneficial dental properties.
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie. Great question! When making any type of yogurt, or working with bacterial cultures at all, you have to have some type of sugar - cane sugar or agave nectar. The bacterial cultures need it to eat so they can grow and make the yogurt. If you used xylitol they wouldn't grow and you'd end up with a strainy mess. Also, using ingesting xylitol in quantities outside the small amounts in gum and toothpaste isn't that great for the GI symptom and can cause some pretty bad diarrhea. The 2 tablespoons of agave nectar add very very little sugar to finished product since the culture eats a great deal of it and 2 tablespoons is not a lot to begin with. The only thing I would worry about is making sure you provided another source of calcium as homemade coconut milk yogurt does not have calcium and commercially prepared does. I'm currently experimenting with adding calcium citrate powder to my yogurts and seeing how the end product turns out. I'll definitely keep you updated! Hope that answers your question.
DeleteI have been making coconut yogurt a short time only but have not added any sugar (just a little stevia) to 'feed' the bacteria, and it seems to culture just fine. My though was that there is enough natural sugear in the coconut! How would I know if it wasn't culturing properly?
DeleteYou will know it's culturing by the consistency. However, if you're not using an added sugar then the likelihood that your yogurt is culturing is very slim. Coconut milk has very very little sugar in it, almost none. Even soy milk which has a good amount of sugar in it needs sugar added for the bacteria to culture properly to create yogurt. The sugar that you are adding is just for the bacteria to eat, they eat it so you don't have to :) I hope that answers your question!
ReplyDeleteHello, I order all the stuff to make my own coconut yogurt and have received everything but my starter and I was wondering if I could use some of my store bought yogurt as a starter? I wasn't sure how much would be appropriate and if there were any changes I need to make to the recipe or procedures. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI've heard this can be done but I've never actually done it myself to test for sure. The store bought stuff just has so many other crazy ingredients like various gums and what not that I never wanted to add it to my pure coconut milk yogurt.If you try it let me know how it turns out
DeleteIt will work as long as it is plain yogurt. If you want to make sure it is still dairy free and vegan use plain coconut milk yogurt.
ReplyDeleteIt will work as long as it is plain yogurt. If you want to make sure it is still dairy free and vegan use plain coconut milk yogurt.
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering this one Matt!
DeleteWhat is the consistency of the yogurt if you do not add the gelatin or another thickening agent?
ReplyDeleteIt will be thin and runny, the thickening agent is a must in making dairy free yogurts.
DeleteI do not have any gelatin at my house, can I use agar agar?
DeleteAgar Agar powder works great! I would have used it myself but I can never find it and don't use it enough to justify buying it online. But you must use the powder and not the flakes. I've tried using the flakes several times and they never end up dissolving. I would think they dissolved after whisking forever and then I would pour the mixture into the yogurt cups and there would be undissolved agar flakes at the bottom. Good luck!
DeleteMy end result was a separated product. It still tastes great, but is there a trick to avoid the separation? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWas the consistency still "yogurty?" separation is normal and perfectly ok. You can leave it separated until ready to eat or stir it with a sterilized spoon and refrigerate it until ready to eat. Glad you love the flavor!
DeleteThanks for the recipe! I have a couple questions:
ReplyDelete1. Could I use honey instead of agave?
2. Could I use a probiotic capsule (the kind I take as a dietary supplement) instead of the yogurt starter/probiotic?
-Liv
Hello Liv! Yes, you can use honey instead of agave nectar but you need an actual yogurt starter to make yogurt. There are two specific bacteria strains that are used to make yogurt (forgive me for being too lazy to go through my paperwork and look up exactly which two they are!) but those two are almost never in a probiotic pill. On the flip side most yogurt starters only contain the two strains that are necessary to make yogurt and not other benefical strains like L. Acidophillus which is usually in probiotic supplements. So once you get your yogurt starter you can add a little of your probiotic capsule to it or for a more precise measurement you can order a yogurt starter with the additional probiotics already in them. Hope that helps!
DeleteWondering about using a Coconut and Almond milk blend, do you know anything about that? I make this yogurt for my son and while he likes it I think their is a much stronger coconut flavor in the homemade than the store bought he is used to and thought cutting it with some Almond milk might help. Just afraid b/c Almond milk has a different consistency that it would affect the end product. Thanks
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, almond milk cannot be made into homemade yogurt and even commercially it's really hard to make. Perhaps you could try blending the finished product with some pureed fruit to make fruit flavored yogurts and that will bring down the coconut flavor. Mango and Pineapple pair really well with this yogurt.
DeleteThis is something that I want to tr. I am tired of eating the same old probiotic yogurt almost everyday. This is going to be a nice change.
ReplyDeleteHey there! I have been trying to make coconut yogurt for the last two weeks and having several issues. I'm about to switch to using the milk. As far as the agar agar powder, how much should one use? I've seen several people use probiotic capsules to make their coconut yogurt with success. Do you still think this is a bad idea? I have very high quality capsules. They contain all strains for making the yogurt and then a few more. Is using coconut milk better for creamier yogurt? I've been using the cream and also making my own cream with the meat in a blender. It's never smooth. Thank you for this post! It's very informative!
ReplyDeleteHello Maris! Thanks for stopping by the blog. You'll want to use the canned coconut milk to make coconut milk yogurt, you need the thickness of the full fat coconut milk and it will definitely be a smoother product. If you're using agar agar powder I would play around with the measurements a little bit. Starting with 1-2 teaspoons first and seeing how that comes out. The two strains of probiotics that you must have to be considered yogurt are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus which aren't usually in standard probiotic capsules. Also, the amount of probiotics in capsules vs. yogurt starters is different so that can change the end product.
DeleteAlicia - I have made homemade almond yoghurt with homemade almond milk - 1 cup almonds to 3 cups water. The vegan culture from "Cultures for Health" made a beautiful, thick almond milk yoghurt. I added pectin, but it wasn't needed!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious, yum!
Delete