Although we live in a time where vegan and raw foods are widely spread, it is a challenge to find a tasty and healthy alternative to yogurt.
Good thing that making yogurt yourself is easy and quick. It really is, don't shy away from the long instruction guidelines.
Unpasteurized yogurt comes with healthy bacteria that are beneficial for our health and much needed for a healthy gut.
Homemade Coconut Yogurt
What you need:
16 oz of coconut meat
Water or nut milk
Bacteria or a yogurt starter, more information on this in the instructions.
32oz or 2x 16oz mason jar, has to be sterilized with hot water.
A nut milk bag or a breathable piece of cloth.
Do not use any metal implements as this can damage the delicate probiotics.
Instructions:
- Defrost your coconut meat.
- Roughly chop up the coconut meat and place in your blender.
- Add water or nut milk. If you use nut milk the yogurt will be more creamy and thick as if you use water.
- There is no given measurement on how much liquid should be added.
The amount of liquid added depends on the preferred consistency of the end product. Less liquid will make a thicker yogurt, the more liquid added the less thick it will be.
We all have our own favorites here, so please play around. A good starting point is at least 1 cup of liquids.
- One thing to be aware of is that while the yogurt ferments it will thicken up naturally.
- There is no given measurement on how much liquid should be added.
- Blend the coconut meat and chosen liquid in a blender till smooth.
- Now add bacteria or a yogurt starter.
Again, there are different options to choose from.
Each kind of bacteria used will give a different taste/flavor and consistency. So once more play around with different ones. - The best options are:
- A capsule of your probiotics
- A yogurt starter (belle+bella is vegan, Bulgarian yogurt starter contains organic milk) use 1 tsp
- Culture starter or Kefir starter from Body Ecology use 1 tsp
- Add your chosen bacteria to the blended coconut meat in your mixer and blend again.
- Now pour the liquid into the sterilized mason jar, place the nut milk or piece of cloth over it.
- Wrap a kitchen towel around the jar to create some warmness for the bacteria to do their magic.
- Let your jar sit in a warm, wind shield spot in your kitchen overnight or for at least 8 hours.
When it’s done you should be able to tell that your yogurt has expanded and created some light bubbles. It should taste tart and slightly sour.
Remember that each result depends on the bacteria and liquid you have used, some might have tiny bubbles while another batch with a different bacteria and liquid will have way more and bigger ones.
Alternate next time to create you very own favorite yogurt.
Safe 1/2 cup of yogurt to make a new batch, this way you won’t have to add new bacteria. You can make a new batch 4 to 5 times, than start fresh with new bacteria.
Store your yogurt, with a tight lit on in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It will keep to ferment but in a slower process, so don't be surprised if your yogurt is more tart/sour after a couple days.
The options with your finished yogurt are endless.
Add fresh and dried fruits, vanilla, cacao powder, superfoods like maca, lucuma, mesquite.
Add a healthy sugar like raw honey, yacon syrup, stevia, baobab.
Add nuts to create a crunch.
Or make a shift breakfast / dessert like I did here, with raspberries and the delicious Superfood Crumble from Elemental.
Recipe and photo by Jana