Coconut Yoghurt

When I first heard about coconut yoghurt, I immediately started considering making it myself from scratch. Making it couldn’t be that hard. After all, I had been making dairy yoghurt for quite a while already and that was super simple.

Why coconut yoghurt? Just because I love yoghurt. I am not vegan nor eat gluten-free but I am open to try new things and new recipes. I bought a store-made coconut yoghurt to try the taste and loved it. What I didn’t like was the thought of the plastic containers that then needed to be recycled. I wanted to continue to reduce rather than recycle.

It certainly wasn’t the current hype about all the supposed benefits of coconut and coconut milk and the possibly good fatty acids either. While there are hints that the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut milk might be beneficial, my belief is that no fats are fundamentally unhealthy (it’s just that too many eat too many saturated and too few unsaturated fats) and the healthier nutrition is all about balance. It wasn’t about the probiotics in yoghurts either. They may be good for our gut if eaten in large enough quantities (I have written about this before).

 

When I started this experiment, I had NO idea it wouldn’t be as esay as I had thought. After quite a few failed attempts, I finally managed to make my own coconut yoghurt with just two ingredients. No thickener or anything. And am a happy to share the recipe with you:

Step 1

Spoon real coconut milk, not coconut drink, into a wide-mouthed jar and whisk it well. I tried different ones and once I figured the best approach, all brands I tried worked well.

Step 2

Empty your probiotic capsules (see below for the ones I used) into the coconut milk and mix well (I used a wooden spoon because it says everywhere that probiotics interact negatively with metal). The capsules are easy to open, I promise, no mess or anything.

Step 3

Cover the jar with a cheese cloth and secure it with a rubber band.

Step 4

Wait! The fermentation process depends on the concentration of the probiotic you’re using, the temperature and your taste. You should frequently check your jar for consistency, smell and tanginess. The longer you allow the fermentation process to continue, the tangier, i.e. more sour, the yoghurt will become. I prefer my coconut yoghurt milder. For me, around 36 hours created the perfect coconut yoghurt.

I stirred the yoghurt twice during the incubation process, always using a plastic or a wooden spoon (apparently the bacteria don’t react well to metal).

Step 5

Whisk your coconut yoghurt, cover it and place the jar in the fridge. The yoghurt will be rather runny but gets firmer while cooling. Once the yoghurt is cold, check its consistency. If it’s still too runny, strain is through a sieve lined with a cheesecloth. The longer you let it strain, the firmer the yoghurt will get.

If you plan to regularly make coconut yoghurt, you should consider making a fresh batch every few days. Simply use some of your existing coconut yoghurt, add some coconut milk, and start the process from step 3.

It really is that simple!! 

My failed attempts included using standard yoghurt ferment and using probiotics I found in health food stores in the area. The concentration of the probiotics were all too low, I needed so much, the yoghurt tasted “powdery” in the end.

In the end, I used two probiotics I found online:

Aavalabs

Premium Probiolac, Komplex, 40 billion KBE (koloniebildende Einheiten; english: CFU colony forming units) per capsule

I used 450 ml coconut milk and 3 capsules Aavalabs Premium Probiolac Komplex

 

Nutralie

Probiotika Komplex, 25 billion KBE (koloniebildende Einheiten; english: CFU colony forming units) per capsule

I used 450 ml coconut milk plus 4 capsules Nutralie Probiotika Komplex

 

If you are vegan or lactose-intolerant, coconut yoghurt is a great dairy substitute. I myself will not switch to it completely. I like the slightly tangy taste of it, it’s creaminess but it does contain a lot of fats and calories 😉 but there are other as tasty options I will keep eating and trying.

A final, not nutrition related thought, is the long delivery route and the associated greenhouse gas emissions when buying coconuts and related products.

Have fun trying this recipe and most importantly, enjoy your homemade coconut yoghurt! For more pictures of my adventure (and lots of other health, well-being tips and information), follow me on Instagram and let me know how this worked for you.

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Luitgard Holzleg

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