For those with lactose intolerance or dairy allergies, you can make their own coconut yogurt for about a fifth the cost of buying it from a health food store, and I think it's a better product.
Total Time: A few minutes prep, and 8-12 hours to set.
Yield: 400 ml yogurt
Ingredients:
- 1 can coconut milk (around 400 ml or 2 cups)
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour (or blitz dried coconut until fine in a blender or food processor)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- dairy free yogurt culture* (can buy online)
*You can use probiotics (not technically yogurt, if you just use probiotics)
Steps:
- If you have not made yogurt at home before, it's really important to keep everything clean and sterile. I suggest if this is your first time, get someone more experienced to help you the first couple of times, and read a few articles by Green Living Australia and Cultures For Health who both sell yogurt cultures online.
- You will need a yogurt maker, or something to keep the yogurt warm overnight. Some people swear by a dream pot, or a ceramic pot that's placed in a warmed oven over night (switched off oven). I personally stick to a basic yogurt maker that keeps the yogurt warm overnight by using boiling water (I use the EasiYo maker). Other people use the Thermomix system.
- Place the coconut milk, coconut flour and sugar in a saucepan, stir together thoroughly, preferably with a clean whisk. You just want the ingredients to reach blood temperature, and be mixed and warmed through.
- Pour the saucepan mix into the container that the yogurt will be incubating in over night (you may need to experiment with times, I usually leave it over night 8-12 hours).
- Add yogurt culture or probiotics if you want to make a probiotic coconut yogurt. Or just use probiotics, but technically that's not yogurt. Screw on lid, and place in yogurt maker.
- Leave overnight. The next morning, place the yogurt in the fridge to cool for a few hours and then it's ready to eat.
- You can add more, or less coconut flour until you find a consistency you like. Should keep in the fridge for up to a week (can freeze and the culture will still be active).
