I have just had huge success making yoghurt!! It was so nice eating it for the first time in years…one of the boys had tears in his eyes as he wolfed it down… huge lump in my throat watching him.
I bought the Severin Yoghurt Maker with extra set of jars & New Recipe Book. I have now tried using Kara cartoned coconut milk, tinned coconut milk, almond milk and rice milk. By far, the best is with the coconut milks, and the voted one in this house, is using tinned coconut milk. Although high in fat compared to all the other milks we used, it contains ‘good’ fats (see a review here) so unless you are calorie counting, don’t worry overly about it.
How to make delicious coconut milk yohurt?
Use 1 litre tinned coconut milk, heat until it starts bubbling, but not boiling. Add in 3 tablespoons of tapioca flour (dissolved in water to make a paste first) and one sachet of gelatine (or vegetarian equivalent agar). Whisk until the gelatine/agar has melted and the tapioca flour has thickened the milk – heating gently if need be. Then add in 2-3 tablespoons of honey or syrup as food for the yoghurt making bacteria.Cool it down to room temperature, and add in 3 capsules of dairy free probiotics (open the capsules and tip in the powder). I think it’s important that you use ones which contain Streptococcus thermophilus, but mine from Colchester Natural Foods contain about 7 additional strains. Stir or whisk thoroughly, tip into the jars and stand them in the yoghut maker. It takes a good 8 hours with coconut milk to ‘yoghurt’ so you can make it overnight or leave it whilst you’re out in the day. You can tell easily that it’s done by opening and smelling. You’ll notice that the liquid it still quite runny – don’t worry, it will all thicken as it cools.
Take the jars out and stand them in cold water in the sink before putting them into the fridge. You can add in your flavourings at this stage if you wish, or like us, leave until thickened. We use fruit conserves, chopped up fresh fruit, honey…the choice is yours!Use Kara coconut milk in cartons for a lower fat version, using a bit more tapioca flour and 1/2 a sachet more gelatine to thicken.Do let me know how you get on!
Enjoy!!