Making yogurt from coconut or soy milk?

[jennlyn]

I've tried the yogurt  that is made from coconut milk- it was a nice treat, but very expensive. I have made yogurt from cow's milk in the past, but can you substitute other kinds of milk when making yogurt at home?  Any tips?

[riesmo]

i've made coconut yogurt following the instructions in this blog: http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/2009/04/25/homemade-coconut-milk-yogurt/. it's very popular at our house.

i use cans of coconut milk, because even the expensive bpa-free brands are cheaper than the tetra-pack brands once you dilute them to the same consistency. you can play around with the ratios of water to milk to find the consistency you like.  also, i've used pectin to thicken it, but it's very hard to keep it from making really bad lumps.  if you don't mind a runny yogurt, i'd skip it.

[SundayCrepes]

I just heard about making yogurt in a crockpot. Anyone made coconut yogurt in one of those?

[riesmo]

that's how i've done it.  the recipe i posted works in a crock pot.  it's pretty cool.  you have to pay some attention to it, check the temp regularly and turn the crock on and off to maintain temperature.  but i guess eventually you get to know your crock pot and the best pattern to maintain the temp.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by riesmo 

that's how i've done it.  the recipe i posted works in a crock pot.  it's pretty cool.  you have to pay some attention to it, check the temp regularly and turn the crock on and off to maintain temperature.  but i guess eventually you get to know your crock pot and the best pattern to maintain the temp.

Do you do anything special to keep your crockpot at the right temperature?

[FitMOmmyOf2]

Ohh.. subbing to this thread as I was wondering about making coconut yogurt myself! Thanks for starting this thread OP!

[riesmo]

once you have gotten the milk hot enough to sterilize, you let it cool to around 105 and keep it there for several hours.  my crock pot has a 'keep warm' setting that is still too much heat, but i can turn it on for 10-15 minutes every hour or two .  i just use a candy thermometer to check the temp, and turn it on as needed.  at night, i turn off the crock pot and wrap the whole thing in heavy towels to keep it warm as long as possible without the heating element.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by riesmo 

once you have gotten the milk hot enough to sterilize, you let it cool to around 105 and keep it there for several hours.  my crock pot has a 'keep warm' setting that is still too much heat, but i can turn it on for 10-15 minutes every hour or two .  i just use a candy thermometer to check the temp, and turn it on as needed.  at night, i turn off the crock pot and wrap the whole thing in heavy towels to keep it warm as long as possible without the heating element.

Good tip. Thanks.

[josamen]

Originally Posted by riesmo 

i've made coconut yogurt following the instructions in this blog: http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/2009/04/25/homemade-coconut-milk-yogurt/. it's very popular at our house.

i use cans of coconut milk, because even the expensive bpa-free brands are cheaper than the tetra-pack brands once you dilute them to the same consistency. you can play around with the ratios of water to milk to find the consistency you like.  also, i've used pectin to thicken it, but it's very hard to keep it from making really bad lumps.  if you don't mind a runny yogurt, i'd skip it.

thanx...from there I was able to follow a link for making your own coconut milk from shredded coconut...which is good cuz I'm considering going Vegan once I have a job and a place of my own and was always dismayed at the high cost of vegan-friendly milks...so it's nice to know I can save money by buying the bags of shredded coconut and make my own from there...can also make your own soymilk too for that matter by soaking soybeans and wet-grinding them and running the product through a strainer then heating the liquid to deactivate an enzyme inhbitor...then you can use the leftover flesh to make vegan veggie burgers...I probably won't make the yogurt from the milk though as it sounds like a complex and time consuming process...time I don't have

[josamen]

I've noticed though that coconut milk is extremely fatty...the shredded coconut I use has 5 g of fat for just 2 tablespoons and the recipe I found for making your own coconut milk uses 2 CUPS....yikes....might have to dilute it with water and then add coconut extract plus some more Stevia to counteract the loss of taste from diluting it

[riesmo]

coconut fat is a very healthy fat, and you cut out so many sources of animal fats when you follow a vegan diet. i think it's a good trade.

[josamen]

true....the reason is WW doesn't consider coconut oil to be a healthy fat.....probably because they're still stuck in the mentality that saturated fats are evil when in fact they're the lesser of 2 evils when compared to trans-fats (which in vegetable shortening is a vegan product but a very unhealthy one)