This
Coconut Yoghurt is made by the Boiling Method whereas the Instant Pot Method skips this boiling part ....
Read
https://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/03/20/yoghurt/
https://youtu.be/38myjFSnuwE
2 cans coconut milk or cream (400g / 14oz each), approx 20% fat
40g (1.5oz) egg white powder
1 teaspoon yoghurt culture
VARIATIONS
no egg white powder? – You should be able to find it online or a cake decorating supplier. Whole egg powder would be fine, although it will change the flavour. Don’t use
fresh egg whites as they may contain salmonella. The yoghurt is still lovely without it, just a lot less thick.
vegan – skip the egg white powder and be prepared for a runnier (but still delicious!) yoghurt
short on time? – the yoghurt can be eaten after the first 12 hours, but the flavour and texture are thicker and more yoghurty after the extra day in the fridge.
using powdered coconut milk?– mix it up with boiling water then cool to 43C (110F). Then add the egg white powder and proceed as per the recipe.
https://youtu.be/odGpIWIz2xs
cows milk yoghurt
makes 8 cups
This may seem like a lot of yoghurt but it will keep for a month or so in the fridge. Even though there are only 2 of us, we haven’t had any problems eating it up!
2L (8 cups) full fat milk
100g (3.5oz) full cream milk powder, optional
2 teaspoons yoghurt culture
VARIATIONS
no full cream milk powder? – Regular milk will work.
vegan – see the coconut yoghurt recipe above.
short on time? – see the head note for how to
use UHT milk and skip the heating step.
super creamy – add in a cup of whipping cream or double the milk powder.
Yes if you want to use
all powdered milk and water that’s fine…
I make my yogurt in
a soup flask that has a wide neck, keeps it warm enough over night.
Chira says:
20 March, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Ever since we moved to Bhutan and after that to Tanzania nearly 20 years ago I make yoghurt at home. As I cannot buy powdered yoghurt cultures here in Tanzania and as using a fresh culture for every batch of yoghurt would be expensive,
I developed the following method. I use a powdered yoghurt culture for the first batch of 2 liters. Half of this yoghurt we eat, the other half I pour into a silicone ice-cube tray and freeze. These are my starter cultures. Once the fresh yoghurt is nearly eaten, I make a new batch using 2 tablespoons of left-over yoghurt. Once the freshly made yoghurt becomes too sour (usually after 5 to 6 batches) I use 2 frozen yoghurt cubes to start a new batch and restart the process. I bought
an Indian 2 liter hotpot many many years ago and though it’s really ugly it has kept my yoghurt at the right temperature for nearly 20 years.
I never bought a thermometer as I test it like you would test the temperature of a bottle of milk for a baby. Just drip one drop on the back of your hand. If it’s too hot for you to give to a baby it’s too hot for the yoghurt starter. My most popular yoghurt variation is to first leave a vanilla pod in the hot milk, leave to infuse for 30 minutes, then remove pod and scrape out the seeds in the milk. Make yoghurt as usual. We are lucky though to have vanilla grown nearby and available really cheaply.
Chris says:
6 April, 2020 at 11:32 pm
I just store my yoghurt in the same container it ferments in,
everytime I bought a store bought yoghurt I kept the container, it also makes less cleaning and less chance of contamination than if you transferred to new container,
as for sterilization, I just use regular dish soap, cheap and kills pretty much any bacteria.
Mika says:
21 March, 2012 at 1:35 am
I also started making my own yogurt several years ago and realized how easy it was.
I have always used a few tablespoons of plain commercial yogurt (Dannon brand works well.) And you then use some of your just recently made yogurt as a starter for the next batch. If you won’t be making the next batch for awhile, you can freeze enough of the yogurt to use a starter for the next time. I incubate my yogurt in a cooler with a large milk or water container that has some hot water in it.
Would this work
using half coconut milk and half cows milk?
YES
AnnaO says:
24 March, 2012 at 11:58 pm
I made the coconut yogurt, leaving it in the fridge for another 12 hours really made a difference
As I´m intolerant to eggs
I excluded the egg white powder. Any ideas on what might work, as the yogurt turned out so runny, deliciuos but runny?
Xanthan Gum?
Thank you for the great work you do
jules says:
28 March, 2012 at 8:56 am
HI Anna
I’d recommend trying the
Tapioca starch that another reader suggested to thicken. I haven’t used Xanthan Gum so not familiar.
Liz says:
1 May, 2012 at 9:31 pm
I tried using
agar (a vegan safe algae that thickens like gelatin). Has anyone used that with success?
My first try resulted in a yogurt you could cut with a knife. Seriously – it was harder than cheese! Wondering on what ratio I should have used….
stanwoodabby says:
25 May, 2018 at 1:59 pm
We’ve been adding unsweetened dried coconut flakes to the coconut cream before heating & culturing it–the thickness is great!
Tabatha says:
1 April, 2012 at 5:00 am
Corn or potato starch will also help thicken. It’s what would be used more commonly in store-bought yoghurts, especially Greek-style.
Andrea says:
31 March, 2012 at 5:45 am
I just started making my own yogurt three weeks ago- and am similar to you in that I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner! So easy. I use the crockpot method and just wrap up the whole thing in a couple of towels and put it out of the way.
I have a colander that I line with two cheesecloth type things and put that over a bowl. I use the separated whey in place of buttermilk and i have a “greek” style yogurt as a result. My two sons (ages 1 and 3) love it. We add honey, or pomegranates (in winter) or some homemade jam.
This post has made me excited to start playing around with it! I love the vanilla idea mentioned earlier. I’d like to try egg whites. And I am excited to find out that this can be done with coconut milk!
Sue says:
5 June, 2012 at 2:34 pm
I make coconut yoghurt using 30g of glucose powder (Lotus brand, and I use this for all yoghurt I make with non lactose containing milk) and around 100ml of starter per 1 litre of long life coconut cream (Kara brand). I use an electric yoghurt maker (Easy Yoghurt, which holds just over 1 litre). I warm the coconut cream in the microwave for about 90 secs and then stir in the glucose powder and the starter culture. I used a commercial culture which I obtained fromGreen Living Australia (
http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/yoghurt_culture_soy.html) for my first batch, but now store some of each batch to use in the next one.
The yoghurt is so thick that you can stand a spoon up in it, and I recently drained a batch through cheesecloth to make a fantastic cheesecake.
If I need to thicken any yoghurt that I make, I do this to make fruit yoghurts, and only after it has been incubated and then refrigerated.
I use arrowroot starch as the thickener, as I find tapioca has an unpleasant flavour. If anyone wants a recipe, I’m happy to provide it.
Jackielyn Powell says:
23 July, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Hey Jules,
Wow, the pectin worked and the texture is creamy and smooth just like yoghurt. This was my third attempt and it was PERFECT! I used three heaped tablespoons of pectin (which also have castor sugar as a carrier and citric acid – i hope the citric acid doesn’t harm the bacteria?). I actually heated the coconut milk up to 60-70 degree so that the pectin would dissolve easily and then cooled it down to about 40 degrees where i then added the contents of my pro-biotic capsules.
I got the pectin from coles, but am going to check out woolies to see if they have any other brands that i can try which don’t have citric acid and castor sugar as when my yoghurt was ready to move out of the oven and into the fridge, i opended the lid and tasted my yoghurt to see if it was tart enough, i couldn’t tell if it was naturally tart or because of the citric acid?
All in all, it worked out well and this is how i will continue to make my coconut yoghurt,
the pectin gives it the perfect texture, you could use about 3 or 4 heaped tablespoons for a batch using 3 cans of coconut milk.
Next mission. To make my own coconut milk.
Thanks Jules, love your blog!
Reply
jules says:
23 July, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Wow Jackielyn!
Thanks for reporting back… I’m going to have to track down some pectin myself.
The citric acid shouldn’t harm the bacteria as lactic acid bacteria are relatively tolerant – although only up to a point.
I’ve tried coconut milk.. way too much effort for me… but hope you come up with an easier way.
Good luck!
Jx
You mentioned some yogurts are a bit runny.
One thing we always did was to add 1 cup of powdered milk to the mixture. It thickened the yogurt nicely.
jules says:
4 December, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Hi Viridiana
The main difference between powdered cultures and live ones is that the powdered cultures use strains of yeast that are more hardy and able to tolerate the freeze drying process. I’m not familiar with any yoghurt starters that look like blue cheese… might be worth your while tracking down
a keffir culture… which tends to be crumbly like you describe. Good luck!
lydija says:
4 March, 2013 at 3:02 am
Thanks for putting this recipe up. I tried it last night and it was great.
It is still more of a European style (runnier than most American yogurts) and so I put half the batch to drip off a cheesecloth and got the greek style I was hoping for. I used honey during the incubation phase and probiotic capsules. I also
added some protein powder for a bit of extra protein. I also added
a drop of vanilla and I was in heaven.
Kevin says:
30 March, 2013 at 3:05 am
Hi All –
Been making my own
Greek style non-fat yogurt for a while now.
Not into the probiotic/non-dairy thing as a lot of you seem to be.
I use store bought skim milk (sometimes add non-fat powdered milk to bump up the protein and the calcium) and either my own yogurt or, if I forget to save some for starter, use any commercial plain yogurt for starter. Have never tried the powdered stuff.
I heat 7-8 cups of milk to 180 deg./F (altho I don’t think it’s necessary for commercial milk),
cool it to 110 deg., put 3-4 good tablespoons of yogurt into a 2 quart glass casserole dish and stir in the milk. Then I put the dish into my yogurt maker for about
8 hours. The longer you leave it the more tart it gets. I’ve heard of using the cooler or heating pad method, even putting it in the oven w/ just the light on to keep it warm but I have a yogurt maker so….
At this point it’s good to go (just stir and refrigerate) but
I prefer Greek style so I strain it thru a linen napkin for an hour or two (you loose about 50% of the volume) and since I like it really creamy I force it thru a fine mesh screen. Then I stir back in enough of the whey to get the texture I like. It does thicken somewhat in the fridge. Lasts at least a week or two. Have never had it go bad before I used it up.
You can use any milk (whole, 2%, goat, etc.) Have never tried soy milk but I might try it for my neice.
Definitely am going to try coconut. Sounds great!
Almost forgot…
you need to use fresh starter after 4 batches. It definitely loses it’s potency over time.
For FR – you’re looking for approx. 112 deg./F for the entire fermenting time.
Doesn’t have to be exact but should be
above 100F and below 130F. Above 130 deg./F will kill the bacteria culture, below 100 deg./F the bacteria don’t grow quickly enough to gel properly.
hippytea says:
2 April, 2013 at 5:39 am
Hi there! I must try coconut yoghurt – I have lots of fun making regular cow’s milk yoghurt.
Just a comment:
the step of heating the milk up to 83C is not for sterilisation (though that’s a bonus) – it’s to denature the milk proteins, and it gives a better set, especially if you can hold it around that temperature for 20-30mins before cooling and adding the starter. That’s why a lot of yoghurt recipes recommend doing this even with freshly-opened pasteurised milk – pasteurisation doesn’t keep the milk hot for long enough to denature the proteins.
I believe UHT/ultrapasteurised milk doesn’t need this step as it has already been done (hence why it tastes a bit different). I’ve never used UHT for yoghurt but apparently it works well.
Kevin Moore says:
16 April, 2013 at 6:58 am
You can use any yogurt for a starter as long as it contains live cultures. I’ve used sweetened yogurt in a pinch (vanilla flavored and honey flavored) and it works okay. Prefer the plain.
You can also use any milk – cows, sheep, goat – raw, pasteurized, UHT and can combine them. I don’t use raw milk and have never tried soy or almond but have my first batch of coconut working right now.
Elle says:
21 April, 2013 at 8:06 pm
Jules, thank you for your inspirational recipe for yogurts. I have been making cows milk yogurt for years without any problems.
I have thrown out many coconut yogurt attempts – worse one had almonds in.
I at last had success adding some powdered coconut milk to tinned coconut milk, instead of the powdered egg white. (Just didn’t have the powdered egg white). Is there any reason I shouldn’t use powdered coconut milk?
I used the live cultures I keep in the freezer and they work for both cow and coconut yogurts.
Thanks, Elle
John Spitaleri says:
25 April, 2013 at 5:26 am
When I lived in Ecuador I used to make yogurt ever day.
No jars needed, no bags for storage, no thermometer needed.
We had raw milk delivered each morning.
Just put a tablespoon of yesterday’s yogurt in a shallow bowl mixed with fresh milk. Cover lightly with cloth, on a warm spot. Tomorrow your yogurt is ready. Next day repeat.
No Work
No Storage needed
Fresh Every day.
Bec says:
16 May, 2013 at 10:11 am
Hi, thank you for this post!
I borrowed an Easiyo yoghurt maker from a friend a while back and tried a couple of times to make yoghurt using full fat coconut milk.
I found that the coconut milk in the container mimicked what it does in the cans – ie. it separated, leaving a thicker, white layer at the top and a watery, clear layer at the bottom. Do you recommend using only the thicker part of the coconut milk/cream from the can, or is there a brand you can recommend for me? I didn’t add egg white powder but from the sounds of your post that’s morea thickener –
I added powdered coconut milk to my second batch thinking that may help it emulsify but it didn’t seem to help.
I don’t own a food thermometer and I’d prefer not to buy any extra equipment so I’d like to continue trying with the yoghurt maker, but any advice you could give me about brands of coconut milk that may work better would be greatly appreciated!
JerryF says:
26 May, 2013 at 12:06 am
Very nice blog and beautiful photo’s. That being said let me go to the making of yogurt.
I’m an expat living in the Philippines and it’s hard to get fresh milk (getting easier) and 100ml of Nestle’s yogurt will set you back about US$ ~1.25.
So what I do is this, and I love it.
I use only dried milk powder, haven’t tried the instant, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
The DMS that I use call for 50g per L, I use about 75g /L, then add in some of the Nestle’s plain, 1-2 Tbspn or 30ml. Then set it on my counter (except in the rainy season when it’s cool), normal temp being around 90F or 34C, after about 8-10 hrs, I have yogurt, after 15-18 hrs it is so thick and tangy that it blows my mind. No Heating of the milk, just put it in the jar and put a lid on it. In the rainy season, I use an electric heating pad set on low in the oven.
I use dry milk solids for skim milk, yogurt, fresh cheeses and for me it works great.
I will do anything to avoid UHT milk.
kezia says:
4 June, 2013 at 7:26 pm
i found some esiyo yoghurt makers at the op shop, is so easy to make yoghurt in them! You just half fill the 1L container (or a jar of similar size) with room temperature water, add 1 1/2 cups full cream milk powder, 3 tablespoons yoghurt (i used Jalna biodynamic for my first batch, but now use some of my own), put the lid on, shake well, then *Fill to the top of the jar with more room temperature water!, shake again! Fill the esiyo with boiling water to the top of the red insert, put the lid on….and 6 hours later you’ve got delicious yoghurt!
Sandra says:
15 June, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Hi, I was just reading your yoghurt ideas….. Have you ever tried making yoghurt in the slow cooker. I make heaps of Greek yoghurt because we eat so much of it. It is cheaper. I use cows milk, here is what I do.
I put 4 litres of milk in slow cooker and heat until bubbles form around the top (this is to kill any bad bacteria) turn off and allow to cool until it is around the temperature of a baby’s bottle (I never use a thermometer and I have never had a fail). In a bowl I whisk one cup of my milk and my culture (from my favourite Greek yoghurt or my saved culture from my last batch). Save some (2/3 tbs) from each batch to keep it going). Then whisk the mix gently with long strokes back into the slow cooker. Place the pot into a warmed oven. Do not leave oven on. (put towel on shelf then pot and towel over top and sides). Leave overnight. For yummy thick Greek yoghurt I strain off some of the whey by putting a thin cotton tea towel over a colander and loading in the yoghurt. I like mine nice and thick.
I find making yoghurt this way so easy. Another thing you could do is leave the oven light on to keep the temperature right. I haven’t had to do this as I am in a warm climate. Have fun
Mike G says:
17 June, 2015 at 7:17 pm
I’ve been making yoghurt for over a year using dry culture from a local Australian company called Country Brewer, who also do beer and cheesemaking supplies. No affiliation.
The reason for heating cows milk to near boiling is to get rid of unwanted bacteria and also to denature the milk proteins so the yogurt doesn’t come out slimy or “ropey”.
This has already been done with the dollar a litre UHT long life milk so it’s only necessary to heat it to 43 degrees typically. I also stir in the full cream milk powder and I’ve yet to come across a supermarket yoghurt that is smoother, creamier or more delicious than my own brew. Also, including the powdered milk and the culture it’s only costing around $1.50 a kilo.
Thanks for the blog.
Pauline says:
4 July, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Love the info on here.
I buy a litre of UHT milk, a pot of natural greek yoghurt, and mix three tablespoons of the yogurt into the milk, no need to heat it as its already done for you. I put it into the easiyo jar, pour boiling water into the thermos container in to the top of the red insert and leave the jar inside the thermos for 24 hours. If you want thick and creamy yoghurt, strain the yoghurt through a piece of muslin over a bowl, I put the muslin into a sieve to hold the muslin you will see the liquid separating I think the yellowish liquid is called whey but could be wrong. It takes a while to work out how long to leave it but the longer you leave it the thicker it will be. Once you have it to the consistency you like tip away the yellowish liquid, if the yoghurt is nice and thick you will probably find you can almost scrape it from the muslin. I am sure I saw somewhere where some people keep the whey and add it to soups etc, I don’t as it has a taste I don’t like.
Marianne Gifford says:
10 January, 2017 at 3:17 pm
whey protein is really good for you….it comes from cow’s milk, is a rich source of the body’s essential amino acids, is efficiently digested and absorbed and is the most nutritious protein available. You could use it in recipes where you cannot taste it, if you’re finicky.
Here’s what you do;
buy a 6 pack of yogurt with live cultures. Pop the whole tray in the freezer. Defrost a single tub at a time, as needed, or if you run out of left overs from your previous batch of yogurt and Viola! Bob’s your uncle, you always have culture. I find that buying culture is sometimes a tad expensive, so I decided to try this and I have had nothing but smooth, thick success.
Ayas says:
28 August, 2015 at 6:40 pm
You will get even better results if you
set your yogurt in an earthen utensil. Yogurt set in earthen pots gets a nice texture and eating yogurt from earthen utensils is much tastier (Like decanted wine). And
adding a smidge of sugar will speed up the process as well.The sugar is food for the starter culture.
jules says:
29 September, 2015 at 3:48 pm
Yes Margrit.
The bacteria ferments the sugars to form lactic acid which lowers the pH of the yoghurt and causes the PROTEIN in the milk to change form and thicken the yoghurt. Almond and soy milks don’t have these proteins so even if you get the fermentation you don’t get the thickening…
Jx