The recipes here will be allergy-friendly, many free of the top 8 allergens- dairy, soy, wheat, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. All are gluten free and many are vegan. They are very adaptable to suit your allergens. I hope you find them tasty!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Safe Yogurt

You will need a thermometer to measure temperatures between 90 and 212 degrees (I use a meat thermometer which is cheap and easy to find at the grocery store) and an incubator of some kind* (see below, I use a double crock pot)

Ingredients:
6 cups coconut milk (or whatever safe milk-  I have been using 4 cups coconut and 2 cups hemp)
6 probiotic capsules (whatever kind is safe, we use Kirkman's Pro Bio Gold) or 1 cup yogurt from last batch
2 tbsp honey (or other sugar) (this is needed to give the bacteria enough sugar to eat since cow's milk has a higher sugar content to begin with)
3 packets gelatin or 3 tbsp agar agar
2-4 tsp vanilla (optional, use as much or little as you like, we use 2 cups vanilla flavored milk and 2 tsp vanilla)


1.  Place milk, vanilla and honey in medium saucepan.  Heat on medium heat to almost boiling (until tiny bubbles are starting to form around edges) stirring very often.  While heating slowly whisk in packets of gelatin or agar agar.
2.  Cool liquid mixture to 115 degrees (I put it in the fridge to achieve this more quickly)
3.  Add 6 capsules probiotics  by opening capsules and stirring in (or saved yogurt from last batch (but I still add a capsule or 2 of probiotics, just in case)
4.  Pour contents into incubator.  Maintain temperature of 105 degrees to 115 degrees for 7 hours*
5. Refrigerate until solid and cold.

*For my incubator I place my 1.5 quart (with yogurt inside) into a big crock pot (mine is 3 quarts) that I have lined with towels to insulate.  I turn it to "serve" for about 1/2 hour if the temperature drops to 105 degrees (usually I heat it so the crock isn't cold when I put the yogurt in and then turn it on 1-2 times during the 7 hours). 

 You could probably do this with just one crock pot as long as the temp didn't get too hot around the edges to kill the bacteria (so stir often when crock is on).  Or you can do this on the warm setting in the oven with a baking dish of some sort.  Or in a cooler with hot water bottles around your yogurt container.  The key is keeping the temp between 105 and 115 degrees for 4-7 hours.  I use a meat thermometer to check the temperature.  I check it every 2-3 hours or twice during the incubating process.

This recipe is based on another mama's yogurt adventures:
http://funkyfoodallergies.blogspot.com/search/label/yogurt
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7 comments:

  1. music_rxmamaApril 19, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    This is a great recipe! We make it every week for B!! Thanks so much for sharing! :)

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  2. NicholeApril 20, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    Hey...I am taking note of this one! awesome!

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  3. AnonymousJuly 12, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    I have been trying to make dairy free yogurt for awhile now!! I have tried coconut and almond and both have turned out runny!!! It is still yummy and we eat it but its not yogurt!! DOes yours turn out thick??

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  4. MelissaJuly 12, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    Even commercial cow's milk based yogurt contains thickener! The gelatin or agar agar serves this purpose in my recipe. It is thin until it chills completely and I have to stir it a couple of times during chilling or sometimes it separates. Once it is chilled it is like yogurt jigglers and I toss it into the blender for a quick spin and it is just as thick and creamy as commercial yogurt. I also want to add that if it smells like yogurt then you do in fact have yogurt, no matter how thin. We use the thinner stuff to top cereal or make smoothies!

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  5. ktclickNovember 20, 2011 at 9:29 PM

    Thank you SO much for posting this. I am so excited to try this for my son! We have been buying very, very expensive coconut yogurt at our local natural foods store and he hasn't been able to have it every day because it is so expensive! I can't wait to try the "thin" yogurt on cereal.

    Any idea how much of a probiotic powder (as opposed to a capsule) to use? We buy ours in packets, not capsules.

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  6. MelissaNovember 20, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    kt!!!! Good to see you! I have missed you. I am not sure how many packets, but for reference, 1/2 capsule is my LO daily dose. I add 1 capsule per cup. No need to warm first if you aren't adding gelatin. But you still need to bring it up to 110 degrees before adding the probiotics. Good luck. We just use it like milk and skip the thickener, which I have found to be tricky. I also double and do in just the big crock, but you need a warm setting and have to make sure not to over heat. I usually have to turn it on 2x for 20 minutes each in 8 hours to warm it up just a touch. I give it a quick stir after warming to make sure it is a uniform temp.

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  7. ktclickDecember 1, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    I'm going to attempt yogurt this weekend. I'm so glad to see Samaya is thriving! Good job Mama! Thanks so much for this.

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