Raw Food Alchemy by Amie Sue
Do you eat a dairy-free diet? Do you miss the creamy mouth-feel of yogurt? Do you enjoy coconut? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love this raw, dairy-free, yogurt that has just a hint of coconut. I have made plenty of raw yogurt over the years but never did a recipe post. Why? Because I always ate the end result before I could get a photo, and I just don’t believe in posting a recipe without a photo! That is one of my pet peeves with recipe sites and recipe books… I want a picture or two or five of each and every recipe! Not only do our digestive juices get going with just the sight of food, it also gets our creative juices flowing too. I need to know what the end result should look like. I want to know what flavors and smells I should expect. I guess I am “sense sensitive”. :)
If you are new to Young Thai Coconuts, I would really love for you to really give them a try. There is nothing quite like them. Caution… Young Thai Coconuts taste like coconut. haha So, if you don’t like the flavor of coconut, this recipe is not for you.
When making this recipe you want to use the best quality ingredients. You want to use a good probiotic. There are two rules to using probiotics in making this yogurt. First of all it causes the fermentation which will give that “tangy-yogurt” taste. The longer it sits during the fermentation process the stronger the tang. Once you place it in the fridge that process still continues but at a much slower rate. Secondly, probiotics are so good for you!! So don’t skimp on this ingredient. Make sure you do your homework and purchase a really good one. My suggestion is to visit your local health food store and ask them to recommend one. There are tons of different probiotics out there so don’t get overwhelmed or stressed about it. That is counterproductive when we are trying to feed our bodies and keep ourselves healthy. Probiotics come in a wide range of prices and you may find them to be expensive, but it is a small price to pay when we are trying to stay healthy. So much cheaper them getting sick and going to the doctor.
Ingredients are not the only important things needed for this recipe…so is the preparation. Make sure all of your equipment is clean and dry before starting. Some people go as far as boiling all of the utensils, personally, I didn’t do that. Don’t use wooden spoons or bowls, bacteria can be hidden in them. Store your yogurt in glass containers. Also, the blending process… to me, this will make or break the final outcome, but then I am all about mouth-feel. I was one of those little girls who LOVED to play in the mud but not just ANY mud. My Great Grandmother sectioned off a part of her garden for me that consisted of pure, wonderful black soil and when I made mud pies, I borrowed her flour sifter (shhh, don’t tell her that) just so I could make creamy mud pies. lol So when blending, make sure you do it long enough to get a creamy texture because it won’t get any smoother as it sits. :)
This yogurt is nothing short of amazing. The mouth-feel is silky. The texture is thick, you can see that in the photos that I took. The taste is also a bit tangy and sour with a hint of coconut in the background just like a yogurt ought to be. Eat it plain, top it will fresh or dried fruit, drizzle honey on it (Bob’s favorite way), use it as a base in a creamy sauce or sprinkle it with granola! The granola that I used in these photos is the Tropical “Beet” Granola which tasted wonderful with the yogurt!
Thanks for your great recipes. I am just now trying some raw foods and have found your website to be so great and easy to understand. I haven’t tried much yet but I have started on almond milk, which is a big move for a milk loving girl like me! Thank you.
Can I leave out the stevia and just add fresh fruit for flavor/sweetener after it is ready to eat?
Yes you can Christine. :)
This looks so good. I have made coconut yogurt before and really liked it.
Just curious, how do you calculate the nutrition information for this? I am always puzzled about coconut meat because I cannot seem to get reliable information.
Also, why use mature coconut, not young Thai coconut?
Is there a way to make this with coconut milk or dried coconut instead of the meat?
Thanks!!!!
Hello Chris…. I did you young Thai coconuts, it is listed in the ingredient list. :) I haven’t tried making the yogurt any other way so I am not sure how it wuld turn out using coconut milk or dried coconut. Have a great day, amie sue
Thanks for this delicious recipe.
I do not have access to coconuts except dried shredded ones from the supermarket. How do we sub for this?
Further, can we use sugar or maple syrup instead of stevia? If so, how much?
Tks!
Hello JK… this recipe is geared around young Thai coconuts, so if you can’t find them I would suggest finding another “yogurt” recipe. At this point I don’t know of a sub yet because this is the only way I have made it. In time I want to try making it with cashews for starters. Have a great weekend, amie sue
How warm should the water be for the yogurt? I ask because in making bread, it could be 105 -115 degrees. I don’t want to kill anything. It sounds delicious and very easy.
Thanks,
Lesley
I used room temperature water. I didn’t worry about getting a temp reading on it… it came out wonderful! I hope you give it a try. amie sue
I forgot to ask, can rejuvelac be used as a probiotic? If so, would you know how much? Should the warm water be bottled or can I use tap? Too many questions, but I want to get it right the first time. Your recipes are awesome.
Good evening Leslely, I have heard of others using rejuvelac but to be honest I don’t have experience with it so I can’t really say. Use the best quality water that you can. Here in Tucson, we don’t drink the tap water but back home in Oregon, we do…. but if you are in question, I would use a good filtered water. Have a great weekend! amie sue
What do you think about using the dry yogurt cultures from the health Food Stores? I’m hoping theyd have dairy free as well.
Hello Mamabird, I don’t have a clue. Never heard of dry yogurt cultures, or at least I don’t think I have. :)
Hi Amie-Sue, I recently bought some coconut mango yogurt at my local store and was shocked at the price I had to pay. It cost me $12 (Aus) for 400g. And then, to my surprise, I spotted your recipe. Alleluia! Just one question, hope it’s not a silly one, but can you use the coconut water from the young thai coconut in lieu of the water? Thanks so much.
Helen :)
Hello Helen… yes by all means, you can use the coconut water. I had already drank mine before I got the bright idea to make the yogurt. lol I hope it tastes as good as what you were buying, or even better?! hehe Keep me posted. amie sue
I went straight to my case of young coconuts, and used 3 of them, followed the recipe, but used warmed up coconut water instead of plain water. Kept it in my cupboard for 24 hours, and wow, was it amazing. Just finished incubating today, so I have a nice fat jar of it in the fridge. It’s very rich, so be prepared. Thank you …..k
Thank you for sharing Kate… I could love on Young Thai coconuts… in any form or fashion. hehe
What kind of probiotics do you use for this yogurt? I live in Ireland and here I can only find the ones that come in capsules and you take before your meals to help with digestion, I know these capsules can be opened and the probiotic powder is inside, can these be used? If not, can you let me know the name of the ones you use so I can see if I can find them here (or something similar)? Thank you!
Hi Libia… sorry that it took me so long to respond, it got lost in the shuffle! This is the brand that I personally use; Ultimate Flora Critical Colon 80 Billion 30 caps
Just about any probiotic will work Libia, so what you have just may be ok. Can you send me the name and brand and I will take a peek at it on line if you wish. Have a great day, amie sue
Thank you very much Amy Sue, I think the ones I use should be ok, they are these in case you want to take a look: http://www.udoschoice.ie/probiotics-explained
Will give this yogurt a shot with those then. Thanks again and have a nice day!
Hi Libia…. I have heard good things about the Udo brand probiotics. These will work just fine. Enjoy and many blessings, amie sue