Coconut Yoghurt

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh coconut flesh from approx. 2 coconuts, thin brown skin removed, cut in 3 cm pieces
• 1000 g filtered water
• 200 g organic coconut oil, melted
• 4 level Tbsp (60 ml) agar agar flakes
• 50 g real maple syrup or honey
• 6 dairy free probiotic capsules (minimum 20 billion live cultures per capsule)

Method

1. Mince coconut pieces 20 sec/speed 8.
2. Add water and heat 10 min/100°C/speed 2; meanwhile, line simmering basket with a double layer of cheesecloth large enough to generously hang over the sides and place lined basket in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Blend 1 min/speed 9, then pour into lined basket and allow to drain. When cool enough to handle, lift up cheesecloth and squeeze out all remaining coconut milk. Discard squeezed coconut flesh or use to make coconut flour – see 4th tip.
4. Place strained coconut milk and melted coconut oil in TM bowl then blend 30 sec/speed 8.
5. Add agar agar and heat 10 min/100°C/speed 4, then set TM bowl aside to cool approx. 2-4 hours until coconut milk is 37-45°C – to check, use a temperature probe.
6. Once at 37-45°C, add maple syrup then open probiotic capsules and add contents to TM bowl (discard the empty capsules). Blend 30 sec/speed 8; transfer to sterilised glass jars (jars must be warm or at room temperature, i.e. not hot, before adding mixture) and seal with sterilised lids, then place in a dehydrator set at 45°C and leave to culture for 18 hours – see 2nd tip to culture without a dehydrator.
7. Place jars of cultured mixture in fridge overnight to chill – a thick layer will rise to the top and become solid.
8. Transfer chilled cultured mixture including solid pieces to TM bowl, mix 30 sec/speed 6, scrape down sides of TM bowl with spatula and repeat. Yoghurt can be served at this point or transferred back to jars and stored in fridge up to 5 days. Serve on its own, with fruit for breakfast or dessert, or use in recipes instead of Greek (dairy) yoghurt.

Janie’s Tips

1. Leftover coconut flesh can be frozen up to 2 months.
2. If you don’t have a dehydrator, in step 6 transfer mixture to a clean insulated bowl, thermoserver or thermos jug, put the lid on, wrap in a heavy beach towel or blanket, place upright in an insulated bag, close the bag and leave undisturbed for 18 hours to culture.
3. Although probiotic capsules can be expensive, the ingredients still cost about half the price of a similar volume of commercial coconut yoghurt.
4. To make coconut flour: dehydrate squeezed coconut flesh for 6-10 hours at 45°C in a dehydrator or dry in a low oven at 50°C without fan/100°F/gas ½/Aga warming oven until completely dry, then cool to room temperature and grind 2 min/speed 10. Store in a clean glass jar in a cupboard and use within 6 weeks.
5. This recipe is gluten free (GF) – please read ingredient labels to ensure all your ingredients are gluten free.
6. This recipe is dairy free (DF) – please read ingredient labels to ensure all your ingredients are dairy free.
7. This recipe is vegetarian.
8. This recipe is vegan if maple syrup is used instead of honey.