Homemade Coconut Yogurt

I love having an individual glass jar for each day of the week.
Perfect served with fresh fruit and a drizzle of local raw honey

Homemade coconut yogurt has been something I have wanted to be part of my weekly kitchen routine since Baby Brother's discovered dairy allergy: probiotics, good fats from coconut, grass fed gelatin, no additives and zero sweeteners.  I knew that once I got the process down, that it would become second nature. There has been a learning process involved, about which I could go on at lengths about.  I knew that I wanted to make a creamy, full-mouth feeling coconut yogurt.  I was interested in using gelatin as the thickner and a non-dairy starter such as this one.  How was I going to make this happen? With guidance from a few blogs and from Cultures For Health, these posted instructions have been working for me.  It took a few attempts to get the hang of it; sometimes, with patience and extra curiosity, the mysteries unravel and make sense.  With email help from Cultures For Health, I figured out that I needed to warm the coconut milk with the gelatin to 50 degrees since heating to 37 degrees didn't seem to be working for me. I also learned that I could not halve their yogurt starter packet while cutting the quantity to only 2 cans of milk, as I had done.  What I had to do was use the whole packet and the 4 cans of coconut milk. Please note, that I ended up buying this second tier for my yogurt maker along with extra glass jars to accommodate the 4 can quantity.  As usual, I give my Thermomix a happy little hug for helping me make fresh, homemade food; it's my special allergy friend in the kitchen.  I am planning on purchasing this non-dairy starter from Custom Probiotics, as it is also gluten free in addition to dairy free. Compare the allergen warnings on these two dairy free starters to see which one works best for your family.  

What you need:
4 cans of coconut milk.  I use this one.  
(I haven't tried with homemade coconut milk yet)
1 tablespoon of  this gelatin
1 packet of Cultures For Health non-dairy yogurt starter

What to do:
Put the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl and make sure it’s locked in place. 
Heat the coconut milk for 6-7 minutes, 50 degrees, speed 3 
Remove one cup of milk and whisk in the gelatin*
Add mixture back to TM bowl, mix 2 minutes at 50 degrees speed 3
Let cool down to 37 degrees and then add in probiotic starter – making sure it is not caught on the butterfly
Mix, speed 3 for 20 seconds
Pour into Yogurt Machine's glass jars and follow machine's instructions
Incubate for 14 hours (added 2 hours for top tier)

*I'm working on having the gelatin fully mix in, as I do get some clumps
**I have only been making coconut yogurt for one month, so I could revisit this post with some tweaking: please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions--teamwork :)

Farmer's market peaches topped with coconut yogurt and coconut flakes

For More Guidance: http://www.pinterest.com/DeniseZfinds/yogurt-making/

I am going to look into the starter listed in this post