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After making several batches of failed vegetable yogurt (10 is a good estimate), I'm at my wits end and running desperate.

My attempts have been with either coconut or almond milk. Coconut milk, I've tried homemade and canned with 68% coconut and only 4 ingredients; I also tried pureed fresh coconut but I couldn't achieve the right consistency in my blender. Almond milk, I've tried homemade and store bought with 5 ingredients.

Thickeners: I've tried tapioca starch, cornstarch and xanthan gum.

Probiotic: I'm using something called Beneflora. I'm confident in my probiotic, I know two people who use it with good results. But one of them is using a kitchen robot (I don't own one), the other lives in another country and the milks she uses aren't sold in my country.

I'm using a brand new yogurt maker and I culture anywhere between 8 and 12 hours. I've thought there may be an issue with the yogurt maker but I tried putting an oven thermomether in it and the temperature seemed right (around 40ºC). My oven doesn't have a light so the oven method is not a possibility.

The recipe that's closest to success is 1 can coconut milk, half a teaspoon xanthan gum, 1 teaspoon fructose and half a teaspoon probiotic. Add milk, xanthan gum and fructose and mix with a stick blender. Add probiotic and stir with a fork. Get it on the yogurt maker and culture for 9 hours.

When I finish mixing in the probiotc my milk is a dreamy, creamy consistency. But after I remove it from the yogurt maker, it's runny! And it doesn't thicken in the fridge.

What could I be doing wrong? I feel completely desperate. I bought a yogurt maker exclusively for this. And I'm determined to make this work. Let me know what you think. Thank you.

Melissa Cristóvão
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  • What is the fat content of the coconut milk you’re using? – zetaprime Aug 17 '20 at 17:02
  • Hi Zetaprime, I don't know how much fat I have on my homemade almond milk, I soak almonds overnight, then it's 2 cups water for 3/4 cup of almonds, I blend it and strain it and that's it. The canned coconut milk has 17g of fat per 100ml of milk. Thank you. – Melissa Cristóvão Aug 17 '20 at 17:06
  • I think it’s the fat content. Can you try the recipes, increasing the fat content? – zetaprime Aug 17 '20 at 19:19
  • Thank you once again. More than happy to try, how can I increase the fat in coconut or almond milk? I'm struggling to find organic, additive free milks in my country...they usually contain thinners or not enough coconut – Melissa Cristóvão Aug 17 '20 at 19:35
  • For coconut milk, you can try putting the can in the fridge overnight. It should separate as the cream/fat will turn solid on top. You can use that part only and discard the coconut water (or use it in a different recipe) – zetaprime Aug 18 '20 at 06:41
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    Thank you for the idea, will try it this week. Meanwhile I tried my almond milk yogurt recipe again last night, it's the right consistency but it had a pink layer on top and smelled funny, I had to toss it out...I used 1 cup almonds, 2 cups water; then 1 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum, 1 teaspoon fructose, 1 teaspoon probiotic. Everything was sterilized before I used it. It's the second time I do the recipe like this and both times it gets mold...what could be wrong? – Melissa Cristóvão Aug 18 '20 at 08:13
  • My first guess is that your homemade almond milk is likely not sterile, and the source of the pink mold/fungal growth. Yogurt-making is tricky stuff because you need to be very careful to keep the bad microbes out and still grow a colony of the good ones. In addition to sterilized *equipment* take a critical look at whether your *ingredients* are contributing bacteria, mold, or fungi to the party. – AMtwo Aug 18 '20 at 11:54
  • Thank you AMtwo, I believe you are right. How can I make it sterile? My almond milk is just almonds with water. The only thing I don't sterilize is the mesh I use to strain it, could it be it? – Melissa Cristóvão Aug 18 '20 at 12:24
  • if the canned coconut milk has any preservatives/antibiotics/antifungals in it, that would be keeping the Beneflora from doing its job – pleasePassTheCheese Aug 18 '20 at 21:05
  • My canned coconut milk it milk, water, salt and a thickener. Even if it had antibiotics, etc it wouldn't explain my failure with the other milks. – Melissa Cristóvão Aug 19 '20 at 08:15

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An update: the things I were the most confident with (my probiotic and my yogurt maker) were the ones malfunctioning. I was successful making yogurt with lactose free milk and homemade coconut milk using store bought lactose free yogurt as starter and a yogurt nest (basically a thermal bag made of fabric and cork). As for the almond milk I believe removing the peels will solve the problem. I've made 3 batches so far. Super happy!

Melissa Cristóvão
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