Alternative Binding Agents

I'm sure that you have already been thinking of egg whites, and those are helpful unless you want to avoid egg completely.   Then there is the 1 tablespoon soaked in 3 tablespoons of water.  I have been looking for other alternatives as well.  It is always good to have backup plans an substitutes in cooking, just in case you run out of something.

Eggs of a Quail (Coturnix sp.), in comparison to a chicken's egg.
German description: Wachteleier (Coturnix sp.) im Vergleich zu einem Hühnerei.

• Photo by: Mnolf
• Date: 16.07.2005
• Location: Rum / Tyrol / Austria

 

Eggless cooking.com has many great suggestions and how to best use the different egg re-placers.

Announcing Baking Event Using Egg Replacements – Silken Tofu

If eggs are binders in a recipe, it can be replaced with Arrowroot, Soy, Lecithin, Flaxseed Mix, Pureed Fruits or Vegetables, Silken Tofu, Unflavored Vegetarian Gelatin Powder (agar agar). The ratio is, for every egg replaced, 1/4 cup of the substitute is used.If eggs are leavening agents, Buttermilk, Yogurt, Baking Soda, Commercial Egg Replacement Powder such as Ener-G can be used.
If eggs are moisturizers, Fruit Juice, Milk, Water or Pureed Fruit can be used.

Egg SubstituteQuantityBest Suitable ForHow is the result? Based on the information provided in The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and Cooking Free: 200 Flavorful Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensations by Carol Fenster. 

Silken Tofu
Substitute ¼ cup of whipped silken tofu for each egg.Rich, dense and moist cakes, cookies, breads and browniesBaked goods won’t brown as deeply, but they will be very moist and heavy. 

Flaxseed Powder
Whisk/blend together 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder with ¼ cup of water for each egg to be replaced. Flaxseed has a nutty flavor, so it works best that are grainier and nuttier, such as waffles, pancakes, bran muffins, breads and oatmeal cookies. Best in dark colored dishes.The baked goods are heavier, dense. 

Pureed Fruits (mashed bananas, applesauce, apricots, pears, prunes)¼ cup for each egg. Increase leavening by 25-50%. Bake items slightly longer, if necessary.Cakes, quick breads and brownies. 

Vinegar and Baking soda1 teaspoon of baking soda along with 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and white distilled vinegar can be used.Cakes, cupcakes and quick breads. 

Buttermilk, Yogurt or Baking SodaIf there are no other ingredients to make the baked item rise, then one of these can be used in place of the egg. Replace the liquid in the recipe with same amount of buttermilk or thinned yogurt. Replace baking powder with ¼ as much baking soda.cookies, bars and flatbreads.

Commericial Egg Replacer Powder (like EnerG)Whip together in a food processor or blender 1 ½ teaspoons powder and 2 tablespoons water. Sometimes 2-3 times as much powder in the same amount of water gives better results.All baked goods, especially cookies.Flavorless, won’t affect the taste of the baked goods.

Potato Starch

Potato starch is the active ingredient in many commercial products such as Ener-G egg replacer and Orgran No Egg natural egg replacer. Potato starch provides leavening, or a rising, effect in baked goods. Potato starch, which is tasteless, comes in a powder form that must be mixed with liquid before adding it to a recipe. Other starches, including cornstarch and xanthan gum, also can be used to replace eggs as binders and thickening agents in baked goods.

Pureed Fruit or Vegetables

Applesauce, mashed bananas and pureed pumpkin can all be used to bind bread or muffin dough. Approximately 1/4 cup of puree is equivalent to one egg. Applesauce and other pureed products also have the added benefit of providing appropriate amounts of liquid for each replaced egg.

Gelatin

When egg is used in a recipe to bind together a dough, unflavored gelatin may be an adequate, though tasteless, replacement. Gelatin comes in powdered form and must be mixed with a liquid. Approximately 1/4 cup of gelatin equals one egg as a binding agent.

Baking Soda

At times, egg-free products can be dense after baking. In recipes that include baking soda as a leavening ingredient, additional baking soda may provide a more airy texture. Similar effects can be seen with liquid leavening agents such as yogurt or buttermilk. Replacing eggs with egg substitutes in recipes requires patience and experimentation.

 

Homemade Egg Substitutes
All these homemade and easily accessible egg substitutes, can be used as a nice fill-ins in cakes, pies, cookies and food products, where eggs are used as fillers and binders.

Flax Seeds
This is the best egg substitute used for baking. Flax seeds have great nutritious value. Flax seeds contain a reasonable amount of the alpha-linolenic acid, which is a very useful cure for the inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, arthritis and many such diseases. Flax seeds also contain a chemical, named lignans, that helps to prevent cancer. Flax seeds can be used in both whole as well as ground forms. You can replace one egg by mixing the flax seeds in water in 1:3 ratio (1 spoon of flax seeds and 3 spoons of water) to make a gelatinous batter.

Potato Flour
Potato flour is made of the cooked, dried and ground potatoes. It is a good form of egg substitution as it is totally gluten-free. Potato starch, mashed potatoes, etc. are also good egg substitutes. To replace one egg you can use some potato flour, ¼ mashed potato or two tablespoons of potato starch.

Applesauce
Applesauce is also pretty useful as an egg substitute. You just have to use the unsweetened applesauce. ¼ cup of applesauce easily replaces one whole egg. It helps the allergic people to enjoy the baked recipes, as well as the weight-watchers, because it helps to make fat-free recipes.

Banana
Mashed bananas can serve as good egg substitutes. One medium sized banana replaces one egg.

Commercial Egg Substitutes

Xanthan Gum
Xanthan gum is used as a rheology modifier and a food additive. It is made from the fermentation of glucose and sucrose, with the help of the exoskeleton of the bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris. The Xanthun gum is a white powder, used as a binder to enhance the texture of egg-free cakes and milk-free ice creams. The amount should be one teaspoon per recipe.

Soybean Lecithin
Lecithin is a class of animal tissue phospholipid that contains esters of glycerol, one molecule of phosphoric acid and two molecules of long-chain aliphatic acids. The lecithin in egg yolk is replaced with soybean lecithin. It is used as an additive and emulsifier in many food products. It works as a wetting agent that makes it, a good egg substitute, even though it must be used in amounts of about one percent of the total weight of the recipe.

Ener-G
It is a good example of the commercial egg replacers that are easily available in the market. They are relatively less flavored and can be used in baking cakes, muffins etc.

Other Egg Substitutes

• Egg is also used as a leavening agent. So, to replace one egg you can use the mixture of one tablespoon of vegetable oil + one tablespoon of water + one tablespoon of baking soda.
• Egg white is used as a glaze on some recipes. For the purpose you can use beaten margarine. It proves to be as good as the beaten egg white.
• When using as a binder, you can use two tablespoons of powdered gelatin + one cup of boiling water.
• One tablespoon of smashed Tofu and a tablespoon of water, can prove a good egg replacement.
• Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, vegan custard and chickpeas also work as egg substitutes.

The choice of egg substitutes may depend upon the dish that you are cooking. There are many options available, so choose the best and the most comfortable substitute. Above all, it becomes highly important to read the labels of the ready to eat food products as even the products that are said to be egg substitutes may contain eggs.

With such a wide range of egg substitutes, you really don't need to sacrifice your urge to eat variety of foods by worrying about the egg allergy.
By Rutuja Jathar

So here is a good start, and you can find more on the egglesscooking.com website.   

Okay, so it's not a sexy post, here but it is informative.  In using coconut flour many many eggs are used for a binding agent, and if you want to replace one or two of them you need alternatives.  If you have an egg allergy you really need to know that there are options.  I'm fond of eggs, and I use them often as well as egg whites, but I do know that there are others with concerns or sensitivities to them, including our vegan friends.  Personal convictions are included in sensitivities in my book, and should be held in high regard.

PCOS and other health concerns do not need to slow down your love for baking or good food, and not all substitutes taste awful, find the things that work for you and keep good notes on your recipes so you never forget them.

 

Sleep masks and Hot water bottles

If it's good enough for Audrey Hepburn, then it's good enough for me; or something like that.  I love the fashions that Audrey Hepburn wore.  So, why shouldn't her sleep wear be something I would take note of, even if it's only in a movie.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The Opulence

PCOS: Its just not worth losing sleep over!
It's worth looking into some of the effects of sleeplessness on our bodies. Even WebMD has written articles on sleep and weight loss. Anything, not drug related, that can help you sleep is good to look into.  Eye masks help me the most, along with pilates or yoga moves for relaxation.

How to choose a sleep mask
 This step is another important thing to figure out.  This site has masks for relaxation, and soothing properties, and masks for sleep. If you are like me, sleep is a difficult thing to achieve.  I prefer the 100% light blocking versions, and have the Dreamer currently, but I am considering the Opulence, it's pretty, good for side sleepers, and has a place to put my ear plugs. 

The Dreamer



I have another strange love, hot water bottles. Yep, you thought they were gone ages ago, but really they are quite functional, from heating yourself up to easing pains.  On cold winter nights, it's nice to snuggle under a blanket and hold a hot water bottle on your feet. 
I am particular though about the hot water bottles I use. Plain rubber smells nasty, and you can't put in really hot water.  Fashy hot water bottles have taken it to a new level.  Fashy Homepage
I used to be able to order from Fashion Hot, but that is no longer the case, now to order you can either go to Amazon or straight to My Perfect Beauty

Fish hot water bottle

This one is another of my favorite versions of their hotwater bottle.  If you look hard enough you can find all sorts of shapes, covers, and styles.

Now just to be clear I am not paid to review items, and I only share these little treasures that I have used, loved, or dearly want.  These items here I have and I use on a constant basis.  I have multiple hot water bottles now, and one very good mask, but I am considering another, and I noted before that Opulence is calling to me.

If you find these helpful I'm glad, it will help me later if I find myself needing to reorder these items, the Fashy hot water bottles can take time to track down.  I wish you all restful sleep and warm winter nights.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Sites for liquid sweetener substitutions

Okay, I've found myself getting lost in recipes on the Tropical Traditions website.
I've been slowly changing my diet, and I have all sorts of new flours such as soy, almond, flax, and now coconut.  I will may or may not keep up my stock of some of these, but for now it's nice to have them to try all of these amazing recipes that I have recently found.  But I have not gotten many new sugar options. I have Splenda, Stevia, and of course regular white sugar and brown sugar, and honey. I'm still working on looking into any other substitutes that I would like to keep around, and I'm thinking about brown rice syrup and coconut sugar.  But for now these are not yet a part of my pantry.  So I needed some ideas for substitutions, and I thought I should share them with others.
The Cook's Thesaurus has many different helps, and these are the one's I needed help with tonight. 
I have a brownie recipe that came in with my coconut flour order, and I'm thinking that this weekend would be a great time to try it out.  So I will be substituting brown rice sugar for honey since I do happen to have that in my pantry.  Change does take time, and I'm taking it one step at a time.

Liquid Sweeteners

liquid sweeteners   Notes:  This category includes various syrups, honey, and molasses.

Varieties:
almond syrup

barley malt syrup = barley syrup = malt syrup = dark malt syrup = malted cereal syrup = extract of malted barley  Notes:  This tastes a bit like molasses, and it's not as sweet as sugar or honey.  It's mostly used to make beer, but it's also used to make breads or other baked goods.   Substitutes:  molasses (1 cup barley malt syrup = 2/3 cup molasses) OR rice bran syrup (1 cup barley malt syrup = 4/3 rice bran syrup) OR maple syrup

black treacle = dark treacle  Pronunciation:  TREE-cull   Shopping hints:   This is the British version of America's blackstrap molasses.  It's common in Britain, but hard to find in the United States. Look for it in specialty markets.  Don't confuse this with golden syrup, which is sometimes called light treacle.   Substitutes:   blackstrap molasses OR molasses OR golden syrup (Many cooks prefer this over black treacle for their treacle puddings and tarts, since it's less bitter.)

blackstrap molasses = black strap molasses   Notes:   This has a strong, bitter flavor, and it's not very sweet.  It's sometimes used to make chili.  Look for it in health food stores.

brown rice syrup = rice syrup = rice bran syrup = rice malt = yinnie syrup   Notes:   Health buffs like this because it contains complex sugars, which are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream.  It's about half as sweet as ordinary table sugar. Some rice syrups include barley malt, and may pose a problem for people with gluten allergies.  Substitutes:  maple syrup (substitute 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons liquid for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR molasses (substitute 1/2 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR barley malt syrup (substitute 3/4 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR honey (substitute 3/4 C honey plus 2 tablespoons liquid for every cup of brown rice syrup)

coconut syrup   Notes:   Hawaiians like to pour this syrup on pancakes, but it's also used in several mixed drinks.  To make your own:   See the recipe for coconut syrup posted on kitchenmixes.com.   Substitutes:  cream of coconut (for mixed drinks)
Falernum  Notes:  This is a Caribbean cane syrup that's delicately flavored and slightly alcoholic.  It's sometimes used in rum-based cocktails.  Substitutes: simple syrup (less expensive)
flavored syrups  Notes:  These are often used to flavor Italian sodas or coffee.  They come in dozens of flavors, but some of the most popular are vanilla, almond, raspberry, Irish cream, and hazelnut.  Popular brands include d'Arbo, Monin, and Torani.  To make your own:  Make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, then add flavored extract to taste.  Store in the refrigerator.  Substitutes:   liqueur OR fruit syrup OR syrup from cans of fruit packed in heavy syrup
fruit syrups

golden syrup = cane juice = jus de canne = cane syrup = sugar cane juice = light treacle   Notes:    This amber-colored liquid sweetener is popular among British, Caribbean, and Creole cooks.  It's made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and syrupy.  Lyle's Golden Syrup and Steen's Pure Cane Syrup are popular brands.   Substitutes:  Combine two parts light corn syrup plus one part molasses OR equal parts honey and corn syrup OR maple syrup (This is thinner, and not as sweet.) OR dark corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet as golden syrup.  If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.) OR light corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet or flavorful as golden syrup.  If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.)

honey
Karo syrup
khus syrup  Notes:  Indians use this to make desserts and drinks.  Substitutes:  rose syrup

maple syrup   Notes:   Made from the sap of sugar maples, maple syrup is a traditional topping for pancakes, waffles, and French toast.   It's also used to make candies, frostings, candied yams, meat glazes, and baked beans.  Lighter syrups usually have a more delicate flavor.  Refrigerate after opening.  Don't confuse authentic maple syrup with the cheaper and more commonly used pancake syrup, which are based on corn syrup.  Substitutes:  pancake syrup OR berry syrup (on pancakes) OR brown rice syrup OR brown sugar (on hot cereals) OR light molasses (on pancakes or hot cereals) OR honey thinned with apple juice OR granulated sugar (If you're baking, substitute 1 cup sugar for every 3/4 cup of maple syrup, then increase the liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons per cup of sugar.  If baking soda is used, decrease the amount by 1/4 teaspoon per cup of sugar substituted, since sugar is less acidic than maple syrup.)

mint syrup   To make your own:  See the Mint Syrup recipe on CooksRecipes.com.

molasses = treacle   Pronunciation:  muh-LASS-sis Equivalents:  One cup = 8 ounces Notes:    Sugar is made by extracting juice from sugar cane or sugar beets, boiling them, and then extracting the sugar crystals.  Molasses is the thick, syrupy residue that's left behind in the vats.  It has a sweet, distinctive flavor, and it's a traditional ingredient in such things as gingerbread, baked beans, rye bread, and shoofly pie.  There are several different varieties.  Light molasses = sweet molasses = mild molasses = Barbados molasses is taken from the first boiling.  It's the sweetest and mildest, and is often used as a pancake syrup or a sweetener for beverages.  Dark molasses = full molasses = full-flavored molasses is left behind after the juices are boiled a second time.  It's less sweet but more flavorful than light molasses, and it's a good choice if a recipe simply calls for molasses. Blackstrap molasses comes from the third and final boiling.  It's too strong and bitter for most recipes, and it's mostly consumed for its alleged nutritional benefits.  Most of the molasses sold in supermarkets is unsulfured.  Sulfured molasses has sulfur dioxide added as a preservative, and isn't as mild and sweet as unsulfured molasses.  Food grade molasses is almost always made from sugar cane.  Sugar beet molasses is very bitter and is mostly used as cattle feed or as a medium for growing yeast.  When measuring molasses, grease the cup and utensils to keep molasses from sticking.  If your molasses crystallizes while being stored, heat it gently to dissolve the crystals.  After opening, you can store molasses in your cupboard.  Substitutes: dark corn syrup OR maple syrup (works well in gingerbread cookies) OR honey OR barley malt syrup (weaker flavor; use 1/3 less) OR brown sugar (Substitute 1.5 cups brown sugar for every 1 cup molasses)

orgeat = orzata = almond syrup  Pronunciation:  OR-zhat   Notes:   This sweet almond-flavored syrup is used in many mixed drinks.  Look for it in liquor stores.  To make your own:  See the Almond Syrup recipe on the ichef website.

orzata
palm syrup   To make your own: melt palm sugar, then strain

pancake syrup = maple-flavored syrup    Notes:  This is the inexpensive version of maple syrup that Americans love to pour on pancakes and waffles.  It's usually based on corn syrup, and flavored either with artificial flavoring or real maple syrup.  To make your own:   See the recipe for  Mock Maple Syrup on RecipeSource.  Substitutes:  maple syrup OR berry syrup (on pancakes) OR brown rice syrup OR brown sugar (on hot cereals) OR light molasses (on pancakes or hot cereals) OR honey thinned with apple juice OR granulated sugar (If you're baking, substitute 1 cup sugar for every 3/4 cup of maple syrup, then increase the liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons per cup of sugar.  If baking soda is used, decrease the amount by 1/4 teaspoon per cup of sugar substituted, since sugar is less acidic than maple syrup.)

rice bran syrup
rice malt
rice syrup
simple syrup = sugar syrup   Notes:   This is a mixture of sugar and water that's brought to a boil and simmered for about five minutes so that the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes syrupy.  When it cools, it's used to make mixed drinks, liqueurs, baked goods, sorbets, sauces, and many other things.   The thickness of the syrup depends upon the ratio of sugar to water used.   Many simple syrup recipes call for equal parts sugar and water.  For a thinner syrup, combine two parts water with one part sugar.  Rock candy syrup, a heavy syrup used to make some liqueurs and mixed drinks, is made with two parts sugar and one part water.   

sorghum molasses = sorghum syrup   Notes:  This is made from sorghum cane juice, and Southerners sometimes use it instead of molasses to make things like barbecue sauce, baked beans, and gingerbread.  Look for it in health food stores.   Substitutes:  golden syrup OR molasses (not as sweet)

Coconut Milk Yogurt - research

I thought that today I would include you all into my world of research.  I have been asked how my yogurt maker would do in making Coconut Milk Yogurt, and I have not yet tried this. In honor of this request I have begun to look into others recipes, and their challenges and reasons why they worked on a coconut yogurt.  
The reason to find out why, is to see if it truly will fit your needs. If the focus was on dairy free just because they are trying to go dairy free, they may be more lax with using the milk yogurt as a starter.  If the focus on the recipe is because of food allergies, then they will have found a recipe that is completely dairy free.  If it's based on economics, then again they will be using the most economical means to accomplish their yogurt. In saying all of this, I'm letting you all know that understanding the "why", is just as important as the "how".


So, I will be trying one of these recipes over the weekend, and maybe others to follow later on, to see how I like them.  I will most likely be making the vanilla versions, because I like vanilla.  I do know from other recipes and other milk versions of yogurt that both honey and agave can be used to sweeten your yogurt.
Now, you can click on the title and get back to the original blog, and read all the comments.  I have done so on some of these, which is how I have some of the other links in here.

So here is to research, and I will post my findings here in the near future. 
Just as a note, my yogurt maker is a bit different than some of these others, and I would adjust accordingly.



Coconut Milk Yogurt
3 14-ounce cans coconut milk
1/4 cup good quality commercial plain yogurt (or previous home made batch)
1-2 tablespoons honey
Candy thermometer

1. Bring the coconut milk to ~125 degrees and remove from heat.
2. Cover and cool to about 110 degrees. It is very important that you allow the temperature to drop so as not to kill the bacterial culture you are now ready to introduce.
3. Remove about one-half cup cooled coconut milk and make a paste with one quarter cup of good quality commercial yogurt. The commercial yogurt you use should be unflavored and unsweetened. You could use a starter but why spend the extra bucks? Commercial yogurt works fine. You can use your home made yogurt as a starter for your next batch.
4. Mix the paste with the remainder of the cooled coconut milk, honey and stir thoroughly.
5. Pour milk into any appropriately sized shallow glass, enamel or stainless steel container, cover and let stand for 24 hours at 100-110 degrees up to a maximum of 29 hours. To keep the correct temperature for the culture, I use a 60 watt bulb in my oven and leave the light on. No other heat is needed. Remember, too high a temperature will kill the bacterial culture; too low of a temperature will prevent the activation of bacterial enzymes.
6. Remove from oven and refrigerate.

http://www.rawglow.com/coconutyogurt.htm



Coconut Milk Yogurt - From Stephens recipes

Candy Thermometer is needed

Sterilize all bowls, utensils and yogurt maker (internal container)before starting. You can sterilize them in the dishwasher or boil them for 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 14 oz. cans organic coconut milk, unsweetened
¼- ½ cup dried milk substitute (Vance’s DariFree or Miss Roben’s RiceMilk Powder)
½ teaspoon dairy-free probiotic

Combine coconut milk and dried milk substitute in a sterilized, microwavable bowl. * Stir until the contents are well mixed. Heat in 30 second increments in the microwave until the temperature of the milk mixture is between 105 and 115 degrees. Scoop out about ½ cup of the milk mixture into a sterilized cup, and add the probiotic. Gently stir until the probiotic is mixed in. Then add the liquid back into the main bowl and mix.
*You can also do this on the stovetop. Make sure to sterilize the pot and spoon.

Pour mixture into the yogurt maker and “cook” for 8-10 hours. You should smell a tart, “yogurty” smell and the coconut milk will be thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Makes about 4 cups of cultured coconut milk. Sweeten or flavor however you like.

Sweeteners: maple syrup, agave or sugar and a little vanilla extract—like a teaspoon of sweetener per half cup of yogurt and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla. I used some maple syrup with frozen blackberries and raspberries. I also hid some nasty tasting vitamins in it!!

You can use pectin to thicken if this recipe is too thin. * If you use pectin, add it when you put in the coconut milk and dried milk substitute. You will need to blend it in the blender or use a hand blender. Be sure to sterilize whichever you use. Then heat the mixture to 115 degrees and add the probiotic and calcium water (included with the pectin) and then continue with the above directions.The most important things to remember are to sterilize everything (even utensils) so there is no bacteria to compete with the probiotic and make sure that the coconut milk/dried milk mixture is lukewarm (between 110-115 degrees) when you add the probiotic.

http://www.customprobiotics.com/index.htm

http://angelaskitchen.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/coconut-yogurt/



Coconut Milk Yogurt (half batch)
1 can (15 oz.) organic coconut milk or lite coconut milk
heaping 1/4 t. dairy free probiotic*

Tools Needed:
2 half-quart Mason jars (I used cleaned salsa jars)
large stainless steel spoon
2 large/medium stainless steel pots (I used a double boiler nested pot setup)
kitchen thermometer
a few old clean kitchen towels, a large pot and lid (large enough to hold mason jars) OR yogurt maker

Yeah, we have a wee bit of coconut milk hangin' around...

*I used Culturaid dairy free probiotic since it is free of many of the common allergens: gluten, dairy, yeast, corn, and soy.

*UPDATE* As several of you have pointed out, Klaire Labs has discontinued Culturaid. I've written a length response in the comments section, but to keep it short, we recommend Dr. Ohhira's, Essential Formulas Inc., Probiotic, a 60 capsule probiotic with 12 active cultures, a 5-star rating from 300+ reviews, priced at ~$34.50 - $5 (Referal Coupon Code: JOC350), or $29.50, less than the Culturaid and other competing allergy free probiotics/yogurt starters.

Instructions for Coconut Milk Yogurt
[Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Corn, Yeast Free and Low Carb/Low Fat]

1.) Sterilize your container(s):
I boiled water in my electric kettle to sterilize my yogurt jars and stainless steel pot. After the water boiled, I let it sit for 10 or so minutes while I went onto step 2. When you need two yogurt containers, just discard the hot water.

2.) Pour out the sterilizing water from the pot and pour in the coconut milk. If you didn't shake the can and the milk has separated, just give it a quick stir with a clean/sterilized stainless steel spoon. Turn the milk to medium high heat and keep your thermometer handy. Bring the milk to just boiling with your thermometer in the milk, but not resting or touching the pot (you want the temperature of the milk, not the pot). Continuously stir the milk until it reaches around 160 degrees. I've seen the range of 170-180 degrees for "normal" milk in order to kill the bad bacteria, but the canned organic coconut milk does not suffer bovine growth hormones, animal antibiotics passed into the cow milk, pesticides, or any chemical residues that can hamper regular milk. I am more lax with the temperature for this reason. If you'd prefer to go to the higher temperature, go for it, but make sure to keep stirring so the milk doesn't burn. Several discussions about this post around the internet have questioned my rationale for this step - i.e. "why boil the coconut milk at all? Canned coconut milk ought to be sterilized in the canning process". This is true. The culture requires a coconut milk temperature between 80 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so the 160 degrees cited above is likely overkill.

3.) Set up your yogurt-making area.

The yogurt culturing area can be a real yogurt maker or this handy type setup shown below. All that is necessary is that the yogurt stay around 100 degrees (or as close as possible). I placed 2 jars in my largest pot with a few warmed towels on the bottom to insulate the jars. I used 1 jar for steaming hot water and the other jar for the yogurt. Here's a cool site for making yogurt by livelonger on HubPages which gives nice pictures and the incubation idea of a cooler and hot water instead of a yogurt maker.

4.) Let the coconut milk cool. Check the milk comes to around 100-110 degrees before adding the probiotic starter. Once the milk has cooled, stir in the probiotic starter. If you were making normal cow-based dairy yogurt, you could use premade/purchased yogurt with live cultures instead of specialty probiotic starter. For dairy free coconut milk yogurt, we can't do this of course- hence the Culturaid.

Boil some more water and pour into one of your open jars shown above. The hot water in this jar along with the insulating towels and closed pot will help keep the yogurt jar warm so the cultures can grown during incubation.

Pour the inoculated yogurt/coconut milk into the other jar and close the lid to keep it warm. I added a few more towels for jar insulation.

5.) Cover the whole setup or your yogurt maker. I turned my pot to very very low heat (barely on) to keep the setup warm. You may not need to do this depending upon the temperature of your kitchen. It was cold and rainy when I made this (Murphy's law in action). Let the yogurt ferment for 6-10 hours. Mine took more like 10 hours since it was so cold in my kitchen (crazy spring weather). Let the yogurt rest while it ferments.

6.) After the allotted time has passed, check the coconut milk yogurt. It should be firm and more of a yogurt texture. Mine was not as thick as cow milk yogurt (which often has yucky thickeners in addition to the plain old yogurt, especially if you eat the nonorganic kind), but it was definitely thicker. It had a nice slightly sweet-sour yogurt bite to it as well as all those uber healthy (nondairy) probiotics! Now I can down yogurt by the quart like Jon, right? :) Refrigerate the yogurt when it is thick and "finished."

The probiotics in yogurt and fermented foods (kraut, etc) are the "good" guys you want in your intestines to help improve your immunity, keep you regular, build and strengthen your bones, lose weight, and detoxify you. One of my favortie online general health bloggers, Cathy Wong, has a great summary of probiotic health benefits and possible interactions. The Harvard Medical School Health Guide also has a good article with some interesting folk uses for yogurt. Probiotics are especially vital in the healing process for those with compromised digestive systems, like those with IBS, Crohn's disease, and Celiac. In addition to this dairy free yourt, I love homemade red cabbage kraut and NutriWest tohttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2481681411865096771&postID=7159596550496912970tal probiotics. I've noticed a sincere and immeasurable difference in my digestion and energy. It's just anecdotal evidence, but it does obey my "it works" philosophy. Yet another great resource is USProbiotics.org. A general Google search on the health benefits of probiotics is overwhelming, so I'm barely scratching the surface here. Don't fret, I'll be back ranting about them much more in future posts. My other favored site for health info at World's Healthiest Foods has a great summary on (regular) yogurt. Keep in mind that this coconut milk yogurt is dairy free, but since it is cultured with the probiotics it will contain many of the same fermentation byproducts like some B vitamins.

Homemade Coconut Yogurt

I’ve sung the praises of coconut yogurt many times. But what if you don’t live near a store that stocks this relatively new product? Or, what if your kids are such yogurt fiends that you can barely afford to keep them stocked in this relatively-dang-expensive yogurt?
You can make your own! Seriously. It’s way easy, and costs about 1/3 as much.
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This isn’t a recipe so much as it is a process, which is to say, having the right kitchen equipment is key, including a yogurt maker. But before we get to that point, you’ll need a double-boiler. (If you’ve never heard of one, that’s a special kind of pot that is actually two pots, one nestled inside the other. You put water in the bottom pot, and this allows you to warm things in the top pot extremely evenly and carefully without scorching. It’s generally used for melting chocolate and other delicate things like that.)
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Anyway, pour in two cans of coconut milk, turn on the heat, and watch the temperature with a thermometer until it gets to exactly 180 degrees. Don’t forget to stir occasionally so you’re getting an accurate reading.
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Meanwhile, get out your yogurt starter. This is the polite name given to the living bacterial critters that make yogurt what it is, also known as probiotics. But be careful! Anything that is officially sold as “yogurt starter” almost certainly has dairy in it. If your kid already takes a good probiotic supplement (and they probably should be,) you can just open up one of those capsules and use it. Or if they don’t, and you’re not sure where to start, Culturelle is a good brand that is gluten- and dairy-free, and comes in individual packets you can use for each batch of yogurt.
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Just as the temperature is right at 180, pull the top pot off of the double-boiler. You just want to graze that upper limit; any higher and it might start boiling, which we don’t want. The only reason we’re heating it up at all is not to cook it, but to sterilize it. Making yogurt involves creating an ideal environment for bacteria to grow, so we have to make sure that there are absolutely no bad bacteria hanging out anywhere near our coconut milk before we start.
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Now it’s sterile, which is great, but it’s still so hot it would kill our good bacteria too if we put them in there, which is not so great. So we have to let it cool down again, to 110 degrees, which happens to be the perfect temperature for making little buggies happy. (The same goes for when we’re baking bread with live yeast, you may recall.) You could just set the pot aside and be very patient, or you could be like me and dip the pot in a large bowl of water to cool it down faster.
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Once you’re back down to 110 degrees, scoop a small amount out of the pot and mix it with your probiotics. Make sure all the powder dissolves thoroughly.
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Then mix the dissolved concoction back into the pot.
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Pour the whole thing into your yogurt maker’s inner container…
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Then close up the outer container around it and let it hang out on your counter for 24 hours. Some instructions might tell you that you only need a few hours, but in my experience that just doesn’t give the bacteria enough time to flourish unless you’re using multiple doses of probiotics. Ideally, when you open that container up, it should be noticeably thicker than it started, and that’s how you’ll know the probiotics have really multiplied. If it’s still completely runny, you may need to use a double-dose of your probiotic, or you may have accidentally killed it at some point, perhaps by adding the bacteria in while the milk was still too hot, or by using a questionable brand of probiotics that was mostly dead to begin with.
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But even the heartiest of probiotic colonies probably aren’t going to result in the kind of yogurt thickness you’re used to buying at the store. To achieve this, you have to strain the yogurt, also known as dripping it. Your yogurt maker should come with a bag of cheesecloth (so named because it’s what you use to make cheese!) Set the bag inside a large bowl, pour the yogurt in, and then lift the bag and hang it by the strings, allowing the clear liquid to drip out.
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I usually tie mine to the microwave door handle. If we were making yogurt out of milk, that liquid would be what’s known as whey, but as it is, it’s just coconut water.
How long you let it drip depends on how thick you want it; at some point enough liquid will come out that you’ll move beyond yogurt into the consistency of cream cheese, which may even be something you want to try to make sometime. I’ve never been able to get it anywhere near a truly firm, grate-able cheese consistency, but I suppose it might be possible if you let it sit long enough. Some people also prefer to drip it in the refrigerator rather than out at room temperature, but my refrigerator doesn’t have nearly enough space for that.
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Ultimately, you’ll have to turn the bag inside out and do a fair bit of scraping to get the yogurt into a storage container. Make sure you make a big mess while you’re doing that. It’s what I would do.
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And I figure, if I’m going to all this work just to have yogurt in the house again, I deserve to be downright decadent in enjoying it. That right there is a banana, topped with coconut yogurt, drizzled with honey. I could eat that for breakfast every single day, y’all.
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Happy Eating!
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Homemade Coconut Yogurt
2 cans coconut milk
1 packet/dose of GFCF probiotics, or more as necessary
banana (or other fruit as desired)
honey (not optional!)