For the first time last week I successfully made vegan yogurt. The process is simple - heat milk to about 85 degrees celsius. Allow milk to cool to about 45 degrees. Add yogurt as a starter. Stir in yogurt. Place in ‘yogurt maker’ and leave overnight (or equivalent).
The yogurt maker is very primitive. It’s a glass jar that fits inside an insulated plastic container. It’s a 1980s hand-me-down from my parents. My dad used to make yogurt when I was a kid. My dad also recommends adding a tablespoon full of powdered milk for a thicker, creamier consistency.
My dairy alternatives were - soy milk, coconut yogurt and coconut milk powder. I used Cocobella yogurt, which is so creamy and yummy!! I think next time I will try it with coconut milk. If that works I’ll try a different plant-based milk the time after. It’s summer here now so I think that was why it finally worked. My failed attempts were in Winter and it’s probably too cold for it to maintain its temperature overnight.
Last year I wrote some posts about my plant-based cheese efforts. The TLDR was that I was successful with soy milk and unsuccessful with oat milk. Another thing on my to-do list is a 50/50 soy/almond version. If that works I’ll try a pure almond version and then a 50/50 almond/oat. I love cheese so much! Apart from eggs, cheese is the most challenging non-vegan component in my diet to cut down on. As I’ve said previously - it would be awesome if one day I’d be able to grow enough of the raw ingredients to make milk, yogurt and cheese for our household. I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole far enough yet to know whether or not this would be feasible. The first step is to be able to consistently make them in the kitchen using store-bought ingredients. Fun times!