This week I decided to try my hand making coconut yogurt AND coconut water kefir with young coconuts. If you are unfamiliar with young coconuts they are the white coconuts you often see in health food stores, not the mature brown ones that usually taste nasty (IMO at least). This yogurt is a raw food dish and it is nice for an occasional treat.
I started by cracking three of them open. Actually my husband did that part. He drained the coconut water as he opened them and reserved it in a bowl. I then scooped out the meat of the coconuts and tried to keep the brownish skin on the other side of it from coming with it too much. I ended up with a fair amount of meat from just 3 coconuts.
I added the meat, a cup or so of the coconut water, and a Tablespoon of commercial coconut yogurt from Whole Foods, to my Vita-Mix and blended well to make milk. I didn’t heat this mixture at all, just let it warm a bit by letting the blender run. Afterwards I poured it into the pint jars of my yogurt maker. This machine just keeps the jars warm so that the beneficial bacteria can work and create yogurt. I had enough for 3 of the jars.
After 15ish hours I removed them and put them in the frig. The yogurt is quite tasty although my husband prefers the sweet taste of the milk without the added fermentation. I admit that it is quite delish both ways. In fact I think this would be an excellent pie filling. Just make a pie crust from raw nuts and dried dates and then fill with coconut milk or coconut yogurt, top with some sliced fruit like Kiwi or strawberries, and you have a raw pie for dessert. I also imagine that we will eat coconut milk ice cream, frozen coconut yogurt, and coconut Popsicles this summer.
I have been eating a ramekin full most mornings with a little dollop of lemon curd made with pastured eggs, honey, and coconut oil.
The water from the coconuts went straight into a quart size ball jar with some water kefir grains. The coconut water has natural sugars that the kefir will chow down on. After 15 hours it was tangy and slightly fizzy and it went straight into a glass pitcher destined for the frig. LOVE these pitchers for kefir and juice!
And my fave way to use up the coconut water kefir? Green Smoothies of course!
Oh and we used the top of the coconuts for soap dishes and the remaining shells will be used for planters!
Ready to try coconut yogurt?
Top Photo by FotoosVanRobin
wow luckiest coconuts ever!
If you’re vegetarian, you’re probably okay eating lots of coconut… but if you’re not and/or if you have high LDL you should limit it. It’s high in saturated fat, which is bad for you regardless of whether it comes from a steak or a coconut.
No saturated fat is NOT bad for you. In fact your body needs it to function properly.
To quote from that article:
“The theory of moderation in all things still rings true, saturated fat included.”
Yes, it has metabolic uses. But I’d wager that almost all Americans already consume enough saturated fat to process calcium and Omega-3s without looking for extra sources. Certainly the 30-40% of Americans with high LDL are getting way more saturated fat than they need.
Your body needs carbs too, but consuming too many of them IS bad for you. Same rule applies.
And yet when you leave a comment that saturated fat is BAD for us than you aren’t really talking about moderation are you? A whole foods, nourishing diet with nutrient dense foods and lots of greens and other plant based meals is not exactly the Standard American Diet and coconuts will not be an issue.
What I wrote was “you should limit it.” Limit = moderation. So… yes, that’s exactly what I meant.
Look, I just wanted to point out that it’s not a fat-free food. A lot of people don’t know that you can get fats and excessive sugars from fruits and veggies. (And realistically, most people do not eat like you do. It wouldn’t be called the SAD if it wasn’t the Standard.) When you have a good, healthy diet it’s hard to remember how other people think about their food… which is, sadly, very little.
I understand your point. I just dislike the myth that fats are bad for you. Instead of worrying about healthy fats from coconuts I think people should be more concerned with frankenfoods that are labeled fat free or low fat. I will take the food in its natural full fat form any day.
True. But we’ve just gotten so far from being able to know intuitively what (and how much) our bodies need. There’s way more nutrition available than what we need. It’s easy to read ingredient labels and do the math. But now we’re trying to eat things without labels and we still don’t have the intuition.
People see that coconut is healthy (it seems to be the “superfood” du jour) and think they should eat lots of it every day. Really, the RDA for sat. fats is 20 g. One tablespoon of coconut oil or a half cup of raw coconut has MORE THAN HALF of that. And chances are that you also want to eat some milk and butter and almonds during the day.
*I don’t count calories or fat. That’s a terrible way to live. But every once in a while it’s good to check it out to see what you’re doing.
What a great timing for this post, I was just saying this morning how I wanted to try to make some coconut yogourt and kefir. I used to limit dairy since I know it’s not the healthiest of choices AND my kids and I are all lactose intolerant to some degree, but my son and I have now graduated to dairy allergy I suspect, so we’re avoiding dairy at all cost. This would be such a great substitution :)
And thanks for talking about your yogourt maker, I’ve seen one at my local HFS and have been wondering if they really work. I might just have to get one!
agree! if americans got away from processed foods and into natural foods (especially fruits and veggies), fat and all, there wouldnt be a weight problem, even with avid coconut lovers. It frustrates me that people will hear something like that (about sweet potatoes being too starchy, coconuts too fatty,and carrots too sugary) and think, i should just get a milkshake and cheeseburger instead. Lets promote these natural foods not try to scare people away from them!
Looks great. Have not tried this yet and can’t wait. You have a great blog.
What a lovely idea! It’s perfect as well as we have a bunch of coconuts from a harvest, and I definitely think my dad will enjoy a good yogurt from it.
I don’t think anyone needs to worry about Tiffany’s nutritional requirements. She is doing a bang-up job in that department and teaching all the rest of us how to at least get started and off the SAD diet. Kudos to you, Tiffany! I look forward to your posts so much.
I just wanted to point out that it’s highly unlikely that anyone who’s following the SAD will suddenly start making coconut yogurt. Those of us who are now contemplating adding coconut yogurt already eat very healthfully, so the saturated fat of coconut is a non-issue. Tiffany’s audience is health-minded people, or those who are looking to make the change.
I thought the debate on coconut oil’s sat fat was interesting. There’s currently a lot of debate on whether or not it is bad sat fat since the medium chains supposedly behave differently than long chains in other sat fats. The body breaks them down differently. Some say that the saturated fat from coconut oil is so different that it is actually heart healthy and also has a multitude of other health benefits. I personally started taking it on a whim because I read about the benefits for people with hypothyroidism. I haven’t had this much energy consistently for years. Some people on one of the health forums I read about this idea on said they took something like three tablespoons a day, and with no other changes to their diet or exercise routine, lost weight they weren’t able to lose for years prior to taking it. It probably just depends on the person. Still controversial, but everyone needs a boost in a different area of their life and health.
that post was just to reply to the “steak or coconut” statement. I’m just say’n…might not necessarily be true.
Wonderful post! I love coconuts and I think this is a great way to enjoy them even more with yogurt that is. Thanks a lot!