Trying to live as sustainably as possible truly is a journey, with new discoveries at every turn. Every week seems to have a new theme.
Over the past couple of the weeks, the theme has been: Adventures in the Land of DIY Yogurt as I've been delightfully indulging in DIY Cashew Milk Yogurt.
I had forgotten how easy it is to make homemade yogurt and for the past three years I've been lamenting and bemoaning how difficult it is to find alternative milk yogurt in glass containers. I was raised on organic, plain yogurt and love the tangy taste of it. I broke down once and got almond milk yogurt and cashew milk yogurt in plastic containers but felt crappy about it, knowing that these little plastic cups would most likely be around for forever. So, I didn't do that again. I'm at the point where I view every piece of plastic not used as a victory for us all.
A few months ago, I did discover that the brand, GT Living Foods, famously makers of kombucha, also makes coconut yogurt that comes in glass containers. The yogurt is very fluffy and almost effervescent, due to the high concentration of probiotics - definitely not like a traditional yogurt but I enjoyed it. At five dollars a pop, and by pop I mean a mere 8 ounces or 237 mL, it was, and is, a special treat that can't really be enjoyed on a regular basis due to the price point.
Then, I went to a different farmer's market than my usual one and found a stall that sells alternative milk products, one of which is Plain Cashew Milk Yogurt, in a glass container. It was expensive, but I knew from it many servings of Cashew Milk Yogurt could potentially spring forth, so I bought it.
After I ate almost all of it, reserving a bit of the culture for my DIY Yogurt, I began the next batch.
DIY Cashew Milk Yogurt:
1) Start with one cup of Organic, Bulk, Raw Cashews and soak them in water for a few hours. They will bloat up a little.
2) Dispose of the soaking water and dump the Cashews into a blender. Then add one cup of Purified Water. The ratio of Cashews to Water is 1:1 - super simple! Just the way we like it. Blend until smooth.
3) Pour the mixture into a pot and warm up. This step is vital as you are making a nice, cozy home for your bacteria to populate and thrive in so you don't want the mixture to be too hot or you'll hurt them. Think baby warm.
4) Add the mixture into the container with 3-4 Tablespoons of your starter (a.k.a. Yogurt) and stir well.
5) Leave out on the countertop for 4-5 hours if it's warm in your home or overnight if it's a bit on the cooler side. When you see these little air bubbles in your Yogurt, you know it's happy and ready.
6) Pop in the refrigerator and Enjoy! Your Yogurt will keep for 3-4 days to be on the safe side.
Repeat this whole procedure when you run low on your Cashew Yogurt.
Admittedly, the DIY Cashew Yogurt is a little chunkier than the traditional yogurt you buy in the store. To me, the taste is so similar that I could care less. I've been considering experimenting with what would happen if I mixed my Cashew Yogurt starter with Coconut Milk - would it translate well and turn into Coconut Milk Yogurt? Also, I've read that you can just use Probiotics in pill form to make DIY Yogurt but I haven't done it yet.
Thanks for reading and please reach out if you have any questions.