Coconut yogurt is all the rage these days, especially among those of us who aren't fortunate enough to tolerate its dairy-based cousin. From food bloggers on Instagram to the shelves of your local Trader Joe's, this new, trendy breakfast food has been popping up all over the place. The rise in popularity of this tropical-sounding treat can be attributed to its health-benefits, boasting high fat content and varied probiotic strains, and its ability to please vegans, lactose-intolerants, and healthy eaters alike.
Unfortunately, this plant-based delicacy comes at a price, and a high one at that. The biggest brands (see: The Coconut Cult) sell jars of this stuff for as much as $25, a cost that is no match for the average college student.
I, for one, was curious to see what all the hype is about. After reading a few blog posts and recipes online about this new fad, I was inspired to make my own. With only two ingredients (that were already in my pantry), coconut milk and probiotic capsules, I decided to give this a shot. How hard could it be?
The Ingredients
I decided this experiment would be best fit for me to do during my visit home for spring break. Lucky for me, I had the only two ingredients already in my pantry. The recipe that I followed actually asked for full-fat coconut milk and--disclaimer-- that probably would have made a substantial difference in the success of this endeavor.
Recipe
How to make coconut yogurt, according to Minimalist Baker, is shockingly simple. All I needed to do was mix a can of coconut milk with the powder from two probiotic capsules. That is literally it. I figured it seems pretty hard to mess that up, so I followed the instructions, used a wooden spoon, and swirled this concoction up.
The next step was to let it sit on the counter for 24-48 hours, in order to let the probiotics "activate". This sounded kind of creepy and somewhat gross, but I did as I was told and left the mason jar out for a day and a half. After that, I put the yogurt in the fridge, as directed, which would allow it to thicken even more before eating.
The Result
You people are lucky that I braved the ridiculously foul odor coming from this jar long enough to take the above image. I have seriously never smelled something so disgustingly rotten before, and the thought of putting whatever that liquidy goo is near my mouth is appalling. I'm honestly scared of whatever that probiotic powder activated, because no human should ever have to encounter that scent.
For Next Time
Judging by the horror that this experiment ensued, I don't think there will be a "next time" for me. However, if I ever feel particularly adventurous and itching to try this again, I would definitely use full-fat coconut milk since my "yogurt" was nowhere near as thick as it should have been. In my opinion, you should probably just #treatyourself and spend the money on coconut yogurt at your grocery or health food store instead of getting crafty at home.