Everyone is on the lactose-free train nowadays, and for good reason. The enzyme makes it difficult for us to digest dairy, and weights us down. It’s a straight-up disaster for anyone who’s lactose intolerant. That being said, buying this niche yogurt at the store can be expensive, and it’s not even guaranteed in the aisles of many grocery stores. The solution? Make your own lactose free yogurt at home for a fraction of the price. Endless parfaits? Yeah, we’ll take it.
What you need
- 1 litre lactose-free milk (2% or whole)
- 1 cup pre-made yogurt with live cultures. Plain, full-fat yogurt can be used if it has live bacteria
- Large pot
- Large gloss bowl
- Warm area to rest (top of your fridge is fine)
Recipe
1. Clean your sink well. Fill halfway with cold water and add a few ice cubes. While you’re doing this, your cup of yogurt out of the refrigerator and let it rest at room temp.
2. Pour milk into the large pot and heat at medium high. Place a lid on and wait five minutes. Don’t allow it to boil. After this time has passed, place a finger in the pot and dab a drop on your other hand. If it feels hot and is reaching a light simmer in the pot, take it off the stove. This may last up to fifteen minutes.
3. If you have a thermometer, check to see if the milk is at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If not, skip this step.
4. No take the lid off and put the pot in the sink filled with cold water. After 10 minutes, check to see if the milk feels cool using the finger test again. It should be reduce to about 100 degrees now.
5. Pour your milk into the glass bowl. Place the cup of yogurt in the milk and gently stir the combination to blend.
6. Put a lid on the bowl – you can use either a plate, a cloth, or plastic wrap.
7. Now it’s time to place your bowl with the mixture on the top of the fridge or some other warm place, like your oven with only the lights turned on. Leave overnight, or 6-8 hours. The longer you leave it, the more sour it’ll be.
8. Taste your yogurt. The qualities you’re looking for after its rested for several hours should be sour, runny, and warm. The fridge will solidify it more. If you prefer, you can skip putting yogurt in the glass bowl and put it in glass mason jars for a neater transition.
Helpful tips
- If you want decadent Greek yogurt, place several layers of cheese cloth inside of a plastic colander, and after your warm yogurt has sat overnight, place it in the colander, allowing the excess moisture to drain. After, leave in the fridge for 2-4 hours, or at room temp for one hour. Pour out an extra whey.
- Yogurt needs to be cultured, and there are three main ways to prep diary-free yogurt’s bacteria aspect. You can start with the plain lactose-free yogurt like we suggested in the recipe above, or you can use a dairy-free yogurt culture.
- To thicken your yogurt for a creamier, store-bought texture, you can add tapioca flour, chia seeds, or agar agar.
- Add a sweetener before fermenting. It’s not for adding a sweet flavor to the yogurt. Instead, it feeds bacteria. Cane sugar, maple syrup, and honey are all good options, but subs like stevia unfortunately don’t contain the right nutrients for bacteria.
Lactose-free coconut yogurt
Lactose-free coconut yogurt is the hot trending item right now, but the supermarket versions absolutely filled with preservatives and fillers. You only need two items from your local health food store.
What you need:
A can of full fat coconut milk
A kefir or yogurt starter
1. Pour your can of coconut milk into a glass jar
2. Stir and leave in your designated warm spot overnight.
3. Stir once again and leave in your refrigerator. When it cools down, it should reach a thicker consistency. You now have coconut yogurt with a shelf life of 5-8 days.
Pro tip: When your DIY creation is close to expiring, you can use three or four spoonfuls of your old coconut yogurt to ferment another coconut milk can.