Terra Vegana: Learn how to prepare a real fermented vegan yogurt

Before deciding to go vegan, one of my favorite breakfast options was yogurt with granola and fruit salad. For its practicality (breakfast is ready in five minutes) and for its taste — the combination of the sourness of natural yogurt with the sweetness of very ripe fruit is a delicious sweet and sour in its simplicity.

I didn’t hesitate to prepare my bowl.

Already in the process of transitioning to veganism, I began to notice that it is not always easy to find good options for 100% vegetable yogurt. I remember spending considerable time in front of supermarket refrigerators to find a vegan yogurt.

Often I couldn’t find it, and when it was there, the list of ingredients left something to be desired with unpronounceable names that lit the alert: this little pot seems to be harmless, but it’s an ultra-processed product disguised as yogurt.

Over the past five years, the plant-based food market has expanded significantly, but even so, a “real” vegan yogurt —fermented, without flavorings, dyes and sugar—is not always affordable.

The good news is that we can make our own yogurt at home from scratch.

For the fermentation process, we need to choose a good probiotic. We can buy ready-made probiotics, in capsules, but we can also prepare our own probiotics at home, which is much more fun, isn’t it?

How about trying rejuvelac, a probiotic drink made from grains or whole grains? It can be made with wheat, millet, rye, birdseed —any wholegrain cereal—, but of all my tests, the one that worked best was quinoa, which germinated in a shorter time than other cereals.

Before explaining how rejuvelac is made, I need to say that the process is much easier than it seems to be. It takes time, which doesn’t mean it’s work. And it also brings benefits with the presence of living microorganisms that are fundamental for the proper functioning of our intestinal flora.

It’s not for nothing that we use the term “crazy” to describe an angry person: the intestine is our second brain, and has a nervous system of its own.

About 80 to 90% of our serotonin is found in the intestinal tract, that is, if the bacteria go bad, our mood will not go well either.

With the addendum done, after all, it’s not every day that we decide to ferment quinoa, we can now proceed with the rejuvelac recipe, and with the recipe for the real fermented vegan yogurt. Enjoy it!

quinoa rejuvelac

INGREDIENTS

½ cup whole grain quinoa, good quality, preferably organic.

3 cups of water + quinoa soaking water.

UTENSILS

1 glass jar of 700 ml or 1 liter, with lid

Sieve

It is important to sterilize the glass pot by boiling the pot in water for ten minutes or putting it in the oven at 180ºC for ten minutes.

PREPARATION

1. Add the quinoa and water to the glass pot. Close the pot gently, without screwing the lid, and set aside.

2. In the morning, discard the water and wash the quinoa grains with the help of a sieve. Go back to the pot and close with the lid (without screwing), without adding water. Keep the pot in a dry place without direct sunlight and wait for germination. This process can take 8 to 24 hours depending on the temperature in your home. During that time, remove the quinoa from the pot and wash the grains with the help of a sieve, at least twice.

3. When you notice a thin “grass” —like a little tail— sprouting from the grain, the quinoa will have germinated. Fill the pot with water (3 cups), close and store in a place where the sun does not shine.

4. Fermentation must take place for a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 72 hours, and you will know when it has fermented by its appearance (the water will be cloudy and with a little gas, you will notice the presence of bubbles) and by its taste (which is reminiscent of cheese and is slightly spicy). At that point, your rejuvelac will be ready to use.

GRADES

1. After the first fermentation, the process can be repeated to make a second rejuvelac (the exact same process) and then a third rejuvelac! After the third fermentation, it is necessary to restart the process, with a new quinoa or with the chosen cereal.

2. Sprouted cereal can be consumed raw, either in salads —as in a tabbouleh where wheat is replaced by sprouted quinoa, for example— or on top of fruit.

3. Rejuvelac should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within a week.

vegan yogurt

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of cashew nuts

1 cup of rejuvelac

½ cup diced tofu

Water, enough to cover cashew nuts

Agave or molasses, to sweeten (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon)

8 drops of vanilla extract (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Add cashew nuts to a bowl and cover with water. Soak for 6 hours (or overnight).

2. Discard the cashew nut water and transfer the hydrated chestnuts to the blender. Add the rejuvelac and beat for three minutes.

3. Turn off the blender, open the lid and add the tofu, agave and, if using, vanilla extract. Close the lid and beat for another 4 minutes.

4. Transfer to a previously sterilized glass jar with lid and close, without screwing. Boil a cup of water, transfer it to a bowl and place it inside the switched off oven. Place the pot of yogurt on the rack above the pot of hot water, close the oven and wait eight hours before opening (or prepare overnight, and let the yogurt “sleep” inside the switched off oven).

5. Your yogurt is ready! Take to the fridge and book for at least 2 hours before serving. Consume within 5 days.