A Different Yogurt

Another day, another adventure! 🙂

Last night I was watching a medical guy that I like and he was talking to Dr. William Davis about a type of yogurt that is made using L. Reuteri instead of the usual probiotic bacteria (lactobacillus bulgaricus, streptococcus thermophilus). Right off the bat, I heard that it is not technically a yogurt. It’s a fermented dairy product but has similar benefits as yogurt and is made much like yogurt is made and, most all of the videos I’ve watched, it’s called yogurt.

I’m not going to try to explain it because I seriously don’t know what I’m talking about except that this L. Reuteri yogurt is supposed to have all kinds of potential health benefits. One of the best explanations of the benefits and process is found on the Luvele Yogurt Maker site. Dr. Davis gives details on making the yogurt here. Here is an updated version where he uses a capsule he sells (vs. a tablet that can be purchased elsewhere). Both recipes are pretty much the same except in his capsule have much more of the L. Reuteri and they can be opened and dumped vs. having to use 10 of the other tablets and they have to be crushed into a powder. There seems to be a great demand for his capsules and the website says it will take at least three weeks before they’re shipped. I’ve watched a couple of videos where the folks used BioGaia tablets to make the yogurt. They can be ordered from Amazon and should be here tomorrow.

This YouTube channel has quite a bit of info, as well as a good Q & A video. Donna Schwenk has a great podcast here.

Where this yogurt differs from the traditional yogurt many of us have made through the years is that this new to me yogurt needs an long and slow ferment for – hours at 100 – 106 degrees. That’s way different from traditional yogurts we’ve been making in our Instant Pots or using other techniques.

Nili of Indigo Nili has an Instant Pot Pro and she is able to set the temp on her IP. I do not have a Pro model and I really don’t want to buy any new gadgets so I spent the biggest part of today testing various fermenting options. I used the Instant Pot Duo, Instant Pot Ultra, Brod & Taylor proofing box and the sous vide. For both the Instant Pot Duo and the Ultra, I tried the following:

• Adding about 1″ of water to the metal insert and placing a jar of water in the insert.
• Adding about 1″ of water, placing a trivet in the insert and placing the jar on the trivet.
• Adding water about 2/3 of the way up the jar on the metal trivet.
• Adding about 1″ of water, placing a trivet in the insert, placing a silicone bowl on the trivet, pouring water into the bowl and not pouring water into the bowl, and then placing the jar in the bowl.

Note: I’m guessing that all the Instant Pots are different. Mine are older. Mine have been used a lot! Our house is very cold in the winter. The kitchen was 63 degrees most of the morning until I started cooking. Your results will probably be different from mine but here’s what I found:

Instant Pot Duo:

This one has no temperature options. It has a yogurt setting and then there’s an option for low, medium and high. The default is medium. I set it to low and the temp of the water in the jar never got above 96 degrees. On the medium setting, no matter with I did, the temp stayed about 106 – 108. This is higher than I want for my yogurt to ferment so I am not going to try to use the Duo.

Instant Pot Ultra:

I am able to set a “custom” temp for yogurt but the lowest I can go is 104. With that setting, with 1″ of water in the stainless insert and with the jar sitting on a trivet, the temp of the water in the jar was between 104 and 106 most of the time.

The Brod & Taylor Proofer:

This worked close to perfectly. Again, mine is old – just checked and I’ve had it 10-1/2 years! Hard to belief. I have used it so much and it still works great so, even though they’re expensive, if you bake bread or need a warm place for yogurt to ferment and keep your house cooler, it’s a great thing to have. The temp can be adjusted from 70 degrees to 120 degrees (if I’m remembering correctly).

I placed hot pad on the metal rack in the proofing box and if I kept the temp set to 101, it kept a quart jar of water at 102 degrees, which is about where I’m wanting to ferment the yogurt.

The drawback to this is that it’s big. I have the one spot in my kitchen next to the sink where I use the Instant Pots, slow cooker, etc. The proofing box would take up that entire space and kinda be in the way. Over by the stove I have some space where I do a lot of the cooking prep work. The proofer would be in the way there too. When I use it for bread, I put it on the dining room table but I don’t want it on the dining room table for 36+ hours. Also, I have a feeling we’ll be making this yogurt several times per week where I make bread once a week and the house is often warm enough for bread to rise or I can stick it in the oven for an hour or so on the proof setting. With the yogurt needing to be 104 – 108, my house is never going to be warm enough to do that without help from some kind of heating gizmo.

The Sous Vide:

Perfect! I’ve had this since January, 2021 and hardly a week goes by that I don’t use this for something. I have the 12 quart container and it sits in the laundry room sink so I don’t have to get it out and put it up when I’m done using it. I put the jar of water directly into the container, filled it with water to about 3″ below the top of the jar, set the temp for 103 and it was almost immediately at 103 and has stayed there. The time can be set to 36 hours so, at least for me, the sous vide is the easiest way to go about doing this.

Our tablets are supposed to arrive tomorrow. If they do, I will get this started. I’m so anxious to make it and see if either of us experience any of the purported health benefits.