So far, we are very happy with the L. reuteri “yogurt” I’ve made. In this blog post, I talked about it. The recipe/technique I’m using is from Dr. Davis. In the linked post, there’s a video as well as written instructions. The video will lead you to other videos where he discusses the health benefits of the yogurt. We’ve only eaten it twice (1/2 cup per day).
There are people who should NOT take this so, please, before doing it, check with your doctor or do your own research.
We haven’t consumed the “yogurt” long enough to be able to say if there are noticeable benefits so this post will cover making the “yogurt” , the taste, texture, etc.
According to the FDA, yogurt must contain Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. This L. reuteri yogurt contains neither. You probably already know how I feel about the three (or more) government agencies so we’ll just leave it at that but I will use quotes around the word yogurt when talking about this particular concoction.
This article is interesting to me and has more info on the strains of bacteria in Dr. Davis’ formula.
The Recipe and Technique:
If you’ve ever made regular yogurt, the technique is pretty much exactly the same except for the time and temperature of the culturing process.
The probiotic that is used as a starter only needs to be used once – the first batch. With all other batches, simply use 2 tablespoons from the previous batch as your starter. Each batch – new or future – will need the 2 tablespoons of insulin. Some people say they get better results using only 1 tablespoon of insulin but I’ve used two in the batches I’ve made and been happy with them.
I do use Half & Half for the milk. I heat the milk to 180 degrees and hold it for about 10 minutes to hopefully kill off any other bacteria in the milk. Then I cool it down to 100 degrees before adding the starter.
There are several videos where people have frozen 2 tablespoons of a good batch, have later used those as the starter and it worked fine.
I’ve used the Instant Pot sous vide and it works perfectly. The first time I made it, I checked the temp of the milk/culture several times throughout the process. It was always spot on – exactly the temp set on the sous vide. If you do not have a sous vide, there are quite a few other options. The Instant Pot Pro seems to work well. If I didn’t have the sous vide, I would probably order this maker from Luvele. It is only available with pre-order because the demand is so high right now. Vince called and was able to talk to a very nice human and when he talked to them last week, they said they were hoping to get the orders shipped out mid-January UNLESS they sell out and then there will be another pre-order.
One thing I really like about this “yogurt” is that it does not need to be strained. There will be a little whey that comes up to the top if you scoop some out of a larger container but so far, I’ve seen maybe 1 tsp. of whey per cup of yogurt and I’ve stirred it back in.
Some have had first batches that had a lot of whey in it and it was very clump and not smooth at all. I’ve heard people say that always happens with the first batch but I watched several videos where it did not happen and my first batch was perfect. It may have something to do with heating the milk. I have no idea but if you make it, don’t be surprised if the first batch separates. It’s fine to use some of this one for your starter for the next batch.
The Taste/Texture:
I don’t know enough about the various strains of L. reuteri to know what all this means, but for your info: We used this probiotic which has two strains of L. reuteri. If I’m remembering correctly, Dr. Davis used this same probiotic in some of his earlier batches. This may or may not be the brand/type of L. reuteri that Dr. Davis recommends. I’m a bit confused as to whether he actually uses this one, (which says it’s a “proprietary blend”) or endorses it, or whether there is some connection between this company and Dr. Davis. I did order it. It is rather expensive. There is apparently a three week delay in shipping due to high demand. I’m pretty confident using the one that I used but will try the new one when it arrives. Dr. Davis does seem to have a lot of articles about the probiotics but they are behind a subscription pay wall. We have subscribed but I haven’t had a chance to read the articles yet. I’m not sure what I think about a proprietary blend but I’ll report back after using it.
It may be because I used Half & Half but this is the creamiest “yogurt” I’ve ever made. Vince says the flavor reminds him of cottage cheese but it’s smooth. I did see an article about how to make cottage cheese using the “yogurt” and I will try it.
The first batch has a little bit of a flavor. Vince said it tastes “pharmaceutical” to him. I think it tastes a bit like a seasoning that I would be happy to use on mashed potatoes or steak or anything savory. The first time we ate the “yogurt”, we ate it plain – nothing added. Last night I added sliced strawberries and to overcome the flavor, I added a bit of Allulose to mine. The second batch was ready this morning. We tasted it and there is no flavor to it. Perfect.
The texture is as good as it gets – to me, it’s much better than any regular yogurt I’ve made. The texture is as good as any store bought yogurt I’ve tried It’s thick. It will stand up almost like a pudding but not quite that thick.
We’re having steak for dinner today. I plan to add a bit of dill for sure and maybe other herbs and use it on my steak. Vince will have a sweet potato but I’m going to bake myself a white potato and try the “yogurt” on my potato.
What are your thoughts?