Not-Really-Yogurt Recipes Roll-Up
Page Edition: 2022-08-20
Contents
Introduction
Recipe Table
Starter Details
Benefits Matrix
Assessing Success
Troubleshooting
Personal
Process Notes
Introduction
Note that these are not a formal part of the WB and Undoctored programs.
You are not expected to make any of these, much less all of them.
Only consider them if the possible benefits are appealing, and you
are up to the task of making a non-traditional yogurt.
Further, expect one or more combination recipes to emerge.
The original L.reuteri recipe has the most track record,
but it’s still a challenge for a lot of people to make.
Ideally, we can get to a point where commercial yogurt is an
option, and people can just buy these, and at clinically
useful live-culture CFUs per portion.
Here’s a roll-up of what I’ve seen so far.
Those marked ☐ I have not yet made.
Those marked ☑ I have made (but
my
personal process can vary).
Full details are provided here only for those yogurts described on the blogs,
or for there is not as yet any official Inner Circle recipe.
The table data below is for 1 quart or liter amounts of basic substrate.
Basic substrate is “half-and-half”, which needs to be just
milk and cream, with nothing added; organic, pastured, for extra credit.
UPS is Unmodified Potato Starch (a glucose polymer).
Make a slurry with some substrate and the starter before mixing.
The recipes scale, but considerations are apt to arise above
one gallon in a single container.
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Recipe Table
For UIC Members, there are official (dairy) recipes at:
B. Coagulans Yogurt,
B. Infantis Yogurt,
L. Casei Shirota Yogurt,
L. Gasseri Yogurt,
L. Helveticus and B. Longum Yogurt,
L. Reuteri Yogurt,
High-Potency Probiotic Yogurt,
SIBO Yogurt
For a non-dairy (coconut milk) variation, use the substrate base at:
Coconut
Milk with Guar Gum Yogurt Base
Closed containers with loose or flexible lids recommended.
Sealed containers with rigid lids are not recommended,
as some ferments can be a bit hyperbaric.
Full containers are not recommended, unless flexible,
as the ferment can be expansive.
I use a large vented pot, so have no direct experience
with popped lids and overflow, but both phenomena are reported. Return to ToC
Starter Details
Akker:
Akkermansia muciniphila WB-STR-0001
A probiotic that can be taken directly is
Pendulum Pendulum Glucose Control.
As an obligate anerobe, this microbe may be a difficult challenge
for a home ferment. Also, this specific product contains four other species.
BNR17®:
Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17®
in the U.S (and possibly other regions), may be ordered as BIOTHIN™
from Mercola
Market.
Elsewhere, try the AceBiome product from
Gmarket in South Korea.
casei:
Lactobacillus casei (Shirota)
initially from Yakult®
coagulans:
Lactobacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086
initially from Schiff®
Digestive Advantage® Daily
Gastrus®:
Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 plus DSM 17938,
initially from Biogaia® Gastrus® tablets.
The tablets are suitable for younger people as labelled.
infantis:
Bifidobacteria infantis EVC001,
initially from Envivo® Baby Starter Kit.
The probiotic is suitable for infants, but the yogurt is adults-only.
Innovix®:
Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52ND
Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175,
initially from Innovix Labs Mood Probiotic.
Lr30242:
Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242
initially from Life Extension FLORASSIST® Heart Health
Oxalo:
Oxalobacter formigenes {tbd}
(details pending)
rhamGG:
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG,
available in Culturelle® Digestive Daily
Probiotic Capsules
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Reported Benefits
The draft of this section was deleted, as the site now has a dedicated
feature for browsing the topic:
Microbiome Central Return to ToC
Assessing Success
The general principles of assessing batch success are:
- One or more layers well thickened
Initial batches often stratify into curd layers and watery whey.
You can save the whey for future starter use. I freeze it
in ice cubes trays when I get any liquid I can separate, but
over the last 9 months, I’ve had to use dedicated starter
batches (as I get no whey sep, except with L.coagulans).
Later batches tend to look more like stand-up commercial yogurts.
-
Distinctive aroma and tangy taste
All successful batches will have a similar aroma and taste,
not quite identical to a full-fat live-culture unsweetened
commercial yogurt. At some point, we might be able to use
litmus paper to check acidity.
- Creamy color (for the dairy-based recipe)
The surface color is usually more off-white than the
starting materials. It can actually appear a bit dry and
crumbly if the fermentation vessel has no lid. But there
should be no sign of growths, molds, black spots or red/orange tinge.
- Near-term effects
If you get prompt effects, such as mood, sleep, energy, etc.,
they will be apparent with a successful batch.
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Troubleshooting
Undoctored Blog: Troubleshooting L. reuteri yogurt-making
Some additional things to consider include:
- Raw Milk?
Raw milk absolutely must be pasteurized. This is not just a routine
food safety concern. The extended times used for these fermented foods
would at the very least result in an unpredictable result if any
random naturally-occuring microbes are present, and some common ones
could grow to frankly pathogenic CFU counts.
- Dead bugs?
If a question ever does arise as to viability, a simple test
is to prepare two small quantities of the substrate (H&H+inulin),
and a bit of starter (such as one crushed Gastrus® tablet) added
to only one of test samples. Leave the other uncultured. Put both
in your incubator, or just leave out at room temperature, covered. The uncultured sample is apt to turn into sour
milk, and present quite differently from the cultured sample.
- Retail ingredient junk?
Far too many half&half products have added
emulsifiers, like carrageenan and polysorbate 80. Apart from
being “GRAUS” (Generally Recognized As UnSafe, pronounced
"gross"🤢)
on this program,
effects during fermentation are not well understood. Ditto for added
“vitamins” that may actually be there as preservatives
(not to mention frank preservatives). I’ve had pretty good
luck with both Land’O’Lakes and Horizon organic H&H.
- Sterility
Utensils need to be reasonably sterile (as does the inulin or other
prebiotic fiber). Whisks are a particularly challenging item to
fully clean. Personally, I eliminate these as concerns by
re-pasteurizing the dairy, in the fermentation vessel, with the
inulin already mixed in, and the whisk present as well.
- More sterility
When using generational technique, the state of the storage and
serving utensils needs to be considered as well.
- Don’t macerate the microbes
The starter needs to be mixed in by hand, and not by using a
blender (stick or otherwise). If using frozen starter, ideally
thaw it slowly (I allow 8 hours in the fridge).
If I screw up the schedule, I’ll set the cubes in a
covered glass bowl in a larger bowl of 105°F tap water.
Do not apply more heat than that.
- Drifting along
Using generational (batch-to-batch) starter, it only takes
one incidence of contamination or thermal die-off to affect all
subsequent batches. I make this a non-issue with starter
batches. If I happen to start from tabs, most of that batch goes
into ice cube trays, frozen for use as future starter (and ditto
for any whey drained off from subsequent batches). Dr. Davis
reports being well past 50 batches using a generational
technique, and it seems to work well for many people. But it
does introduce variables that can be switched off if necessary.
- Environment
We’ve had a couple of reports of failure that
appear to be linked to nearby diffusers, vaporizers or humidifiers.
The ultrasonic devices don’t fully sterilize the working
fluids. Evaporative models are just asking for trouble. Turn
them off a few hours pre-prep, or run them in a different room.
- On a Sour Note
Using out-dated dairy, can provide attractive econonmy,
but may produce a thinner result.
It’s also wise to re-pasteurize when doing so, as the source
dairy may also have a non-trivial population of undesired microbes.
- Temper, temper
Have some confidence in what temperature your device holds.
Running a dummy (water only) test ’batch’, for at least a few
hours, and checking with a probe thermometer is wise.
If cold-starting, ponder whether or not the heating elements
are creating bug-killing hot spots during warm up (or just
eliminate this as a concern by pre-heating the substrate to
near ferment temp before adding the starter).
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Personal Process Notes
- The above table is only for initial batches.
I save any drained-off whey into an ice cube tray
(or use a portion of an initial batch as dedicated frozen starter),
slowly-thawed for use. I use 1 or 2 cubes/qt,
approx 2½ tbsp, or 37 mL.
- I routinely re-pasteurize my mix, in the final fermentation vessel,
with the extender mixed in, and the whisk in the pot, for
various reasons.
I use 180°-195°F for 10-20 minutes, re-cooled to target temp -0+5°F.
This is optional on the official recipes, but required for raw dairy.
- I haven’t used unmodified
potato starch in a while.
- I had been fermenting for 48 hours for scheduling convenience,
but am now using 36+ as planning permits.
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Bob Niland [disclosures] [topics] [abbreviations]