User:Derf/L. Reuteri Yogurt

L. Reuteri yogurt straining

What the heck is this? This is homemade yogurt using a Lactobacillus Reuteri (L. Reuteri) probiotic pills as the starter. Technically, a true "yogurt" uses Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria, but this is a cultured dairy product that is essentially indistinguishable from yogurt, aside from being slightly more tangy tasting. You can also skip the flavoring and use it as sour cream, or strain it to make a sort of cream cheese.

Why make it?

Store-bought yogurt is optimized for shelf-life, not maximum bacteria count or benefit. For example, store-bought yogurt must have 1 billion colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria to be considered "probiotic", and many fail to meet that. Probiotic supplements generally have around 5 billion CFUs. In a half cup serving of L Reuteri yogurt, has over 67 billion CFUs by comparison. This makes it a much better probiotic option.

People with IBS or SIBO also have had great success with this yogurt helping their symptoms. More personally, two of my family members had bad cases of C. diff for months on end until one of them started making this yogurt and it went away within a couple days, and it even cleared up my two months of... intestinal issues... following COVID-19, a symptom that is almost never talked about but prevalent in many people following a COVID-19 infection.

Also, it's about the same price as store-bought yogurt, you can play with the flavors, and it's fun!

Materials

• Either 10 tablets BioGaia Gastrus (optionally can use L. Gasseri tablets too) or 2 tablespoons previous batch of L. reuteri yogurt (whey or curds or mixture of both). May be found at a local pharmacy.
• 1 gallon jar with lid
• 1 gallon of Half-Half (thickest, least waste, most expensive), whole milk (thinnest, lots wasted, cheap), or a half gallon of each (good medium). Do not use fat-free.
• Yogurt jars. One gallon up to 16 yogurt jars, depending on which liquid you choose.
• A way to maintain 100.5°F (38°C) or very close to. You can use:
  • A sous vide (that's what I use)
  • Some ovens
  • An Instant pot or rice maker with a yogurt setting - but you will need to make the yogurt in small jars
• (Optional) 75 micron sieve to make Greek yogurt.
• (Optional) Flavoring. I have done the following flavors with per gallon:
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla + 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoon coconut powder + 2 tablespoon vanilla + 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoon banana powder + 2 tablespoon vanilla + 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice + 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 1 jar maraschino cherries blended (my favorite)
  • 1 can blackberries in syrup blended

Recipe

1. Heat 1 gallon not fat-free half-and-half on stove to 140°F and then let it cool back down to 80°F. You can skip this step if the liquids all say "ultra pasteurized" or "ultra-high temperature (UHT)".
2. Sterilize 1 gallon jar by putting a little water in it, shaking it up, taking the lid off, and microwaving for 1 minute.
3. Place jar in the sink, pour liquid in and put the lid on. Rinse outside of the jar to cool it and wash off any spilled liquid.
4. Remove gallon jar. Spoon some half and half into a small jar, add yogurt starter or 10 crushed Bio Gaia tablets and shake to incorporate. Optionally, add 1 teaspoon of inulin as some recipes recommend.
5. Pour small jar of starter mix into the gallon jar. Rinse it off if you spilled any.
6. Place gallon jar in the sous vide with lid on as loose as possible, fill water up to neck of jar, and turn it on to 100.5°F (38°C) for 36 hours.
   • Optionally, cover with saran wrap to hold in moisture.
7. Set aside a jar of starter for the next batch. Lasts about 3 weeks in the fridge or 2 months in freezer.
8. Strain covered overnight with a 75 micron sieve. If you want thinner, more tangy yogurt, you can skip this.
9. Mix in flavor (if using), fill yogurt jars, and put them in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Troubleshooting

• The final results split into liquid and solid
  • It seems that for most people, the first batch from tablets will almost always split. It's still edible (but gross), but you should take the solids to use as a starter for the next batch and it's much more likely the second batch will be OK.
  • Having the lid on tight for the ferment can also make it split (essentially lightly pressure cooking it). Make sure you loosen it all the way.
  • I have also had it split when mixing in almond milk.
• Strong smell
  • The final smell should be similar to cream cheese and may or may not have a sharp tangy smell (and taste) depending on how long you fermented it and what mixture of half-half or milk you used. Adding flavor will cover up both the smell and taste.