*Note for SIBO low histamine diet followers: Dr. Jacobi lists homemade yogurt as allowed in phase 2 of the SIBO/histamine bi-phasic diet. If you are unsure of your tolerance level, start by trying a small amount, such as 1 teaspoon.
When I was first on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), 24-hour yogurt was a staple for me and I took it everywhere. The last thing someone on a strict therapeutic diet wants is to be in a strange city or an airport laden with fast food and not have a snack or breakfast for the next day. I had a doctor’s note for taking yogurt with me on airplanes because yogurt is considered a liquid. I remember the first time I went through security with it at the Oakland airport. The gentleman took a perfunctory look at my note and said, “Oh yeah, my uncle does that too” and sent me through without taking a second look at the yogurt. This was in stark contrast to the Portland airport where both my yogurt and I got wanded, patted down and chemically tested. It wasn’t taken away though, and being able to travel with yogurt was my saving grace for a while. I hope yogurt serves you as well, no matter your state of health.
The first accounts of yogurt were from around 6000 b.c. from the Neolithic people of Central Asia. Herdsman milked their animals and carried the milk in containers that were made of the stomachs of animals. The enzymes from these containers naturally curdled the milk, prolonging the edibility and creating a taste that people enjoyed. This process evolved over the centuries into the yogurt process we’re familiar with today in which yogurt is made by the bacterial fermentation of milk. The first yogurt company was created by Isaac Carasso in 1919 in Barcelona and evolved into the American company Dannon.
Yogurt has numerous health benefits and has recently been shown to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in several large studies. Yogurt has also been shown to decrease total blood cholesterol while increasing HDL. Yogurt is a very good source of iodine, vitamin B12, calcium and phosphorus. It is also a good source of protein, zinc, Vitamin B2, molybdenum, pantothenic acid and biotin.
24-hour yogurt is yogurt that is fermented for 24 hours, much longer than the normal four to seven hours. The additional fermentation time leads to the breakdown of lactose to more absorbable forms so it isn’t fermented in the gut and feeding a bacteria overgrowth. Many people who are lactose intolerant are able to eat 24-hour yogurt since the process since the fermentation process removes the lactose. Additionally, 24-hour yogurt has more Probiotics because of the extended fermentation. In a cup of 24-hour yogurt there are 708 billion beneficial bacteria, 50 times as much Probiotics as one gets from pill form.
If you test yogurt and don’t react well to it, it should be removed and then reintroduced in another month or so. There are many recipes that call for yogurt and it is a very versatile and forgiving ingredient. For those craving simplicity, I recommend adding honey to taste and fruit and nuts if you tolerate them. Here’s a basic yogurt recipe:
24-Hour Yogurt
This yogurt is cooked for 24 hours in order to reduce/remove the lactose. Any kind of milk can be used but half and half makes a thicker Greek style yogurt and can support weight retention.
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts whole milk or half & half (check the amount specified on your yogurt maker)
- 1 packet yogourmet yogurt starter
Instructions:
- Heat milk or half and half in a sauce pan over medium high heat to 180 degrees.
- Take heated milk and put in ice water bath till it cools to 110 degrees.
- Take ½ cup of milk and whisk it well with yogurt starter (such as Yogourmet, available at Whole Foods, New Seasons or Amazon.com).
- Mix in the rest of the milk with a whisk.
- Heat at 110 degrees for 24 hours in a yogurt maker.
- Refrigerate until firm.
** Note-If you leave yogurt for longer than 24hrs the bacterial count will start to decline.
Hi, I have been struggling with sibo for sometime i have tried making this yogurt several times with my yogurtmet yogurt maker with there starter kit for some reason after the 24 hours in the machine i take it out put it in the fridge and by the next morning it has a liquid like texter. It seems like the longer it stays in the fridge the more liquid like it gets. can you help with so advice
Hi! Are you using a thermometer to check the temperature of the milk during cooking and cooling? And are you checking the temperature of the water in the yogurt maker? If the yogurt maker isn’t at the right temperature you can buy a dimmer switch to adjust the temperature. Hope that helps!
High I just found this site and I have SIBO and have had to adjust my diet on the SCD DIET years ago and still follow it but adjusted to some food I could not eat two years ago , there are still food triggers , it was yogurt combined with that that saved me .
Addressing you problem , I bout a instant pot and I make it in that , It has a yogurt button on it and my yogurt is thick and perfect I do not have to stain it as it is Half and Half . It’s better than sore bought ! And I put it in glass ball canning jar containers afterward , then fridge .
Guaranteed it will come out for you ! It also helped me to gain weight , as the Scd diet caused a drastic weight loss , not good .
Follow the 24 hour recipe ,
I only cool yogurt to just above room temp by separating into bowls , cover, let it vent , Or
Just whip it once in while to stop skin from forming .
Good luck !!! Ps . You can use a thermometer but I just occasionally use my whip and bring to barely boil , tiny moving bubbles on top. Pour into two bowls let set to cool.
I don’t use this method to make my yogurt, but have been making a similar 18 hr version with half & half in my instant pot once a week for a year or so. One of the keys is straining the yogurt when it’s done. I use a mesh strainer with a single layer or cheese cloth lining it. (I rinse it well after and allow it to air dry to reuse it.) After the whey has drained from it for an hour or so, put the yogurt in a large bowl and whip it with a hand mixer, I use the whisk on my immersion blender. It’s gets super creamy. Then put it in a container in the fridge. It will solidify and some whey will rise to the top, but not much. Also, if you have bad gut issues, consider ordering some real quality probiotics online. Research the strains and get the best you can find to use as your starter. (I ordered a couple really good ones, one costs about $1 a day per packet.) Then I used a combination of those as my original starter, then use my last batch of yogurt to start the next one. Those very expensive probiotics have lasted me well over a year. I have fibromyalgia so gut health is important. In addition to the yogurt I make my own sauerkraut. My IBS symptoms have all but disappeared. Good luck to you, gut trouble sucks.
When I used a Yogourmet maker, the product was slightly thicker if I made a smaller batch. It never really thickened to a creamy consistency unless I Strained it for 6-8 hours. That will make it like Greek yogurt. If you want something less creamy, just strain it a little less. I have found the Instant pot to produce a bit thicker product on the front end, but it still requires some straining
I have found with IP yogurt that if I boil the milk three times and shake off condensation of the lid on between before starting the cool down, I get very think yogurt without straining. the extra boiling removes more liquid from the milk, also best to use whole milk.
A cheap effective method for making 24 yogurt.
I’ve been making 24 hour yogurt for 6 months. I would like to share my process with other SIBO sufferers or any others.
Gratefully, we can obtain whole, unprocessed milk from a local farm. But any milk will work. My yogurt is very successful thanks to a YouTube video. I do not separate the cream from the milk. For those who are trying to lose weight, taking the cream off is recommended.
Do as follows:
Boil water
Pour into mason jars and use lid (I use two half gallon jars of boiled water. I have a full size ice chest allowing me to make two gallons of yogurt at once…enough for myself, my daughter and adult granddaughter for a week, but a small cooler will work with smaller container of boiled water. The intent is to create a warm environment for incubating the milk)
Place jars in ice chest.
Cover ice chest with it’s lid.
Proceed with yogurt making.
Place finished yogurt into ice chest with the hot water.
Return ice chest lid
Wait 24 hours before removing lid
Voila! Yogurt!
do you buy raw “pet” milk? I hear this is the best way to go but I’ve been fooled I suppose to believe that it needs to be pasteurized.
Sorry, I haven’t tried making it with raw milk.
I make 24-hour yogurt in my Instant Pot. The default time for yogurt is 8 hours, so you just increase the time to 24 and you’re good!
Yes just now doing 1st 24hr instaopt w 2% low fat gallon, 3 tblspn plain yogurt store bought, plus 2 tablespoon cold liquid strawberry brown bottles stuff that I use if doing antibiotics to repopulate. At 15hrs now I am thrilled cuz I am 20yrs diabetic n had 3 gals milk from govt 4 vivid elderly isolated. So excited to move into y making. Its half watery n half cuddly now w good smell. My old instapot had a button for yogurt. Omgoddesses omgoddess
I’ve been making 18hr, half and half, yogurt in my instant pot for the last year or so. I will be increasing to 24hr for my next batch. I love that it allowed me to buy some really pricy quality probiotics just once, to use as my starter, and now I get to have a powerful dose of them as a tasty snack every night for the cost of half and half.
It is nice to hear of folks making 24 hour yogurt and understanding the benefits. I did not know that one cup has 708 billion bacteria until finding this site. Awesome! I have been making 24 hour yogurt for 2 years and have some details to share. I am an executive chef at a large hospital, 20 years now, study, practice, and teach how food is medicine.
Start with pasture raised, grass fed, cow milk. Also, pasteurized, but not ultra pasteurized. Clover and Straus are my favorites. I currently use VIVO Probiotic starter, one vial per 3 quarts milk, very rich flavor. I have also used Visbiome probiotic powder, one packet per gallon, tart flavor. Heat the milk gently to 180°F, cover, turn off the heat and let the milk slowly drop to 115°F or lower. Sprinkle the powder over the surface of the milk, cover and wait 10 minutes or longer for the grains to slake into the milk. Stir the milk with a clean whisk and fill quart size jars, sanitized in the dishwasher. Loosely screw on caps. I use a large insulated shopping bag lined with a heating pad that has no cut off function, Sunbeam 12 x 15 moist heating pad on Amazon works great at $13.63. Place them in the lined bag, pad on medium, zip it up, and you will have very thick creamy yogurt in 24 hours.
You must be in NCAL! those are my favorite brands. I use Strauss yogurt for the starter in my clover milk. It is my favorite yogurt and makes awesome yogurt as well.
I make my 24 hour yogurt in my Instant Pot, I don’t do the IP method of using the IP from start to finish. I heat the milk in an external pan because the IP method leaves a slight burnt ring of milk around the bottom of the pan and gives the yogurt a slight burnt taste.
I read a yogurt making post on Reddit where the OP stated that running an ice cube around the bottom of the pan will keep the milk from burning. It didn’t make any sense to me, but I tried it and it really worked. I use 31/2 quarts of whole milk and heat it to 180 and leave it there for 10 minutes, then cool it to 110 and add Fage Yogurt as the starter. I cook it for 24 hours and try to time it so that it is finished around bedtime. I strain it through cheesecloth in the fridge overnight. The first few times I made it, I would dump the whey then one time out of curiosity I tasted it and I was amazed at how good it was. Now i use 100% of everything.
I use a similar process with the kefir I make, except I don’t heat it. I put the kefir in the IP and cook it for 24 and then strain it. I mix the kefir and yogurt 50/50 for a macrobiotic punch
David, I’ll have to try the ice cube method for preventing burning of IP milk during denaturing.
I ‘ve used whey as starter, but for me, I am sensitive to the acidity of the whey, and when consuming it I get charley horses in my legs, or similar cramps in my legs. Different people probably have different experiences.
Thanks again for the ice cube tip!
In a tall saucepan over medium high heat, I bring 1/2 gallon organic whole milk to 180 degrees, stirring frequently. It heats faster by covering the pan, but watch it, because it can boil over quickly. I then remove it from the heat. When the milk temperature drops between 110-115 degrees, I mix 1/2 cup of good quality commercial plain yogurt or yogurt starter with 1 cup of the cooler milk from the pan, then pour this mixture into the rest of the milk in the pan. On my kitchen counter, I place the warm covered pan on a big fluffy towel, then wrap it tightly in another fluffy towel and leave it undisturbed for 24 hours. The long fermentation produces a thick tangy yogurt which I transfer into smaller containers which can be stored easily in the frig. I don’t drain the yogurt because I want all the long-fermented probiotic bacteria in the whey. The longer the jars sit in the frig, the thicker it gets. Best eaten on an empty stomach in the morning. I sometimes add berries and nuts or add to a green smoothie. The immediate results of this 24-hour fermentation are better digestion, better sleep, more energy, and clear soft skin. No expensive pills, and very little work.
Because of the quarantine, I want to use the yogurt from the last time I made it as the starter. How much should I use?
Hi Zephyr,
This article (https://wholefully.com/yogurt-making/) says to use 1/2 cup yogurt as a starter. She also mentions that you may get unwanted bacteria if you’re using yogurt for your starter.
Best,
Kristy
I would prefer to do a plant based 24 hr yogurt. Is this possible and if so do you have a recipe?
Hi Leslie,
I haven’t tested a plant based yogurt yet. They tend to be a bit more finicky. Here is a recipe for one (https://www.luvele.com/blogs/recipe-blog/scd-gaps-coconut-yogurt)but it calls for gelatin to thicken it. You can also buy store bought since it doesn’t have to be fermented for 24 hours since it won’t contain lactose. They will contain gums though, which some people tolerate and some people don’t.
Best,
Kristy
Does 24hr yogurt contain calcium only on steriods and not drinking milk. Do have vit d for calcium tho but wondered if getting enough if not in the 24hr yogurt?
Hi Julie,
Yes, the yogurt contains calcium from the milk. The fermentation process for the yogurt shouldn’t change the calcium content.
Best,
Kristy
Hi. Does the amount of starter have anything to say in the results? If the fermentation is so much longer than other yogurts does it mean bacteria have more time to reproduce and thus need less of it to begin with? Could this be a way to improve the consistency?
Hi, yes the fermentation produces more probiotics and essentially “removes” the lactose. I don’t think this has as much to do with consistency. Using whole milk or half and half produce a thicker yogurt. If you’re using non-dairy milk, you can also add gelatin to thicken the yogurt.
Hi there, I am on a Keto diet. I made yogurt before using 4L of homo milk and 4 L of 10 % cream. I fermented for only 8 hours in my instapot. It was the best yogurt, so rich and creamy.
I am now trying to make a similiar version using 4L whole milk with only a cup of 10% cream. Plus I am going to ferment for 24 hrs. Store in fridge for 4 hours and then drain any whey to create a greek style yogurt.
My Questions are….How does one calculate the carb, calorie and fat content.
I was also told it does not last very long? How long does it last?
Does the probiotic retention go down after time?