Max Probiotic Yogurt

After a few years of making yogurt I have fiddled around and changed my base recipe. I still make a Greek yogurt type product using ultra pasteurized half and half and I’m still using the same inulin, but I’ve changed the probiotics.

The first year I made yogurt I made three different probiotic strains and kept them separate and labeled the jars. I was reusing each type’s whey and I froze a lot of that in icecube trays to make it handy to innoculate new batches.

But, as I frequently decide, it ended up being too fiddly. I really do not do well with planned “out of sight” projects. I’m way more into “right now, because: I have a minute” projects. So, I got tired of making multiple jars and trying to remember which ones I ate out of during the week.

So, I looked around for a probiotic with the longest list of different strains, and tried what I found, in my instapot. (Before you go on this epic adventure: make sure you can set your temperature in your heating device close to 104°F. I went to a friend’s, in AZ last month and tried to use her off brand pressure cooker. It was a total failure and I believe it was because of the temperature that it was trying to make the yogurt at. 104 is ideal. “Low” or something in the 90s is going to spoil or separate. Normal yogurt temps are too high and kill the probiotic.)

The secret to fast, healthy yogurt ingredient assembly leans heavily on getting the initial ingredients right, but temperature can ruin everything.

Also: Make sure you start with sterilized jars. You can run them in the dishwasher if you have a sterilizing setting, add bleach or Star San to a bucket of water or boil them on the stove. I used Star San because I have it for wine making and you don’t need to rinse it off. While I have this out: I soak everything I can find that could use some sterilizing, in order of who (or what) is using it.

First I did the jars, lids and rings

the lid and liner for the instapot

my kids disgusting camping gear

and finally the hummingbird feeders.

Hey, while you have some mixed up… use it! Back to yogurt making:

In my experience, I have realized that inulin will not mix into cold liquid. So I heat about 2 cups, of half and half (in one of the jars) for about 2 minutes in my microwave. It comes out really hot, so be careful.

Next I add two Tbs of inulin, per quart jar or one Tbs per pint. I put it all in the single hot jar of half and half and stir it in. Then I divide the hot, inulin and half and half, evenly into each of the jars.

Once the dissolved inulin is in your containers (I use 3 quarts and a pint jar and it fits perfectly into my 8 quart instapot liner.) I fill the jars (leave some headspace) with the rest of the half and half. A 64 Oz container and a 32 Oz container fill all the jars perfectly.

Next I open a probiotic pill and evenly distribute it among the jars. Why not use whey from an old jar? Well I still believe some probiotics will outcompete others, so I  start from the pills every time.

I also use another probiotic that has great health benefits called Akkermansia.

As a family that has depression peppered through it, it’s important to me to work holistically (and preventatively) to address this genetic disposition.

Each of the probiotics has long lists of health benefits. Some are used as a benefit for mental health. BC30 is one that gets brought up as a strain that will cheer you up, but: gut health in general will help with mood.

The probiotic combo I am using has L. Reuteri and L. Gasseri but as far as I can tell: no BC30 (aka Bacillus coagulans). You can add that separately if you want, although you don’t have to. I also add Akkermansia Muciniphila (which some people attribute to weight loss.) These brands of probiotics mixed together reliably “make” and I normally do not have failures. Each strain is supposed to do something a little different. But I mainly eat fermented food because, as humans: we are built for it. Plus, I am on antibiotics at least once a year. Antibiotics clear these good bacteria out of your system and if you don’t add them back in, they’re just gone.

L Reuteri is special because it is one of a few that will colonize the upper GI tract. Learn more here:

Once your jars are evenly mixed with probiotic, inulin and half and half, put the lids on and add them to your instapot liner. Add water to cover the bottom third of the jars. You can also use a silicone sling in the bottom to keep the jars off of the heating element. Sometimes I do that, sometimes not. (I don’t notice much difference.)

Then close the instapot and set the yogurt to heat for 36 hours. This will mean you have to get these out at a time twelve hours ahead of when you start it. Don’t start this at 3pm or you will need to get these out at 3am. The last twelve hours are supposed to have a huge bloom of these probiotics, so don’t take it out early unless you have to.

Once the yogurt is set, place in your fridge. Because it has probiotics in it, it will keep for quite a while. Since I’m on keto I tend to spoon about a cup of yogurt into a bowl, add Stevia, “cake batter” flavoring (for baking) and a Tbs or two of low carb jam. If you aren’t watching your carbs: granola and honey are divine add ons!

And now for a last thought: I’ve been eating this yogurt daily for a couple of years. Last Christmas we drove to Colorado to see family and my husband and I both got the Norovirus. I was only sick with it for a night and a day. My husband was sick with it for almost a week. Stopping that particular illness, makes me grateful for each extra minute that I am better. I was sold on the yogurt at that point and I don’t get sick nearly as often as I used to. I’ve also lost about ten pounds, and I was completely stuck just with the keto diet. So, I’m super grateful for that, too.

I hope you make yourself some yogurt. I hope you begin to not only find time for yogurt, but for other fermented foods like sourdough bread, kimchi and my new favorite: apple cranberry sourkraut. They each add their own unique probiotics and food is the best way to colonize your gut. Trillions of bacteria in food, versus billions in a pill.

Enjoy your yogurt and your new happy belly!

Crazy Green Thumbs