First I acquired the raw materials. At the RT-Mart I got what I thought was plain milk as it just said “High quality milk” on the side. I also thought I saw 3.5% written on the carton but it may have been 35% (oops – yum!). I studied the yogurts fanatically and settled on one that didn’t seem to have any thickeners in it. There were a lot to choose from (these are about half of the yogurts that were out on display) and a few said plain but had artificial sweeteners added. I chose one with a bit of regular sugar added and no thickener (it’s the one with the girl’s picture on the front).

Back home I put the milk (heavy cream) in a pot and heated it up until little bubbles started to form. I didn’t have a thermometer, but you can boil cow’s milk without harming your yogurt so I let it come to at least a simmer.

I then set it aside and let it cool until the pot felt about lukewarm to the touch. Now this was the first time I ever tried setting it in a larger bowl with cold water to cool it faster. Wow did that ever work! It only took about 5-10 minutes when normally it would take an hour. I will be doing this at home now, rather than having to wait an hour to mix in the starter. I tried it once at home and just set it in the sink with cold water since I didn’t have a big wide pot to set it in. Anyways, once the milk had cooled, I mixed in one 6oz yogurt pack. Then came the tricky part, I didn’t have a heating pad, oven, slow-cooker(the only one was busy making my soup), ‘warm area’, or yogurt maker. So I put some hot boiling water in the larger bowl the pot was sitting in. I set the pot of milk in that. I changed the water adding fresh hot boiling water about every 6 hours.

After 24 hours it was definitely set, and that’s when I realized it was probably 35% heavy cream. It was SO thick. I tasted it and it wasn’t nearly as tangy as I’ve made it in the past so I left it overnight again. The next morning it was perfect.

It was so good and I absolutely coated it in honey (why not? I’m on vacation) hoping to gain back a bit of weight lost from the sickness. I tried not to eat it too fast since I only made 1 liter and managed to keep a cup of it for the last few days of traveling in Beijing. I’m very glad I attempted to make yogurt even though I had nothing with me. It can be done!

Yogurt is one of my favorite parts of the SCDiet. So creamy and rich. If you have some already made, it’s a very quick snack. Making the SCD yogurt becomes a ritual repeated every few days. It’s easy to eat 2 cups per day of this wonderful food, which means you end up making more every 2-3 days. I decided to include here some tips and advice on making yogurt.

How to make SCD yogurt
Over at Pecanbread there is a great step-by-step tutorial with pictures included on how to make goat milk yogurt using the Progurt starter.

Over at Breaking the Vicious Cycle there is a step-by-step tutorial on making yogurt with a heating pad.

Here is what I do (click on images for larger size):

1. Pour 2 liters of whole milk into a large pot on the stove. Insert a food thermometer (or candy thermometer) and cover pot.

2. Heat milk to 180F over medium heat and stir at the end to ensure the milk is heated evenly.

3. Set the pot aside uncovered and let the milk cool to 100F. You can cover with a clean cloth or paper towels if you wish but I find it unnecessary.

4. When milk has cooled to 100F, skim off the top layer of cream scum and discard. I used to mix this in, but noticed I had more cases of spoiled yogurt. I think it’s safer to discard.

5. Put your starter in a bowl.

6. Spoon a bit of milk into the bowl and mix.

7. Add more milk to the bowl and mix.

8. Add the starter + milk mix back into the large pot of milk and mix thoroughly.

9. Pour milk + starter into jars using a ladle.

10. Place sealed jars in a yogurt maker. Leave for 24 hours.

Note: You want the yogurt to be between 105-115 during the entire 24 hour period. Some yogurt makers heat too much, so be sure the first few times you are making it to check on the yogurt with a thermometer. Check after 3 hours then again another 8 hours later. If it is getting too hot, you can buy a dimmer switch (Walmart, Canadian Tire, anywhere that sells light switches) and reduce the power to the yogurt maker. Play around with it until you get the perfect setting.

Equipment I use to make SCD yogurt
I used to use a Yogourmet yogurt maker which holds up to 2 liters. You pour some water into the outer container, place your milk + starter in the inner container, put the lids on and plug it in. I highly recommend getting the glass jug insert for this yogurt maker instead of using the plastic one. I could never find the glass insert so I ended up buying a different yogurt maker altogether.

I now use the Yolife Yogurt Maker that I bought online. It’s a fair price compared to the Yogourmet and comes with individual jars that only hold about 1.5 quarts. The Yolife comes with two plastic dome covers, one for use with the Yolife jars, and a taller one so you can use your own jars. I end up using my own 1 litre glass jars in this to make 2-3 liters at a time. You might need a dimmer switch with this one as it tends to heat up more than the Yogourmet did for me.

I don’t recommend 1 liter yogurt makers simply because they will not make enough in one batch. It may be fine to start out with but you will quickly ‘out grow’ it and want something larger. I have used a very old Braun 1 liter yogurt maker from my grandparents (my mom is now using that) and it works well but just isn’t big enough.

The Excalibur dehydrator is another great option for making big batches of yogurt (and other delicious snacks like dried fruit, beef jerky etc). If I’m making a big batch (more than 3 liters) I will use my 9-tray dehydrator with the bottom 7 racks removed. I use the 2 top racks for dehydrating food at the same time. I put three 1 liter jars with my milk + yogurt starter on the bottom of the dehydrator. I set the dehydrator to just under 105F which keeps the yogurt at a perfect 108F. This method kept my yogurt at the most consistent temperature compared to the two yogurt makers I have used. You could easily fit four 1 liter mason jars in there to make a gallon at a time.

Other things you’ll need are a thermometer (co
mes with Yogourmet package), a big pot to heat the milk on the stove, and a 24-hour timer is great.

Yogurt Starter
For starter I use Yogourmet Freeze-Dried Yogurt Starter which comes in little packets separated into 1/2 batches so you can make 1 or 2 liters at a time.

Milk
I used whole (3.25%) goat’s milk for a long time. This turns out runnier than whole cow’s milk, however I do believe that goat’s milk is healthier and easier to digest. If you can find a good quality organic goat milk that is not extra-homogenized then it might be better than organic cows milk. What I found is that the goat milk I was using was actually more processed than a different brand of organic cow milk so I switched back to cow. If you’ve ever had problems with the SCD yogurt using cow’s milk, give goat’s milk a try.

I always suggest using whole milk instead of skim or 2% for the taste and health benefits of the fat. I highly recommend organic non-homogenized and raw if possible. Non-homogenized (and raw) milk will make a creamier, thicker, and tastier yogurt. The least processed milk, the best.

Dripping yogurt
I can’t believe no one has come up with some sort of contraption to drip yogurt easily, with an easy clean-up. There are a few options when dripping yogurt, but it’s like choosing the least worst of them!

Currently the best method I have found is using large coffee filters from a kitchen store (in the commercial section, these are large coffee filters that coffee shops use). Regular sized coffee filters only fit about 2 cups maximum of yogurt. A large one will fit at least 4 cups. Place the large coffee filter in a strainer and set over a bowl. Dump the yogurt in the filter and leave it. If you want it very thick, leave it 8 hours or more. If you’re using cow’s milk, a couple hours should be sufficient. When I make 2 liters of yogurt, I can drip it all at once using 2 coffee filters and strainers. Getting the yogurt out of the filter is pretty easy. If it’s thick enough you can simply scrape it off the filter. If it’s not thick, you can scoop most of it out with a spoon and then scrape down the sides. Clean-up is minimal. I remove the coffee filters and lightly wash the strainers and bowls.

There’s also a yogurt cheese maker by Donvier which will make very thick yogurt. However, it is quite small and you’ll have to drip it in many batches. I have never used one so I’m not sure how you get the yogurt out of it when it’s dripped and what clean-up would be like.

The Yogourmet maker comes with a nut milk bag for dripping the yogurt. This worked very well and dripped it until thick (plus you can speed up the process by squeezing the bag every now and then) but getting the yogurt out of the bag is quite messy. Also, I wasn’t convinced the bag would last long, as cleaning it thoroughly seemed to wear down the fabric and it just felt grungy.

There’s also cheesecloth available at most grocery stores. You can line a strainer with that instead of coffee filters. Make sure to use many many layers of cheesecloth or the yogurt will run through. You can also use a clean cotton cloth. If I used cloth I would replace it every now and then to make sure you’re using a clean one.

When dripping goat yogurt, expect to get a lot of liquid out. For 1 liter of goat yogurt, I would get 2 cups of whey liquid and 2 cups of thick yogurt after leaving it drip overnight (in the fridge). You can leave it dripping for less time and have a slightly less thick yogurt.

Fow whole cow’s milk yogurt, I usually don’t bother dripping unless I’m making my Tzatziki sauce. Then I will drip about 2 1/2 cups of yogurt down to 2 thick cups of yogurt.

Flavours to add to the Yogurt
Honey! This is your first friend. Homemade yogurt is quite tart. Honey will sweeten it and cut the tartness. This is one reason why I like to drip my yogurt. When you add honey and mix it up, it will get slightly more liquid. Starting with a thick yogurt is best.

Berries are an obvious choice since that’s what we’re used to from commercial yogurts. However, on the early stages of the SCDiet you may not be able to tolerate having raw fruit. One way around this is to add a small amount of 100% fruit juices. I drip my yogurt until very very thick and then add honey and a tablespoon of fruit juice. This will add tons of flavour and give the texture of yogurt. Knudsen’s Just Juice line is great and Welch’s Grape Juice is quite sweet. Juicing your own fruit is an option as well.

Banana and avocado are good options early on in the diet if you’re going to add whole raw fruit. You can do a smoothie using these fruits, dripped yogurt and a bit of honey.

More advanced SCDers can try some dried fruit. Place dried fruit in the yogurt at night. In the morning, the dried fruit will have absorbed some of the liquid and become plumped up. I have tried this with dried blueberries and raisins. It was delicious!

Some people add vanilla or cinnamon to their yogurt as well to add more flavour. I’m a bit lazy and haven’t tried this yet, but maybe someday soon I will. Make sure you’re using SCD legal vanilla.

My SCD Truffles Recipe made with dates instead of honey is a good unbaked crumble to have on top of yogurt, pictured here with some blueberries.

More tips
When using goat milk, be patient and heat it slowly. A few times I have rushed the heating process (putting the stove element on max) and ended up heating the milk too high (above 185F). This makes the goat milk separate and you end up with the texture of sand in water. It’s very gross, so be patient with the first step of yogurt making.

Make more yogurt than you think you will need. Yogurt keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge with all the good probiotics, 3 weeks without as much probiotic effect. Chances are once you are eating 1 or more cups per day you will be going through yogurt quickly. Just
make a lot and get on a schedule of picking up milk and yogurt starter.

Keep (or buy) glass jars of various sizes. 1 liter jars are great for keeping the yogurt. 1 or 2 cup jars are great for transporting yogurt to work. I bought nut butter in 1 and 2 cup glass jars for a while and kept all the jars.

If you want to freeze the yogurt, it will lose some of it’s probiotic effect, but is not completely wasted. All I can suggest here though, is to freeze dripped yogurt, not liquidy yogurt. I froze my yogurt when liquid and it turned out even more watery and separated into yogurt specks suspended in water. I think dripped yogurt would hold together better when thawing out.

So I ordered a yogurt maker about a week ago and I recieved it and made some yogurt. I’m starting with goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk for now. I hope the goat’s milk goes well or else I’ll have to do almond milk.

So it’s a pretty simple process. I buy a liter or two of goat’s milk from the store and yogurt starter which is just a bunch of fermenting bacteria powder in a little packet. I heated up the goat’s milk on the stove to 180F to kill any bacteria in the milk (which could compete with the fermenting bacteria and mess things up). Then I let it cool to room temperature. Then I add the yogurt starter and mix it thoroughly. I plug in the yogurt maker and dump all the milk + starter into it and leave it. 24 hours later I take it out and put it in the fridge (after sneaking a peek to see if it looked good – and it did!). 8 hours in the fridge and I took it out, stirred it up and did a little taste test…

It was good!

It was a bit tart because there was no added sugar or flavoring, but good. It was much thicker and creamier than I had expected which is nice. I will be adding honey, vanilla and berries for flavor soon. For now, I’m not going to bother since I’m starting with such a small amount of it anyways. My first dose was 1/8 tsp. I’ll be doubling that each day or so as long as I feel good with it. I’m hoping after a month or so to be up to 1 cup. Just gotta stay patient and not start it too fast. Reason I have to start slow is because there is so many probiotics in it (about 700 billion per cup) that it could upset my stomach if I consume too much without being used to it. Once I do work up to a large dose though, it should be very beneficial to my health. Definitely a medicine through food type of idea.

I have been dairy-free for a long time now. And when I mean dairy-free I mean strict-no-dairy-whatsoever. I haven’t had any packaged food with any milk products on the label, no cheese, no butter, no cream cheese, no milk chocolate, no ice cream, and certainly no milk. I have tried many ‘milk alternatives’ like soy milk, almond milk, rice cheese etc but they all weren’t that great. Almond milk is great if you want something to drink, but I don’t really use it very often.

One big part of the SCD is to have homemade yogurt. I have to say I think I’m looking forward to this diet mostly because of this part. I really hope I do well with it. Basically homemade yogurt is very different from commercial yogurts. The yogurt you buy in the store has probably been fermented about 4-6 hours, had sugar and other stuff added to it, and is basically flavoured milk with a bit of ‘probiotics’ in it. Some actually don’t have any good bacteria because the company chooses to heat the product to pasteurize it right before sending it off to sell. Heat kills bacteria (good and bad).

Homemade SCD yogurt is made with milk and yogurt starter. It is fermented for 24+ hours. This changes the composition of the milk quite a lot. Sugars and proteins transform in the process and the food as a whole can be a lot easier to digest. Any type of milk can be used, whole milk, skim milk, cow’s milk, and even almond milk. At this point I’m debating whether to start with almond milk yogurt (since I already tolerate almond milk) or to try goat’s milk yogurt. I probably won’t bother with cow’s milk just yet since I have had so many problems with cows milk in the past.

So I went ahead and ordered a yogurt maker from my local health food store. I really hope to at least enjoy the almond yogurt. I’m in desperate need of a new, yummy and portable snack! (Plus something else to add delicious berries to..)