Is growing your own probiotic yoghurt possible?

yeah, just kidding about the microwave. i was thinking of using the heating pad this time around, but then I wld have to keep opening the containers to test the temperature..Seems kinda clumsy. and now i see the value of your little custard pots anne, cos now I have defrosted this starter, I kinda have to use it up. I'm pretty sure refreezing is out. I guess I could toss the left over starter. Or just save it in the fridge for tomorrow's batch.
I actually like the nutty soy flavour. Kind of digging it.

I had a big crash at one point after taking a capsule of s. boulardii and so am very afraid of it. (This was after I was doing avoidance, not in the moldy house.) The crash could have been from something else, but I've heard a few other negative reports about that supplement and so am inclined to avoid it.

I have a Yogourmet and like it a lot. It gets a little too hot though, and curdles the yogurt, if I use the amount of water in the hot water bath that they recommend. A little less water and it works great.

http://www.amazon.com/Yogourmet-104...5AGO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334928335&sr=8-1

Best, Lisa

Well, I can say that the starter yielded a much firmer texture, so I think soy milk can be cultured to a yoghurt consistency anne. So cool. I am hooked. Tastes great too. Now to figure out what else I can do with it. I've made smoothies....
I did have some separation of liquid and the yoghurt. Was it you anne, that was saying you had found some use for the liquid?

Have you been able to make yogurt with just Bifidus?

what about Align..single strain bifantis???

what do ppl think of that scd guide to culturing yoghurt.. would the saucepan + foil be a good way to go? any concerns about airborne pathogens getting into the culture?

I read quite a lot about culturing bifidus last year. The dairy industry manuals I looked at seemed to come to the conclusion that the best way to increase bifidus in the human gut was to supplement bifidus factors (such as Vitamin B5, and certain prebiotics) rather than the bacteria itself.

I think in a culturing situation for something palatable you need lacto fermentation along with bifidus culture...neither is compromised - they work together...

from http://www.dairyforall.com/bifidusmilk-fermentedprod.php

If I can find any other references I'll edit and link to them later.

Anne.

SCD uses a full spectrum culture which should in itself help prevent bad things growing. With single strains you do need to watch for opportunistic bacteria, as depending on the strain fermentation can take a while to get going and leave a window of opportunity for airborne bad guys. With single cultures you have to be extra careful every step of the way. I use a glass pot w a glass lid that I sterilise first. But the milk still gets air exposure at 100 degrees when I add the culture so I guess in a standard kitchen like mine (not super sterile or anything!) the risk can't be too high?

The bifido thing is interesting. I wonder what the optimal combination would be? bifidus plus any lactobacillus strain..? Would the bifidio get squeezed out by the lacto strain? Would you culture them both at once? or sequentially?

ETA: from yr post above, it looks like u cld do both together?

Anne .. if u have any links on how to increase bifidus .. i'd like to see them.. my mom has zero bifidus on her tests.

Ann, thanks for your advice.

Hi Ag:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...us-is-the-best&p=190826&viewfull=1#post190826
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...made-me-better&p=193369&viewfull=1#post193369

Hi, I tried culturing some culturelle (L. rhamnosus according to anne) in goat milk. Not so impressive results.
I don't know if its because goats milk is not the best medium OR because the first culture from a probiotic never gives a very robust texture/culture.

Anyone else out there w/experience of culturing with goats milk?

ETA: I read that this is to be expected with goats milk yoghurt.. It's thin like kefir.

I have been culturing an 18-strain probiotic in goats' milk, in the yogurt maker. The result is pretty thin, more like buttermilk. (I'm not skimming off the whey though, just mixing it in.) I don't have a problem with that. It seems to have tons of probiotics in it anyway.

Did the Culturelle seem to turn into yogurt? Hopefully the probiotics were viable.

Best, Lisa

Sorry just noticed this..
I can send you links to studies later, but the notes I took say raw Swiss cheese (containing the bacteria Propionibacterium freudenreichii) increases Bifidus in the gut, also carrot, ginseng, riboflavin (heheh), B3 and B5 have been shown to be bifidogenic. Inulin and other commercially available prebiotics favour Bifidus growth too.
Will edit after I've found the links to studies again. (Lost them on my old Laptop.)

yeah the culturelle worked fine in soy milk my first couple of tries.. the last attempt not so much. not sure what went wrong.

i am wondering what you are getting when you culture a multi strain probiotic like that. all the conventional wisdom says not to. i have some VSL in the fridge...but i read that its not worth trying to culture.

i was very disappointed in the results i got with goats milk.

I need to help figuring out what strain to use. What is the best? Should I be rotating between a few different ones? I'm clueless about this. I can't wait to eat my first batch. I am in the US where it's hard or impossible to get Mutaflor. I have probiotic capsules that contain 15 strains. Can all starters be frozen for storage? I would like one to last at least 6 weeks so I'm not running out all the time.

I read to thicken up the goat's milk yogurt, you can strain off some of the liquid or add powdered milk (2/3 cup per quart goat's milk). Places say add gelatin but I read that doesn't work well. I read chia gel (soaked chia seeds) works so I will try that if I am using goat's milk. I hope to start with raw cow's milk instead of goat's milk. I like a thicker yogurt.

I've been using VSL for my yoghurt. It gives me a very nice yoghurt, but it's more like panna cotta than yoghurt in texture, very thick and creamy. I think the milk quality is also a factor as is temperature. Different strains have different optimal temperature bands.

xrunner what kind of milk do you use with the VSL, I've had some good results with soy milk and Culturelle, but the results definitely vary. Also do you use a yoghurt maker?

I use raw milk, either buffalo or cow. For this yogurt I use Easyjo but with my own glass jar. I don't boil the milk, I just warm it up to around 39C, add the cultures and then straight into the maker.