So I’ve been making my rich yoghurt with my Yogourmet for 3-1/2 years. It always seemed to turn out fine. It gets thick, tastes tart and I seemed to tolerate it. Appearances aside, something was very wrong.
After following the Pecanbread and BTVC-SCD groups on Yahoo I come to find out that many people have problems with their Yogourmets getting too hot. A quick check of the BTVC book will tell you that the allowable temperature range for culturing yoghurt is from 100 to 110 degrees F (38-43 degrees C). It it gets too hot, the temperature begins to kill the bacteria that is digesting the lactose in the milk. If this happens you wind up with yoghurt that has sugars you are trying to avoid and lacking the probiotics you are trying to seed in your gut.
I thought I’d investigate my Yogoumet and as it turns out, I’ve been cooking my yoghurt too hot all this time. Rats! I did a test using water in place of my usual half and half. Even after just 7 hours, the temperature of the water was above the allowable range at 116 degrees F. I tried removing the lid of the maker, leaving the jar’s lid in place to see if that would make the difference I needed. Even after more than 12 hours of topless heating, the temp of the test water decreased only two degrees. “Holy insufficient cooling, Batman!”
Luckily, there is an easy solution – a plug in dimmer switch. What’s that you ask? It’s a simple little device you can purchase at your local hardware store for $10 – 20 USD (see image at left). It’s designed to take an ordinary lamp and make it dimmable. You simply plug your Yogourmet into the dimmer switch and the dimmer switch into a regular electrical outlet. The trick is to figure out how much to “dim” your yoghurt and when to do it to obtain and maintain the right temperature.
In my experiments I let the yoghurt culture at full power (dimmer on full) for six hours at which point my yoghurt was 104 degrees F – perfectly in the acceptable range. Then I turned down the dimmer switch to about halfway. This maintained the temperature at about 105 degrees for the rest of the processing. Woohoo!
Your dimming experience may differ due to the type of dimmer you have and the ambient temperature of the room. Mine was in a kitchen with an average temperature of about 77 degrees F. You’ll have to experiment to calibrate your dimmer switch. The good news is that once you’ve done that, you shouldn’t have to do it again.
Notes:
Once you’ve figured out the timing and setting of your dimmer switch, I’d recommend marking your switch at the dimmed position so you don’t have to figure it out each time.
I start counting my processing time when the yoghurt temperature reaches the acceptable range.
Wait a minute. The Yogourmet is the simplest thing, does nothing but heat water to a specific temperature. And it can’t do that right?! Now you have me worried about mine. And royally pissed at the Yogourmet engineering boobs.
I am thankful for this info as I had sropped using my maker and opted for the dehydrator. It seemed such a waste though. Now I will get a dimmer and try this so I have the option of both appliances again. Thank you Paul!
Janice,
You betcha.
-Paul
No, the Yogourmet does NOT heat to a specific temperature. It does not have a thermostat. It has a heater that simply turns on and stays on. The temperature to which it heats is random.
Kevin,
My understanding is that the Yogourment was not engineered specifically for the needs of SCD yoghurt – namely long processing of 24 plus hours. As a tool for making regular yoghurt like the kind found in your grocery store, the Yogourmet is an excellent tool without any modifications.
-Paul
Paul,
Thank you so much for this information. I have been making yogurt ever since starting on the SCD about 7 years ago and it never occurred to me to test the temperature! I plan to do so with the next batch! I love your blog. Keep the ideas coming!
Shannon,
You’re welcome and thank you.
-Paul
Hi Paul,
Paul,
Thanks for this info. Bridget (8 yr old) has been having some little problems lately. The last few batches of yogurt have actually had a bit of a burnt taste. I’m sure we were making it too hot. I hope this is the answer for her!!
Did you mention this at the online group? If you did I must have missed it.
I can’t wait to try the sausage recipe.
By the way, thanks for your advice months back about ‘never allowing Bridget to cheat.’ You were right. We have had a few unintentional mistakes and “we all knew it” as you predicted. Ha!
She’s doing very well over all. Still no meds or major flares.
Donna
Donna,
I found out about the Yogourmet possibly being too hot on the online groups and so made this post. Afterwards, I think I may have mentioned this post on one of the groups, but couldn’t swear to it.
My six year old loves the sausage – she’s a spicy gal.
The good thing about making mistakes with the diet is they tend to reinforce how it is working for you.
I’m very glad to hear Bridget is doing so well. Awesome!
-Paul
Hi Paul,
I never thought there would be an issue with making the yogurt, but my question is how did you figure out your maker was too hot? It may seem obvious, but did you just leave the thermometer in the water without a batch of yogurt in, or with it in?
Thanks,
Susie
Susie,
I put water into the container instead of milk and measured the temp every hour of both the water inside the container and the water around the container. I left the yoghurt maker closed, only opening it to test the temp every hour. I did not leave the temperature probe in the maker at any time.
-Paul
Wow, your blog is so completely awesome…!
Atieno,
You are too kind…
-Paul
Paul
Time to tackle yogurt
I skipped the intro days too
Having a flare so going deeper into SCD
(Poss culprits-interested what you think did it- Berry seeds, cider not cloudy enough, coconut milk, chik-fil-a not washed enough (they did special prep pre-cooking), soda water, restaurant lamb ingredients not disclosed, didn’t check if hot sauce was orig mcilhenny, red vinegar cldv been from rice…?I do eat peanut butter and yellow bananas) So, to make yogurt, dannon can be starter? Yogourmet mix doesn’t have illegal bifid? All dimmer work? Three way dimmer wld work?
Atieno,
I agree that what you listed as possible culprits could indeed be giving you a hard time. You may want to avoid them for a while.
I tried eating at restaurants in the early SCD years, but gave up on them – I don’t think they quite understand what we need, no matter how well we explain it. I especially would not trust a chain restaurant like a chick-fil-a. If I you must use a restaurant, I encourage you to use one that is locally owned.
You may also want to avoid peanut butter during a flare. I understand that many people’s early problems with the SCD can be traced to peanut butter. If you need a nut butter, try pecan butter. It’s supposedly easier on the gut.
Regarding Dannon as a starter – you must you the plain variety – the only ingredients listed are milk and culture. I have been using it for years and had good results. I find it easier than ordering the freeze dried starter.
The yogourmet freeze dried mix is legal also.
Regarding dimmer switches – A three way may work if one of those settings held the temperature at the right level. An infinite switch, the kind that slides without clicking would work for sure as you can make fine adjustments to get it just right.
-Paul
Ps black tea and coffee- both weak- likely don’t help?
Atieno,
I suspect any caffeine will only encourage D or irritate an already irritated gut.
-Paul
Thank you so much for getting the word out about the problems with the Yogourmet device — ironically, the most often recommended yogurt maker for SCDers!
This helped to explain so many of my problems on the diet, which seemed to all begin after first trying to make the yogurt about three months into SCD.
I quit the yogurt a while ago, then switched to GI Pro Health probiotic capsules. Now, it looks like the diet is finally working again after 2+ years of setbacks.
Thanks again for bringing these issues to light.
IW,
You’re welcome. I’m glad you found this info. There are so many things to keep in mind when doing the SCD, it’s hard to get it all right.
-Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks for mentioning the issue with the temp as I continue to have problems when eating the SCD yogurt made in my Yogourmet. I’ll get a dimmer as well and test for the right temp. Well, with UC, you certainly learn how to pay attention to detail, right?
Sue
Sue,
You’re welcome and yes, the SCD certainly has changed my awareness!
-Paul
I’ve just checked the european moulinex youghurt maker. It’s well above 42 degrees celcius, which is the maximum i can read i my thermometer. I will get the dimmer tomorrow. For now, I switched it off and I will wait for some hours. Hopefully it will cool down a little bit and the good bacteria will have a good opportunity to eat all the lactose.
Hi Paul,
Now that I’m doing my temperature experiments with my Yogourment, I have realized that you also have to watch the temperature inbetween the yogurt container and the outside walls. Usually, I used regular fountain water, not paying too much attention to that because I was focused on getting the temp for the milk right. Today, as I’m doing my testing, I realized that I have been using cold water… what happens? When I tested the water in the inner container at the beginning is was 105 degrees Fahrenheit, then I added my water between the container and the outer walls of the Yogourment. After 30 minutes I realized what I had done, so I opened everything and started measuring. Results: Inner container 95 degrees and outer water 87 degrees. So, make sure that the water you use between the inner container and the outside wall is around 105 degrees as well.
Sue
Sue,
I suspect that the main effect of the starting temperature of your water jacket will show in the length of time it takes for your yoghurt to reach the 100 – 110 F temperature range. Colder jacket water would take longer and warmer jacket water would take less time. How much time, I don’t know.
I think the key would be to not use really cold water one time and really hot water the next. Although I have to admit to thinking that if you are using simple tap water, the time difference should be minimal.
-Paul
Is there a better yogurt maker on the market without this issue?
Jason,
I only have experience with the 2 quart Yogourmet Multi so I can’t comment on other yoghurt machines. I suspect that with the special needs of SCD yoghurt there are issues with other makers as well.
However, I do know that many people are happy using their Excalibur dehydrators for yoghurt making. For more info on that, search the BTVC-SCD group on Yahoo.
-Paul
Wow, thanks for blogging about this. My first batch of SCD yogurt gave me amazing results and I was basically able to eat anything I wanted so long as I had at least a half a cup a day. All of my subsequent batches gave me problems though and after reading around, I came across your site and checked the temperature which reached 122F! I purchased a dimmer and the first batch should be ready by tomorrow morning. Temp was about 105.5 the entire time, so fingers crossed I didn’t mess something else up this time hah.
Will,
Yeah for the internet! How did people do the SCD before it was this easy to find info?
-Paul
I would imagine very few of us would know about the SCD were it not for the internet too, let alone learn how to do it properly
.
One trick I also picked up on was to just cool the milk to 110 and then use tap water at about 100-110 so that you don’t have to worry about changing your dimmer setting. I can set mine to a little less than 3/4 and it maintains 105.5F the entire time; I’m going to push it a little higher though as I’m thinking a higher temp (not above 110 though) would be more conducive to bacterial growth.
Had some of the first batch this morning; looks & tastes like it is supposed to and it’s thick & creamy (good signs). Looks like a success, thanks again
.
Will,
Glad I could help and thanks for your trick.
-Paul
Could you put a dimmer on a crockpot? If so, would this work to make yogurt?
Theresa,
Sure, I don’t see why you couldn’t use a dimmer on a crockpot.
I believe that people use crock-pots to make yoghurt, but I’ve never tried it myself.
If you don’t want to risk failed yoghurt, try your crockpot / dimmer combo with water and monitor the temperature throughout a cycle.
Cheers,
Paul
I am just getting started and feel overwhelmed about the yougurt making. Do I understand that I can just take some tablets and forget this whole thing? GI Pro Health probiotic capsules? Do you eliminate consuming milk products still, or take it with milk?
Lynda,
First of all, take a deep breath and try to relax. Doing the SCD is a learning process and making mistakes is part of that. The benefit of these mistakes is that you can really appreciate the effect of the diet.
It’s not optimal to substitute probiotic pills for the yoghurt and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you cannot tolerate any form of dairy. For an explanation of why, see this page on Pecanbread.com: http://www.pecanbread.com/new/probiotics1.html.
Cheers,
Paul
Hi Paul,
I just used my NEW Yogourmet for the very first time to make my very first batch of SCD yogurt. I have not tasted it yet — its still cooling.
However, I’m really glad I discovered your blog right now, because I did notice while my yogurt was cooking that the temp. in the outer water bath was 113 degrees. So now I wonder if my very first batch of yogurt will make me sick. Bummer! I was SO looking forward to eating it tonight!
My NEW Yogourmet came with a warning note, printed on yellow slip of paper inserted in the container. It said that in order to insure the UNIT operates at proper temps, the ROOM TEMP must be between 68 and 72 degrees. To insure this, I kept the air conditioning on at 72 degrees, for the entire 24 hrs, while I was cooking the yogurt. (I live where it gets to 90 or 100 degrees in summer) Apparently, this was not cool enough to keep the machine in the correct temp range for yogurt making.
I think the next time I try making yogurt, I’ll use your dimmer idea, although it gets tricky when I have to consider the entire house temperature in my calculations.
Thanks for your blog and your creative solutions!
Kathy,
When I was doing my tests I generally found that the waterbath was a little warmer than the yoghurt itself. I bet your batch was okay.
Comparing the cost of keeping a house in a hot climate at 72 degrees to the cost of a dimmer, I think you would quickly pay for the cost of the dimmer.
It shouldn’t take too many tests to figure out where that setting on your dimmer is. Do it with water.
-Paul
We found the same problem to be true with our Yogourmet machine- it went up to above 120 degrees! Just a note of warning: we tried a different dimmer than described and it did nothing to lower the temp even at the lowest setting. Just got the recommended one and it works fantastic!!
Christine,
Glad to hear it.
-Paul
This is not a workable solution if your room temperature fluctuates a lot. This can be caused my changing seasons, using the oven, etc, etc. I am considering rigging up my yogurt making with a thermostat, like the one here http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?SKU=5570152&MPN=CAP-75-140#tab=Overview
This is basically the same idea as using a dimmer, except the thermostat automatically handles everything! The downside to this is it probably requires opening up the yogurt maker and doing some soldering, and drilling a hole in the top of the inner yogurt container to stick the probe in. Also keeping a copper probe submerged in the yogurt for 24 hours might cause some issues (oxidation maybe?).
I might give this a try, and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Anonymous,
Have you actually had this problem or are you speculating? What kind of fluctuations are you experiencing?
-Paul
The other thing to consider is the reliability of one’s thermometer. I just checked the water in both the Salton and the Yogourmet after two hours, using two different digital thermometers. Bizarrely, the range of difference in temperatures is greater in the Yogourmet. That is, in the Salton, the thermometers (applied at the same time) said 101 and 103. In the Yogormet, the same thermometers (also applied at the same time) said 102 and 106. Perhaps they have to be in the exact same spot?! Just to complicate things further, I added two more thermometers…And got two additional different readings. Luckily, they are all in the safe range. But it does give one pause.
Jane,
I’ve had the same experience. I used to assume that a decent thermometer would give me an accurate reading, but it seems that it’s more akin to an opinion than a solid number. I used to take an average of a couple of thermometers until I decided that one would be the one I trusted.
-Paul
Paul,
Do you feel a difference after you added a dimmer switch?
Were there any changes for you good or bad?
Thanks!
Jodi
Jodi,
I can’t say that I did notice any difference – my body didn’t speak loudly enough for me to tell.
-Paul