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Yogurt is both delicious and healthy. Yogurt is a great source of calcium, protein, and B vitamins. It’s also full of good bacteria our stomach needs to function properly.
Unfortunately, most store-bought yogurt is not allowed for on the SCD diet (Specific Carbohydrate Diet). We certainly want to adhere to our dietary requirements, but we shouldn’t deprive ourselves of the many benefits that yogurt provides.
What is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet?
The specific carbohydrate diet is a fairly restrictive diet that people with various gastrointestinal disease can follow to help food intolerances and discomfort caused by various foods. In the SCD, most carbohydrates such as grains, sugars, and dairy are eliminated.
Although yogurt contains dairy, a 24-hour fermentation process removes the lactose and can allow those following the SCD diet to enjoy it. It’s also healthy, as many people lack the beneficial bacteria in their gut. Homemade yogurt is a great way to add probiotics back to the diet.
This article is for information only. Please consult a doctor or other medical professional for advice for your specific health condition.
Learn more about the specific carbohydrate diet.
Finding the Right Yogurt Maker for SCD
Overall, our top pick is the Luvele Pure Yogurt Maker. It’s one of the rare yogurt makers with a 24 hour timer, which is key to making SCD legal yogurt.
Read on for all the details.
When purchasing a yogurt maker, you may wonder which ones would be best for SCD. The truth is that many yogurt makers work well for SCD. The key point to be aware of is that SCD yogurt usually takes much longer to ferment than regular yogurt. When making your own SCD homemade yogurt, it typically has to be fermented for 24 hours to make it legal for the diet.
Not all machines have 24-hour timers. Yogurt makers with shorter timers will be less convenient, although they still could be used.
Yogurt makers that are not designed to run for 24 hours should be monitored closely for overheating during operation.
Best Electric Yogurt Makers for SCD
Prices and/or availability last updated on 2023-06-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Luvele Pure Yogurt Maker
The Luvele Pure Yogurt Maker is one of the few yogurt makers on the market specifically designed for making SCD legal yogurt.
It has a 24 hour digital timer with automatic shut off, which allows for the proper fermentation time for SCD yogurt. Most other models on the market have shorter timers and may not be designed for extended operation.
The temperature control is very good. It uses a water bath to evenly heat the containers, and the thermostat has 3 temperature settings: 36, 38 and 40 °C (96.8 – 104 °F)
The Luvele comes with 4 x 400 ml (13 oz) jars. If you prefer smaller jars, a No products found. on Amazon.
Check Price of the Luvele Pure Yogurt Maker on Amazon.
Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker
If you want the yogurt making process to be as simple and fast as possible, then this is the yogurt maker for you! The Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker takes all the hard work out of yogurt making for you. Perfect for beginners, the Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker also eliminates the guesswork out of the yogurt making process.
The CYM-100 comes with a built-in cooling system and timer. Once your yogurt is fully fermented, it will begin cooling the yogurt for you, so you don’t have to babysit it. You can go to work and come home to ready-to-eat yogurt. You can’t mess up!
The 50-ounce container allows you to make a ton of yogurt at one time. It’s one-push button design and adjustable time controls make for smooth operating. This yogurt maker has a new model, Cuisinart Yogurt Maker 1.5L, that is a bit more expensive, but doesn’t do much more than this one does.
Check price and reviews on Amazon.
Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker
Making your own homemade yogurt has never been easier! The Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker takes the work out of the yogurt-making process. Just choose your milk, cultures, and flavorings to get started. You’ll be able to make either one or two liters of yogurt per batch.
The inner container has a seal-tight lid and that’s dishwasher safe. The Yogourmet Electric Yogurt maker uses a water bath system to create even heating around the inner container, which makes for perfect yogurt making.
The Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker is a popular yogurt maker for those on the SCD Diet. It has several nice features that make it attractive. It comes with an easy-to-use instruction manual for proper use, and it even comes with a thermometer so you can make sure your temperature is always just right.
The yogurt container is dishwasher friendly and easy to clean.
Check price and reviews on Amazon.
Euro Cuisine YMX650 Automatic Digital Yogurt Maker
The Euro Cuisine YMX650 Automatic Digital Yogurt Maker is simple to operate. All of this yogurt maker’s functions are handled via two buttons. It comes with 7 individual glass jars that allow for perfect portioning. You can conveniently enjoy one serving of yogurt every morning for one week.
The plastic lid neatly stores the lids for the 7 jars. The jar lids have a nifty date dial that allows you to ensure quality and freshness. Simply twist the top of the lids to expose the date you want to display. Your yogurt will stay fresh for 10 days.
The downsides
The timer on the Euro Cuisine is only 15 hours, so it is not ideal for making SCD yogurt. It comes with 15 hour LED timer display that beeps when the yogurt is done. The Euro Cuisine YMX650 shuts off automatically. This makes it a little less convenient to use. You will have to restart it about halfway through the fermentation process.
Check price and reviews on Amazon.
Gourmia GYM1710 Yogurt Maker
The Gourmia GYM1710 Yogurt Maker is economical and easy-to-use. Its design is a little different than some of the others in that it uses individual jars, rather than a single container. With the 12 jars that come with this yogurt maker, you’ll be able to experiment with a variety of flavors, textures, and colors in every batch. This is perfect for families who may have different preferences. The individual servings are convenient for storage.
It has a charming stainless steel design is sleek and compact. It even comes with a free recipe book upon purchase. It’s super easy to use. Just push a button and you’re all set.
Similar to the Euro Cuisine, the timer is only 15 hours. So, for this reason, it is less appropriate for SCD yogurt, although the individual jar design may appeal to some people.
Check price and reviews on Amazon
Benefits of yogurt for the SCD diet
Many people on SCD mistakenly believe that they can replace the good bacteria found in yogurt with probiotics. The fact of the matter is that most probiotics do not duplicate the number of beneficial bacteria found in just one cup of yogurt.
The only way people on SCD can get the wholesome benefits yogurt provides is by making their own 24 hour yogurt at home. Making yogurt at home allows you to ferment the milk for up to 24 hours, which eliminates the lactose in the milk. It also allows you to control the ingredients, thickness, fat content, and sweetness of our yogurt.
Besides, the process of making yogurt is fun and exciting. You will enjoy the process. Furthermore, it’s a simple and straightforward process. You don’t have to be a great cook to make your own delicious and nutritious yogurt.
How to Make Homemade SCD Yogurt
Now that you’ve picked out a yogurt maker, it’s time to make some homemade SCD yogurt.
Try adding some seasonal fruit and spices to flavor up your yogurt. You can use almond milk, soy milk, goats milk, or whatever milk you prefer, based on your dietary restrictions and preferences.
Prepare the milk in a pan over medium heat
Start by placing the proper measurement of milk for your yogurt maker into a pan over medium heat. Do your research to know if your milk is SCD legal. If you are particularly sensitive to cow’s milk, many people try goat’s milk as an alternative.
Bring the milk to a simmer – approximately 180°F
As soon as your milk starts bubbling remove the pan from the heat. When the milk settles down place your thermometer in the middle of the milk. The temperature you’re looking for is 180°F.
Cool the milk to below 110°F
Let your milk begin cooling. Be sure to cover the milk to prevent contamination while it cools.
Strain the milk if desired
For smoother yogurt, remove the skin on the top with a spoon or strain it.
Add yogurt starter
Pour half of the cooled milk and starter yogurt into your yogurt maker and mix until the starter is dissolved. Typically, you should use two tablespoons per half a gallon of milk. Make sure that you use SCD yogurt starter, or at least check that your yogurt starter is SCD legal.
Once the yogurt starter is dissolved, top off the rest of the milk and mix it again.
Fill the yogurt maker
Place the lid on the container and insert the container into the yogurt maker. Switch it on or plug the yogurt maker in.
Ferment for 24 hours at 110°F
Let your yogurt ferment for 24 hours at a temperature of 110’. Be sure you check your yogurt after 24 hours. It will be fully fermented at that point (fermenting time varies based on the kind of milk you use).
Remove from heat and chill
Place your yogurt in the refrigerator to chill. In just a couple of hours, your SCD legal yogurt will be ready to enjoy.
Here’s a video that walks through the process in more detail:
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best way to make homemade yogurt?
Although homemade yogurt can be made on the stove, by far the most convenient way is to use one of the electric yogurt makers mentioned in this article. A yogurt maker with a 24-hour timer is by far the easiest way to make SCD yogurt in particular.
What cultures should I use to make the best homemade yogurt for SCD?
The key is to find a starter culture that is SCD legal or has ingredients that are rendered SCD legal after fermentation for 24 hours. Starters with the probiotic Bifidus (or variations like Lactobacillus Bifidus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum etc.) should be avoided.
One popular starter is the Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter. Note, while this starter does contain sucrose and skim milk, the 24-hour fermentation process consumes the sucrose according to this resource. As far as probiotics, it contains L. acidophilus, S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus.
Is homemade yogurt as good as probiotics in a capsule?
This is a tough question, as it depends on the particular products. Many probiotic capsules only contain L. acidophilus or S. thermophilus. Homemade yogurt is typically better in this case. The best part about homemade yogurt is that you control the ingredients, so you can tailor it to your needs.
Conclusion
Please follow the links in the descriptions above to further examine your options. See what they look like, read some of the previous customer reviews, and get a good feel for each yogurt maker. Then, ask yourself what features you would enjoy most in your yogurt maker.
Check out this site for more information about the specific carbohydrate diet.
RE; Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter.
I checked it out and see it only has 3 strains of probiotic, which isn’t very impressive. Second ingredient is sucrose but also has skim milk powder – both of which are totally unecessary. This would never be a product I would use or recommend, and I’m surprised you’re offering this information as a viable option.
Hi Gloria:
Thanks for your comment. I included the Yogourmet Freeze-Dried starter since it is readily available and recommended by several resources including Breaking the Vicious Cycle and NiMBAL
An alternative is GiProStart (available from Amazon)
I also added some additional information to the post to clarify.
Thanks for your input.