Hello,

The other day I had a question about whipping cream and half and half. Now my question is, yogurt.

When I am lowcarbing I really miss yogurt. And about two years ago my doctor told me to eat live culture yogurt daily ( health reasons). I make my own yogurt at home, so I was thinking if I could eat yogurt made with half and half.

thanks,

maggie

I would recommend that you use whole milk, not half & half. The reason is, the bacterial culture NEEDS the lactose sugar in order to develop. Cream will have less lactose than milk, so you're likely to end up with a thin, runny result, more like a rich buttermilk than yogurt. That's why sour cream uses different cultures than yogurt.

However, don't despair. There have been studies done that suggest that because the bacteria consume up to 8 grams of lactose per cup of yogurt ... the carb count is actually lower than what's stated on the label. So instead of having 12g carbs per cup, the yogurt actually only has 4g carbs remaining after fermenting. However, it must be:

• whole milk yogurt, not skim or lowfat
• LIVE, active cultures ... must be at least two different types of bacteria
• must be plain, not flavoured or sweetened or fruit added

Home-made would certainly fit the bill, just make sure the starter medium has at least two different bacteria in it.

Doreen

Hi Doreen,

Thank you so much for your reply, I am so happy to hear that I will have some yogurt finally.

I've looked at the starter that i use, it has Bulgaricus, Thermophilus, and acidophilus as bacteria, but I don't see the one that you've stated on your reply. Do you think that is good enough?

Thanks again,

maggie

My apologies for any confusion. The recommendation is that there be two different types of bacteria, and there's no specification that it MUST be any particular ones, just that they be different (some yogurts only contain acidophilus)

Acidophilus, bifidus and bulgaricus are different strains of lactobacillus. Thermophilus is a beneficial strain of streptococcus.

I'll go back and edit my other post, just to avoid confusion for other readers!

Happy yogurt making!

Doreen