Does anyone know if you let yogurt "work" longer and it gets sourer, does the the acidophilus, etc. digest more carbs? I like to make my own, but I only let it work untill it is firm when I touch it with my finger. It still tastes quite sweet to me.

It's my understanding that the maximum amount of lactose consumed by the bacterial culture is 8 grams per cup (227g). So, a cup of yogurt that started out as whole milk with 12g carbs will have 4g carbs left after fermentation. At the SCD website (Specific Carbohydrate Diet, for bowel disease) they recommend that yogurt be fermented until very sour, to ensure maximum lactose has been used up.

Draining off the whey can remove some of the residual lactose too ... but I confess I don't know exactly how many grams. I tend to over-estimate the carb count, just to be on the safe side.

hope this helps

Doreen

Thank you That was very helpful

Hi,

I make my own yogurt at home, instead of using whole milk I used half&half the last time, the taste was nice and creamy. I would like to know which way is best for yogurt making and with what type of milk or cream.

maggie

Yes I would like to know the answer about the Half & Half as well . I also have aneather question. If sour cream is cultured, does it have 0 carbs? The carton says it has less than 1 per 2 tbs.

Doreen
I went to the CSD Website, and from what I read the yogurt needs to sit for 24 hours! WOW! That would be some sour yogurt! Do you know if it needs to sit THAT long? I use to let mine sit for only 3 hours and thought maybe 6 hours would work. Got any ideas?

Hey, Adnil.

The yogurt needs to sit for as long as it takes to get thick for it to actually be yogurt.

How SWEET it is (and how many lactose carbs are still left in it) depends very much on how long the bacteria have to digest the lactose. The longer (and sourer), the fewer remaining lactose (sugar) carbs and the more lactic acid. Simple.

Sweeter yogurt will be higher carb, sourer yogurt will be lower carb.

The SCD site that Do points to in the above posts has a lot of information about the making of commercial yogurt (and sour cream). The basic thing is that milk powder (HIGH lactose) is added before the culture (the bacterial stuff that actually does the conversion) is added. This makes the base milk or cream or whatever VERY high lactose and means lots of carbs in it. They also add gelatin and other thickeners rather than relying on the bacteria to do the job. Sometimes the culture is added way after the thickeners, so you don't know for sure if they've had a crack at ANY of the lactose... Ick.

This is why home-made is recommended, though organic and "natural" products tend to do things more like home-made. This is why cultured sour cream is also suspect.

Another thing you should know. If a (US) label says something like "less than 1 carb per serving", that means the true carb count is between 0.5 and 0.99 per serving... labelling law. The truest counts can be found in the USDA database or our Carb Counter which uses the same information I believe. See the orange menu bar above, LowCarb Tools, and then the Carb Counter.

Always check your carb counts for yourself. It's good to know the REAL deal and get comfortable with low carb.

Thank you, that was VERY helpful.