Luvele Yogurt Maker

The Luvele yogurt maker, set to 100 degrees and 24 hours.

I was really happy to be contacted by Luvele wanting to know if they could send me one of their yogurt makers to try. I had never heard of Luvele, and was intrigued with what would make their yogurt maker different from the Yogourmet I currently use. The package arrived quickly, and I was pleased with their nice looking and functional box. I have never seen a yogurt maker advertised specifically for the SCD, and that was fun to see on the outside of the box as well! I also love their cute, stylish yogurt maker design. My first thought was that this is like an Apple computer compared to a PC. :)

The box had a handle on top, and plenty of styrofoam to protect the yogurt maker.

The first thing I noticed was the pamphlet on top. I opened it up and saw that there were specific instructions for 24 hour SCD yogurt! This is a first! The instructions were right on, even including information about "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall, and went over and above to mention that you can cool your milk down faster before introducing the starter by placing the pot in a water bath in the sink. That was a trick that I learned only after a long time on the diet.

The pamphlet had instructions for 24 hour SCD yogurt, information on BTVC, and other helpful information.

Another notable difference with the Luvele is that you can set it for both 24 hours, and for the temperature you want it to hold at the whole time. In recent years, I have noticed a lot of people being unhappy with the high temperatures that the Yogourmet yogurt maker can get to, so they have been adding a dimmer switch to keep it at a steady temperature.

I personally have not had a problem with the yogurt my Yogourmet has produced. I figure that yogurt making isn't an exact science, and if one can make yogurt in an oven with the light on and propped open with a wooden spoon, the temperature isn't so vitally important. I can still get the lactose-free yogurt that I want with a Yogourmet - it just needs to be incubated for 24 hours to make sure all lactose is digested.

However, I am impressed with the 24 hour setting, and the fact that a person can decide what temperature they want their yogurt to hold at for the whole 24 hours - with no fiddling with dimmer switches! The temperature options are 97, 100, or 104 degrees F.

The lid has two unique features.

The lid is interesting. It has a feature for vacuum sealing, and also a dial to show what day of the month you made your yogurt. Very clever!

Testing them out!

I decided to do a little experiment. I heated a gallon of milk and cooled it down, then added Yogourmet starter to both, and put one half in the Yogourmet yogurt maker and the other half in the Luvele yogurt maker. My husband checked the temperature of both during the 24 hours of incubation, and Yogourmet was holding at 111 degrees, while Luvele held at 100 degrees (as I had set it to).

When they were done, and had been refrigerated overnight, I tasted the plain yogurt from each. The Luvele definitely had a sweeter, less bitter flavor. Interesting - I guess temperature makes a difference to flavor too! Maybe certain "bugs" taste different and survive at different temperatures? Hmmm...

My final thought is that because the Luvele yogurt maker holds a steady, reliable temperature, and because it has a 24 hour setting, I think a lot of people would prefer to just start with a Luvele rather than having to fiddle with a dimmer switch. And the cost of the Luvele is about the same as a Yogourmet plus a dimmer switch. So for those who are concerned about temperature, the Luvele yogurt maker is a great option!

Great job, Luvele, making a special option for those on the SCD!

Here is an affiliate link to Luvele's website, where you can learn more about the yogurt maker, and their other products.

~ Erin