Yogurt question...

[The Chicken Lady]

We eat a lot of yogurt, we go through a couple of gallons of it a week. I normally use the Yogourmet Freeze-Dried Yogurt Starter, it's my favorite. I was thinking about using my homemade yogurt as a starter to stretch my purchased starter packets. Does anyone know if that will work.

[Kris T.]

It should..depending on how many batches ago you first used fresh starter? I can usually go about 2 batches using the leftover as starter, then it starts to taste very tart.

[gharkness]

Yes, it will work a few times, and then it will die. I am sure there's a reason for that; I don't know what it is, but I've heard too many people say the same thing to think it's just an occasional thing. What I normally do is use some starter to get a batch going, use the yogurt I made for a couple of times to start new ones, then go back to the original starter packet and get a fresh start.

[rosethorns]

This is the kind I used when I made dairy yogurt. Yes you can a couple times.

I make dairy free now and it's even more complex. I just got a recipe to make dairy free cheese....

[The Chicken Lady]

Thanks guys!!!

[Low Carb Librarian]

I never used starter... Well, I used some Fage Greek yogurt for the first batch... Then I just used my own.

[The Chicken Lady]

Originally Posted by Low Carb Librarian

I never used starter... Well, I used some Fage Greek yogurt for the first batch... Then I just used my own.

Yeah, I've been reading on the internet about using your own homemade yogurt as your starter. It seems you need to start out with the right type of culture.

According to what I've read some cultures are "direct set", meaning that you use them once, and that is it. You need to buy new starter for every batch. Many freeze-dried cultures are this way.

Other cultures, however, are capable of being perpetuated indefinitely - under the right conditions. Two of the most common are almost always found together in good quality yogurt. They are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. They also happen to be the two strains found in Dannon plain yogurt.

So I guess I'm going to use up all the freeze-dried starter that I have on hand and then buy some Dannon plain yogurt and start my own little culture. I live in a rural community and I'm pretty sure I can find Dannon yogurt but probably not Fage Greek yogurt. But thanks I'll keep it in mind in case I ever run across it.

[jlp2009]

I've used Dannon plain. Look for any that says on the package "active yogurt culture" and you can use 1 to 2 tbsp. as a starter. The key is to make sure your milk isn't too warm when you stir in the "culture" or it will die.

Rose,
Please tell me how to make dairy free yogurt. TIA!!

[rosethorns]

Read the whole thread. The first post is using all cashew milk and down further is cashew & coconut milk.

Dairy Free Yogurt

HTH

[birdlady46]

The best part after making your own yogurt is making frozen yogurt! Yum--yum.