Yogurt Starter Cultures - Pack of 12 Freeze-dried Culture Sachets for Balkan Style Plain Yogurt (12)

I can't get lactose free yogurt around here except for the soy, coconut, and almond brands that my husband says taste terrible. They are also very expensive. So, I have started making it with lactose free milk. I have made three batches with whole lactose free milk and they have all turned out perfect. I did use the bring to a boil in the microwave and cool down method.I usually use my favorite Greek yogurt as a starter, but when I opened the container I had just purchased the yogurt was frozen. I was afraid to use it so found one of these packets that I had purchased to take on a trip to a place where it is hard to find any yogurt at all.Unfortunately, I wasn't that careful with the boiling of the milk. I didn't stir enough and the bottom of the pan got a little crusty. Next time I will cook in the microwave. And then, I let it cool too much before I added the starter and poured it into my Cuisinart yogurt maker that keeps the mixture at the correct temperature and after the fermentation time I set is over (usually 8 hours) it refrigerates the yogurt.Despite my errors the yogurt was fine---a little grainy, but that was probably something I did wrong in the early stages. I add a little jam or fruit flavored syrups and serve it to my husband. He liked it better than any other yogurt I have made and thought it was a little thicker. This is a good starter and I will keep this on hand rather than depending on buying yogurt at the store. Using this starter makes the yogurt completely lactose free anyway which is best for my husband.I have made quite a bit of yogurt over the past year and have found that I don't like adding gelatin because it gives the yogurt a shiny look that reminds me of the really cheap store brand yogurt. I also don't add powdered milk because that isn't lactose free. When I make yogurt for myself I strain it to make Greek yogurt, but I am so in love with Fage yogurt 2% that I don't usually bother. (5% is really delicious, but I don't want the extra fat).I would love to hear if others have been successful using this in whole milk or 2% milk without the boiling and cooling down process.

Excellent starter, I have uses two packages for 2 liters of milk and continue to use the original yogurt to make additional batches with great success. I wholeheartedly recommend if you want real yogurt at home.

Me resultó muy bueno, hago yoghurt veganos y los fermenta muy bien

From Ned's wife: I keep yogurt starter cultures on hand in case I forget to leave aside a cup of the commercial kind for a new batch - though I suspect one could open up some probiotic capsules and use those...This one is intriguing. Not much "yogurty" flavor so it would be good for those who don't like yogurt. The page did say it was "mild" and that's an accurate description.I've done only one batch so far. I ended up having to help it along with the addition of 2 tsp of gelatin Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin, Kosher, 16 Ounce Can. But one has to be judicious with regard to the amount of gelatin or you'll end up with something that looks like white jello. Soo...there's a learning curve to "fixing" thin yogurt w/ gelatin, but I'm getting there. I realize many folks would find this adulteration of yogurt not kosher; otoh, it adds protein the mix so I figure the cooking gods won't mind my heresy since I'm rescuing something.Oh,and here's a tasty remedy for too much gelatin in yogurt: spoon out a cup or so of this FIRM white stuff into a blender with some fruit and sweetner. Blend it on high till fruit is pureed and the "gelantized" yogurt has become foamy and doubled in volume. It looks like the strawberry chiffon dessert my mother made with jello and cream back in the day. Tastes great and my husband prefers it to real yogurt.As for the yogurt starter: I think I needed an extra packet, or at least half a one...

Great product

The flavor and texture of the yogurt that results from this starter is sublime....perfectly, what I have been searching to find! The price is significantly better than competitors and it arrived amazingly fast and well packaged. They send an email upon ordering with directions. I didn't thoroughly read them because I have my process down to a simple science which produces consistent results as long as the milk is fresh. As with every other dry starter I have tried, the texture of the first batch is not as firm as you might expect yogurt to be. In my experience, that's just how it is. Still, the flavor of the first batch is so delightful I often keep the first batch for yogurt drinks. If it is too thin for your taste after refrigeration, don't toss it! You can turn right around and heat the same batch (with your starter separated) to 110 degrees in the microwave, add the starter you just reserved, culture in the machine again and it should turn out to be the texture you want! I always keep a couple of teaspoons of my fresh batch in a mini Mason jar with a tight plastic lid and use it as my starter for the next batch. I make yogurt weekly using 1 quart of half and half, and about 2/3 of a quart of whole milk. When I realized how much better homemade yogurt is, I started having fresh milk delivery to my home! My husband surprised me with a Cuisinart yogurt machine, which just takes the guess work out of maintaining the perfect temperature. I culture it for four hours; a longer culture time produces a more tangy yogurt, if that's what you like. This starter makes yogurt reminiscent of that which I had in France on a trip in high school a hundred years ago! I am a really busy person. Making yogurt is not something I would have ever dreamed I would desire to actually make time for in a week. I started a year ago and it is a rare week that our house does not have fresh yogurt! The process satisfies my senses and calms my brain from all the other noise of the world.