Making cultured yogurt
- setup at 3:45 pm Sep 16, 2013
- this didn't work. I think the house was too cold, in the mid 60s.
- will try again.
Activating the Yogurt Starter Culture:
1. Stir one packet yogurt starter into 1 quart of pasteurized milk. Be 
sure to fully incorporate the yogurt starter into the milk.
2. Cover the jar with a towel or coffee filter and secure the cover 
with a rubber band. Alternatively, you may put a lid on the jar.
3. Let the mixture culture undisturbed at 70-77°F for 12-48hours. 
3. (cont.) Check the culture every 6 hours or so. It is important to pick a 
location that is naturally warm (e.g.,the kitchen) and out of drafts. 
Ideally, it should be the warmest location in your home (up to 
78°F). If your home tends to be cooler than 70°F at night, consider 
setting the culture on top of a warm piece of electronic equipment 
(such as a television or cable box) or on a high shelf. Remember 
that drafts can affect the culturing process and cause the yogurt 
not to culture properly. Verify that the chosen culturing location is 
maintaining the proper temperature; temperatures that are too 
low or too high can damage the culture.
4. Once the yogurt is set (when the jar is tipped, the yogurt shouldn’t 
run up the side of the jar and should move away from the side of 
the jar as a single mass), cover the jar with a lid and place the 
yogurt in the refrigerator for 6 hours to halt the culturing process. 
aking Yogurt with Pasteurized Milk:
1. Stir ¼ cup of yogurt from your initial activation batch into one 
quart of milk. You can make larger batches of yogurt by adhering 
to the same ratio of ¼ cup of yogurt to 1 quart of milk making up 
to one half-gallon per container. 
2. Cover the jar with a towel or coffee filter and secure the cover 
with a rubber band. Alternatively, you may put a lid on the jar.
3. Let the mixture culture undisturbed at 70-77°F for 12-18 hours. 
It is important to pick a location that is naturally warm (e.g.,the 
kitchen) and out of drafts.(See above for ideas for keeping the 
yogurt in the proper temperature range.)
4. Once the yogurt is set (when the jar is tipped, the yogurt shouldn’t 
run up the side of the jar and should move away from the side of 
the jar as a single mass), cover the jar with a lid and place the 
yogurt in the refrigerator for 6 hours to halt the culturing process. 
5. When it’s time to make a new batch, place ¼ cup of yogurt from 
the previous batch in a quart of new milk and start again. Larger 
batches can be made (up to a half gallon per container) by 
maintaining the same yogurt-to-milk ratio. Yogurt from each batch 
can be used to make the next batch. Yogurt from batch A is used to 
make batch B, yogurt from batch B is used to make batch C, and so 
on. To perpetuate the culture, be sure to make a new batch of 
yogurt at least once every seven days. Waiting longer than one 
week between culturing can weaken and eventually kill the 
culture.
TROUBLESHOOTING
• For extensive troubleshooting information, please visit our 
website: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/troubleshooting.
• Whole milk or cream makes the thickest yogurt. Yogurt made with 
low fat milk is likely to be thin. If a very thick yogurt is desired, 
fully cultured yogurt may be strained through cheesecloth or a tea 
towel and the resulting whey discarded or used in recipes. 
• Temperature is very important to successful yogurt making. 
Drafts from windows, air conditioners, etc. can affect the
temperature where the culture is sitting. Warm parts of the house 
are generally best (e.g.,the kitchen). If your house tends to be 
cooler than 70°F (consider if the temperature drops at night) then 
choose a spot that stays warmer. Warm spots often include: on top 
of the refrigerator, on top of a piece of electronic equipment (i.e.,
television, cable box, etc.), next to a computer, on a high shelf, 
inside a cube-shaped dehydrator (such as an Excalibur or Sausage 
Maker brand) set on a very low setting (under 78°F). Verify that 
the chosen culturing location is maintaining the proper 
temperature; temperatures that are too low or too high can 
damage the culture.
• In cooler environments, the yogurt will likely take the entire time 
period (18-48 hours) to culture.Occasionally it will take a bit 
longer. It’s okay to leave the yogurt to culture a little longer when 
necessary. Simply keep an eye on it and transfer it to the 
refrigerator as soon as it’s set. 
• Be cautious of overly warm temperatures. Temperatures above
78°F may cause the yogurt culture to die. If the yogurt mixture 
separates into curds (solid mass on top) and whey (clear liquid 
underneath), this may be a sign that the culture was too warm.
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/media/docs/Viili_Yogurt_Instructions.pdf
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/how-to-make-yogurt
By JR 
 - 836 words 
created: 
 - updated:  
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