# Yogurt starter



## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

We don't eat much yogurt around here, but I still get cravings once in a while. Problem is, the only way I've made yogurt is to buy the Dannon pure yogurt & use that as a starter. But seeing as the Dannon yogurt comes in a quart, I'm just about yogurt-id out by the time I make mine plus use the stuff bought for the starter.

I know that you can keep starter for quite a while, but my "quite a while" may be months, so that doesn't really work for me. I was thinking about buying some of the freeze dried starter stuff so I could have it on hand & it wouldn't go bad. Anyone have any place they recommend buying starter from?

And, just thought of another question.....could I freeze some of my yogurt & then thaw it later & use that as a starter, or do the bacteria get killed off if frozen?

Thanks!


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## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

Any yogurt that says active culture on it will work as a starter. Doesn't have to be Dannon. Buy a individual cup, use a couple spoonfuls for the starter, eat the rest. And it doesn't have to be plain either. The tiny amount of flavoring in the spoonful used as starter can't be detected. Don't think I would use the ones with chunks of fruit though......


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

We always just use dannon. Sometimes we use our own as a starter, but it seems to get thinner.


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

I love the ABY-2C (Mild flavor/thick body) yogurt culture from http://www.dairyconnection.com/yogurt.htm


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

like Christy, I am a huge fan of the starter from dairy connection. For a quart of yogurt I barely sprinkle a small amount of starter into the cooled down milk - always turns out great. I keep the starter in the freezer. (I've got aby-2c also)


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Also, you can re-culture for quite awhile from the yogurt you make from ABY-2C. I always make an 8oz jar along with my quarts to use for culture. But I have never tried to freeze it, and I always use it within a few weeks.

ETA: I keep the ABY-2C culture in the freezer, I have never tried freezing some yogurt to re-culture...


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## Maggie (May 12, 2002)

The Dannon plain yogurt can be frozen in starter size portions. I use 2T per 1 quart of milk for my yogurt. I put it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet for 1 hour in the freezer, then plop the starter in a ziploc bag. It works great every time:goodjob:. ( Thaw it to room temp. B/4 using.)


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## prairiegirl (Nov 2, 2004)

I do as Maggie does. Always works for me and I've kept some in the freezer for several months. I use Stonyfield Farm plain yogurt as the starter.

I am headed over to dairyconnection to check out that yogurt starter. Thanks for sharing the info and link.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

If you save some yogurt from you previous batch and use that for starter, does it eventually loose it's potency?

I'm on my third batch - the first I used Dannon but the second two I used yogurt from the previous batch.

This last batch turned out a lot runnier than the first two. It looks set up in the jar, but when you scoop it out it pretty much turns to the consitancy of butter milk. It still tastes great.

I think I will order some of the dairyconnection starter just to see how that works, but it would be good to know if I should periodically "restart" my yogurt.

I know with sourdough, if you get a good batch going you don't ever need to restart it, only refresh it from time to time. I had a great batch going but got busy over last summer and forgot about it for too long - opps!

Cathy


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Yes, the starter does loose it's potency. I reculture three times then start again.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I ordered the starter today - my DH started eating the yogurt daily. We are eating near a quart a day. 

I noticed the instructions for the starter say to incubate around 100 degF for 8 hours. I've been doing mine around 125 for 3 -4 hours. 

Cathy


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

I do mine at 110F overnight...


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I made my first batch with the purchases starter. Seemed to set up and tastes a bit tangy-er than the other made with yogurt starter. 

I did let it incubate at 110 for 8 hours - did it overnight so I did not check it at any point in between to see how it was going.

But I did discover something strange. Last night I pulled the last quart jar from my previous batch and it was liquid. There were a few clumps of curds, but other than that it was slightly thick yogurt tasting milk. I still had one pint left so I opened that up and it was fine.

Do you have any ideas what could have gone wrong with that one jar? I had had 9 quarts and 1 pint. However I do think I expected to only need 8 quarts and may not have sterilzed the ninth - only washed in hot water. But I also have no idea which of the 9 that one was, so it would only be a coinsidence that it happened to be the last Jar I opened.

Another possilbility is that the milk got a bit too cold before it was put in the final jar. I've read that too much heat will kill the yogurt but don't know if letting the milk get too cold before incubating would be a problem. 

This time I made sure to check each jar as I took it out of the dehydrator - make sure it was nice and set. So if one turns liquid on me again, I'll know for sure something happened while stored in the fridge and not during the incubation process.

Cathy


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

I think the best guess here is that the liquid yogurt was in the jar that was not sterilized. Yogurt cultures are not competitive and are easily taken over by other bacteria. That is why raw milk yogurt is runny and even raw milk advocates like the Weston A. Price Foundation still recommend heating the milk to 180F before making yogurt.

Even though your cultured milk may have cooled by the last jar, your incubating temp would have warmed it right up and after 8hrs at 110F the culture would have had plenty of time to work.

Christy


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Thanks Christy - it probably was the unsterilized jar. 

I sure do like this last batch made with the purchased starter. I'm having a lot of fun making (and eating) my own yogurt. 

I use my canner to sterilize 7 quart jars and fit another 3 in my 8 qt stockpot. Then I use my 12 qt pot for heating up the milk. I love being able to drag out my bigger kettles (though the really big stuff stays in the summer kitchen).

Cathy


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## VA Susan (Mar 2, 2010)

We eat a lot of yogurt too. The only time I've had a failure with the method I use now and ended up with liquid yogurt was when I made it on a bitterly cold night. I use pasteurized 2 % milk and bring it to a boil. I sterilize everything I use to make it. The next morning, I reheated the milk and added more yogurt, heated up the water bath and re-incubated it. It turned out fine. 

Here's the method I use.
http://merehousewife.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/yogurt-making/

My Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/laurelcreekgallery


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

This guy has lots of good information on baking techniquies. He recently had a part about making yogurt including some general information on it. Found it very interesting. If this does not link directily, the "discussion" starts on March 1st 2010, then goes on for several days. Best if read from start to finish instead of backwards. 

Joe Pastry

It's a grea site for someone with an interest in baking and a desire to try different things.

Cathy


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