Yogurt Starter Cultures - Pack of 5 Freeze-Dried Culture Sachets for Authentic Bulgarian Yogurt(5 sachets)

I am a complete novice and had made yogurt only a few times previously using store bought yogurt as a starter culture. After having a couple of failures with the store bought yogurt I decided to try this powdered culture. Following the instructions on the packet - boiling then cooling whole milk and allowing it to sit in my yogurt maker at 42C for the suggested time of 12 hours for first use, I was very pleased with the results - a really nice thick yogurt. The first yogurt I would say lacked a little flavour and was a little too acidic but after re-culturing a couple of times the yogurt tasted more to my liking. When re-culturing the yoghurt it only took only 4 hours. I am now on my fifth re-culture and it has provided consistent results every time after four hours incubation.You don't get much in the way of instructions with the sachets, but the manufacturer does have a website (details printed on the pack) with a lot of useful yogurt making information, including videos, should you need more help.Overall very pleased with this product and its ability to provide consistent results.

You get lots of email help with this. Works a treat. Made the first batch giving it 36 hours as recommended to activate a dried culture. It set ok, in fact the best set I've had in the couple of months I've been making yoghurt. However, and I think this down to the culturing time, it was on the tangy side - I prefer it less tangy. The set part is quite creamy. The instructions tell me that subsequent batches can be made in less time maybe 3 to 8 hours - so, maybe, not so tangy. Meanwhile I'm straining the whey off the first batch to make a creamier taste.I filled an ice cube tray with some of it to make a culture starter which doesn't need so long to activate. The freezing doesn't kill the bacteria - justs puts it on hold for a while. Instructions on the web suggest a couple of cubes will start the next batch, if so then I have about 8 starters lined up.As a matter of interest I made the yoghurt by putting the jars in my airing cupboard to keep warm. Not quite the recommended 42 degrees but it seemed happy enough. I used to use a thermos overnight but a fully set yoghurt wouldn't come out to play very easily. Hence I put the jars in the airing cupboard as a trial.I'm getting more and more into this yoghurt making now - I bought an electric yoghurt maker with temperature setting and timer - you can find it on Amazon - the shop is local to me so I saved on postage, as it isn't on prime, and parking was only £1 (saved £2 there). The machine is making the next batch from the sachets even as I type.For flavouring I use the Walden Farms Near Zero sauces (Also available on Amazon) as I'm type 2 diabetic and the less sugar the better. Plus, the Walden farms stuff is very very good (Gluten free too). My local shop has yoghurt flavourings so I'll check them out when the sauces have finished.Would I recommend - yes indeed. I'm looking foward to trying different cultures to see what flavours they produce. Meanwhile the gut is saying thank you for the live bacteria.EDIT: Just had a bowl of the yoghurt strained of whey - so creamy, so very very creamy.

So basics first - the product arrived as expected. It has a good long shelf-life.I make yoghurt using UHT skimmed milk. UHT to save having to heat the milk as it is already devoid of bacteria, and skimmed to help reduce the fat content of my diet. To make a litre of yoghurt, I also add five tablespoons of skimmed milk powder which adds body and protein, but not fat (that's my theory, anyway, but I'm not a nutritionist!).For years I have been using a well-know brand of live organic yoghurt as my starter, but in recent weeks the yoghurt I have been making from that has become extremely thin and watery. Pretty unpleasant, TBH.So I made my first batch using this culture as usual. Five tbs skimmed milk powder topped up to a litre with UHT skimmed. I use an EasiYo set up (container and insulated fermenting chamber), but don't want to buy their kits which are expensive.After eight hours the milk had clearly begun to ferment, but was thin. However, the kit says that for the first batch it can take up to 24 hours as the bacteria have to become rehydrated and activated before they can do their work - subsequent times are reduced using the resultant yoghurt as a starter (as opposed to using a freeze-dried culture). So I simply put the yoghurt back into the insulated chamber with a fresh batch of boiling water after the first lot had cooled.Now, after 24 hours I have some really great yoghurt. It is quite thick in texture and has a good flavour - just the right amount of sourness to give a mild but flavoursome yoghurt.I am very pleased with my purchase.Although buying the cultures like this is a bit more expensive than buying a yoghurt, the cost is negligible because I will make yoghurt from this batch for several weeks (usually until I go away from home for a week or more and the yoghurt sits for too long in the fridge).Might even treat myself to a full-fat batch for Christmas.

Absolutely great product. The instructions were spot on. I do not have any special containers either, just an air tight 1litre air tight mason jar. To keep it slightly warm, I kept a hot water bottle next to it and left them overnight inside my microwave. After 24 hours it was properly set and was delicious. Subsequent batches only require 8 hours or so.

I’ve used numerous yoghurt starters before but this one is a keeper. Thick, creamy yoghurt in 6 hours (after the first batch rehydrating the starter), it’s so thick there’s not even anything to strain off at the end.No bifidus is suitable for those on SCD type diets if fermented for a long period.

Followed the instructions to the letter, have a very good yogurt maker that have no failure up till now. Wasted 4 pints of milk only to end with a runny mess.

Works really well. I am now on my 6th batch from one starter culture which makes it very economical