Cultures for Health Vegan Yogurt Starter Culture | 4 Direct-Set Packets | DIY Dairy-Free Yogurt from Plant Milks | Probiotic for Gut Health

I've been making my own yogurt for about 25 years, using a store-bought plain yogurt with cultures and in several different types of yogurt makers, mostly Oster brand 1-quart, but also Salton, and a Waring 2-quart. I only recently began using a powdered starter. Until I bought an Oster Mykonos Greek Digital Homemade Yogurt Maker, 2-Quart CKSTYM1012 maker in 2014, I never would strain yogurt and wasn't even aware you could. I wish I had known about it sooner because I really can't stand runny, bitter yogurt, which would frequently happen over the years. I prefer a firm, mildly tart yogurt....just short of being sour cream! 😁 Note: The Oster Mykonos Greek square yogurt maker comes in a digital CKSTYM1012 and manual CKSTYM1010 option, but both come with ONE 1-quart rectangle container and 6 small glass containers. I prefer to use only the 1-quart container, so I bought an extra Mykonos Greek yogurt maker and swapped the individual jars for the rectangle container. So I do TWO 1-quart rectangle containers per batch. Since getting the Greek yogurt maker, I will never go back to unstrained yogurt again. As for a starter, in the past, I would start my first batch using a plain yogurt with active cultures from the grocery store, usually Mountain High brand in So. Calif. For subsequent batches, I would use a few heaping tablespoons (about 1/3 cup) of the current batch for the next batch, and so on. It wasn't until 2016 that I started using a freeze dried starter by Yo Gourmet that I would buy here on Amazon and use for about every 5th batch, using two heaping tablespoons of yogurt reserved from the current batch as the starter for the next batch. I looked into other brands, including this Cultures for Health, but saw the negative reviews about the first batch turning out awful, that I hesitated to try it. However, a week ago, when I tried to order more Yo Gourmet yogurt starter, Amazon was out, so I decided to try this Greek Yogurt start by Cultures for Health and am I glad I did! I just made my first batch two days ago using my usual process [below] and my first batch came out perfect! It's firm with very little tartness 👍 The photos attached shows my first batch using ONE packet of Cultures for Health. In the cup shown, I have about 2/3 of a cup of yogurt on top of 1/3 cup chopped up trail mix (done in my Vitamix dry container) that I keep a running batch of to add to each serving of yogurt. This is the process I've been using for 6-years with the Oster Mykonos 2-quart yogurt maker: * Heat 9 cups (or slightly more than a half gallon) of whole milk in our GE Microwave for 23 minutes on High to achieve 180° - 185° - I use a 2-quart Pyrex glass measuring bowl * Cool to between 106° - 110° * Put ONE .5 or .6 gram powdered starter into a separate 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and pour a cup of the cooled milk into the starter and stir/whisk until dissolved. Add back to the main batch of milk and stir in. - subsequent batches....I use two heaping tablespoons or about 1/3 of a cup of the previous batch's yogurt and mix in the same as above. * When I pour the milk into the yogurt maker containers, to ensure I achieve an optimal mix of milk and starter, I alternate pouring the milk into both 1-quart containers, back and forth, back and forth, so neither container has more active cultures than the other. * Cook the yogurt for 15 hours (12 hours is the minimum I will do because I prefer firm yogurt) * After the yogurt is cooked, cover the containers and place in the fridge for a minimum of 8-hours * After 8-hours, transfer the chilled yogurt to the strainers and put back in the fridge for at least 6-hours. * Pour out the strained liquid. Enjoy!

I wrote the below review and thought that was the end of it, but sellers wrote back telling me to reply “full refund” and they would refund me. Well after time spent explaining the same issue over again, going back and forth, they told me they couldn’t give me a refund because l was over the two month period. Even though it was in the review that I purchased it in sept 2025, it appears they don’t read. So basically, they wasted my time. I may have considered trying again,(even though I doubt it, costs too much money for ingredients ), I certainly won’t now. I received this back in sept 25 and immediately used and put the other packets in the freezer. I had used this product when I first started making vegan yogurt, but then thought I’d try a cheaper brand. They all worked out fine, I use unsweetened soy milk with no additives and add about a cup of cashews,vitamin it, and i heat to 180 and remain for 10 minutes approx, cool to 110 and add my culture. Had always worked, perfect creamy tangy yogurt, without the need for any thickeners or additives. When I got this “cultures for health vegan” pack in sept, my yogurt took forever to get thick and it had a film and odor to it that was not pleasant. Tried again and the same thing. Went back to different culture and it worked perfectly. I was afraid to try the cultures for health again because it costs a bit of money for organic cashews and organic soy milk plus a lot of time wasted. Ran out of my other culture and decided to try cultures for health again. Horrible, the same as before. Threw the rest out, because now there is no doubt it was the culture.

Cultures For Health makes a good starter, and I have been very satisfied with the yogurt. I have made ten batches of this yogurt so far with very good and consistent results. All but the first and second rounds (to fully activate the culture) have been a gallon each. The first (1 quart) was lightly set, and the second (2 quarts) was fully set after 7 hours. I use two pots and a lid to make a double-boiler, a digital smoker thermometer to monitor the temperature of the milk on the stove (heated slowly to 190 degrees and held for 10 minutes or so) and in the cooling bath. There is no stirring during the heating process, so some milk sticks to the bottom of the non-stick pot, but it peels off easily. It takes about an hour on a low burner to bring a gallon from fridge temp to 190, and there’s nothing to do but check the temperature on the remote digital display. After cooling to 110 degrees, I whisk in the starter from the last batch. A sous vide cooker in a foam cooler (made a hole in the lid) holds the 4 quarts in a water bath at 110 degrees for 5 to 7 hours. Any extra cultured milk sits in containers up out of the water: the cooler holds a constant air temperature. When it's done, everything cools down on the counter for a while, and then goes in the refrigerator and lasts me about a month. Batches 2-10 were started with 2 cups of last month’s yogurt that was frozen for 4 weeks and defrosted for a day or two in the refrigerator. The defrosted culture smells good and activates to make consistently good yogurt. I use whatever cow's milk is on sale or reduced, 1% to whole, as long as it isn’t ultra-pasteurized. One packet of dehydrated starter has provided months of yogurt. The second packet is in the refrigerator, in case I need to do a restart someday. I recommend this yogurt starter.

I followed the instructions and the yogurt turned out beautifully. I will be ordering again :)

Excelente iniciador de yogurt. Gran sabor, facil de preparar y tipo heirloom por lo que me puedo olvidar de los envases plásticos para siempre.

Hace un yogurt consistente. Es muy caro, pero vale la pena.

Funcionó muy bien en leche de soya espesa perfecto incluso te recomiendo filtrar al final con una malla limpia para que quede como el yogurt convencional ojo en consistencia si está muy bien pero no hace milagros la soya siempre sabrá a soya pero pues si eres vegano eso buscarás

This is a nice product. Glad that it's vegan and I like the packaging and easy instructions. Worked well when making vegan yogurt.