- Welcome, Guest! (Log In)
- View Cart
- Contact Us
- 1-800-962-1959
Details
Our Traditional Greek yogurt starter makes a slightly tangy, rich and decadent homemade yogurt. It is particularly wonderful when made with a mixture of cream and milk (we recommend one part whipping cream and three parts whole milk). This yogurt can also be made with just whole milk or even low-fat milk for a less thick yogurt. Greek yogurt can also be partially strained to increase the thickness or can be strained further to produce a creamy Mascarpone cheese. If You are looking for something a little milder in flavor, try our Bulgarian yogurt starter.
Our Traditional Greek yogurt starter contains live active bacteria. One packet of Greek yogurt starter culture can be used to make unlimited amounts of homemade yogurt as it can be serial cultured: a small amount of yogurt from the current batch is reserved to inoculate the next batch of homemade yogurt. With care, our yogurt culture can be used to make Greek yogurt indefinitely. No more having to continually buy starter culture to make Greek yogurt! Save money by making your own Greek yogurt at home for a fraction of the cost of buying Greek-style yogurt in the store.
How to Make Greek Yogurt: Our Greek yogurt culture is a thermophilic yogurt culture and cultures with the aid of a yogurt maker or similar heat source. (Click here for alternatives to a yogurt-making appliance.) Our Greek yogurt culture can be serial cultured: a small amount of homemade yogurt from the current batch is reserved to inoculate the next batch of homemade yogurt. With care, our Greek yogurt culture can be used to make Greek yogurt indefinitely.
Our Greek starter culture can be used with goat milk although due to the lower fat content of goat milk, the resulting yogurt may be significantly less thick than yogurt made with whole cow milk.
Full instructions for making Greek Yogurt can be found here and will be shipped with your order. Our instruction sheet also includes instructions for customers wishing to make yogurt with raw milk.
Using alternative milks: Greek Yogurt starter may be used with alternative milks (soy, coconut, etc.) but is unlikely to reculture beyond the first few generations. Therefore we strongly recommend keeping a backup dairy-based culture on hand for making yogurt with alternative milks. Greek yogurt starter can be used with goat milk although due to the nature of goat milk, the resulting yogurt may be significantly less thick than yogurt made with whole cow milk. We do not recommend using UHT (aka ultra-pasteurized) milk when working with any starter culture.
Ingredients: Organic milk, live active bacteria (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus).
Produced or packaged in a facility that also manufactures products made with wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, and fish.
Due to recent changes in manufacturing processes, the weight of the item that appears in the photo will differ from the actual weight of the item received.
Shipping Information: Our starter culture is shipped in a barrier-sealed packet as a freeze-dried yogurt culture in a dairy carrier. Please keep it in a cool dry place until you are ready to make your first batch of homemade yogurt. We ship enough yogurt culture to make two batches of yogurt starter which you use as the starter culture to make unlimited amounts of yogurt. We recommend that you reserve half of the yogurt starter in a safe place to use as a back-up.
Detailed culturing instructions will be included with your order and can be found here.
Questions on Greek Yogurt Starter
- From Ellen at 5/1/12 2:14 PM
- Which of your starters would work best with skim milk? I'm really watching my fat intake and buy only non-fat yogurt when I purchase a commercial product. I'd like to make my own, but keep the fat down. Other than straining, is there any way to ensure a nice thick texture?
- You can use thickeners such as agar agar etc. to make your yogurts thicker.
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- From Joe Polizzi at 5/13/12 4:58 PM
- With the starter there are there instructions on ways
to make yogurt with out a yougrt maker? - You need a way to maintain a temperature of 110°, you will find suggestions in this article http://www.culturesforhealth.com/maintaining-temperatures-culturing-yogurt
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- With the starter there are there instructions on ways
- From Lindsay at 6/29/12 12:43 AM
- Can this be used with Goats milk well ?
- Yes, the Bulgarian Yogurt Starter can be used with goat milk. This page has wonderful information about choosing milk for your yogurt: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/choosing-milk-for-making-yogurt
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- From Ellen at 7/18/12 10:50 PM
- Does the yogurt starter have kosher certification? If so (hopefully!), what company provides the certification?
- The Greek is not kosher however, we do have two yogurt starters that are certified kosher: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/kosher-yogurt-starter-mild.html and http://www.culturesforhealth.com/kosher-yogurt-starter-traditional.html They are certified Circle K Kosher Dairy by ok.org
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- From Kay at 11/14/12 1:06 PM
- From Diane Basinger at 1/15/13 11:08 AM
- I want to use the Greek yogurt starter with raw milk. Do I need to use the starter each time I make a batch or can I do the self perpetuating method?
- The Greek starter can be used with raw milk. You will use the powdered starter with your initial batch, then make a pasteurized mother culture to use as the starter for subsequent batches to make raw milk yogurt. Please read here for more information: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/raw-milk-yogurt-video
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- From Rachel at 3/9/13 5:54 PM
- Are there instructions on how to keep the culture if I take a break from making yogurt? What do I do if I go on an extended vacation?
- Look for instructions on how to take a break from making yogurt here:
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/safely-holding-starter-cultures-vacation#yogurt_buttermilk_starters - Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- From Julie at 4/7/13 4:01 PM
- I just activated my greek yogurt starter yesterday, and have my first batch of yogurt in my yogurt maker right now. Yesterday, I didn't cover the starter and it formed a skin on top. Today, I put the lids on the jars hoping that it wouldn't get that skin on top. Which way do you recommend? Also, if I only want to make 4 jars at a time, should I wrap them in a towel to keep the temp right in the yogurt maker?
Your site is great and very informative. Thanks for your help! - Hi Julie
Whenever I heat milk, if I don't stir enough, I get a skin on it. Milk, in general, can get a skin. That could be what is forming on the yogurt.
Another thing to consider is that milk when heated longer or to a higher temp is more likely to get a skin.
The skin really isn't a problem and can be removed or stirred in.
I hope that helps - Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
- I just activated my greek yogurt starter yesterday, and have my first batch of yogurt in my yogurt maker right now. Yesterday, I didn't cover the starter and it formed a skin on top. Today, I put the lids on the jars hoping that it wouldn't get that skin on top. Which way do you recommend? Also, if I only want to make 4 jars at a time, should I wrap them in a towel to keep the temp right in the yogurt maker?
- From Alicia at 5/4/13 11:19 PM
- I was readint about heirloom cultures, and it appears that they should have many different strains of bacteria in them. Your cultures were even suggested on several of these sites. However, all the heirloom varieties you sell only contain two strains of bacteria. Why is this? Are there different tpea of bacteria within each strain? I am new to making yogurt so I would like to learn as much as possible! Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
- For more information and a listing of the species of bacteria contained in our yogurt starters, see the chart at the bottom of this page: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/choosing-a-yogurt-starter-culture
Each heirloom culture only contains two strains of bacteria, but they're different strains for each culture. The bacteria combinations give results which are characteristic of each type of yogurt.
- Do you find this question helpful? Yes No
Ask Your Own Question
Back to the product pageCustomer Reviews
- Excellent Yogurt Set Review by Katie
-
I have had great success with this yogurt. I use a eurocusine yogurt maker, the one with the seven little glass cups, so straining is not a convenient option for me. However, I have still made a very firm yogurt with this culture, even without straining. I add a half a cup of nonfat dried milk during the heating process and that makes all the difference. Using 2% milk, I get a set very similar to conventional Greek yogurt from the store. Using 1% resulted in a significantly looser set, but still tasty. All in all, great starter culture! I'm on my forth generation, saving a little bit from each batch to start the next one, and it's still going strong! (Posted on March 16, 2013)Quality Price Value
- WOW Review by Mij
-
I used a heating pan. Then I strained it. It was incredible!!!!! (Posted on March 4, 2013)Price Value Quality
- A great value for tasty, mild homemade yogurt. Review by amanda
-
I bought this culture a few months back and really like the quality. I read the instructions and followed them for refreshing the culture. At first, it looked like the culture would fail, but after having it fully refreshed (the longest incubating time was 7 hours for 1 quart of milk for the refreshing period), I have incubated many times with great results. I normally use regular whole milk or 2% and heat it to 180 degrees and hold it there for 5 minutes and chill it in an ice bath to get it down to incubating temperature faster. I use an older yogourmet incubater and incubate for roughly 4.5 hours each time and the result is a firmer (NOT like store bought firm, but firm enough that on a spoon it holds shape and the impression in the yogurt remains). I save some in a mason jar for starter culture for the next batch and strain the rest further for wonderfully thick Greek yogurt. I use it for recipes like homemade frozen yogurt, smoothies, and dessert toppings. Very mild taste that my children prefer over store bought. To make a great mild tasting vanilla flavor, I use 1/4 c. agave, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and mix with whisk in 4 cups of yogurt. For a sweeter version of vanilla and for freezing I increase the agave to almost 1/2 cup, but that is more like store bought frozen yogurt sweetness. I prefer this culture over the sachets from the health food store for yogurt culturing. This by far is a better deal. It lasts months and I still have the back up culture in my fridge. (So about 5 months of using it and it still works wonderfully). (Posted on March 2, 2013)Value Quality Price
- Excellent yogurt starter that fits my method of yogurt making Review by Toni
-
I always strain my yogurt, extracting a volume of whey equal to the volume of strained yogurt. From half gallon of pasteurized, organic, whole milk I get a quart of thick yogurt. So I cannot comment on the thickness of unstrained yogurt made with this starter. I know that for my method, using a Yogurmet yogurt maker and cheesecloth for straining, it is perfect. I save out starter from my new batch and use it for the next batch (about 1/3 cup to culture the half gallon of milk). The flavor and effectiveness are still there after the 5 batches that I have made so far. This is a big money saver in the long run. I only wish that, with so many different yogurt starters available from Cultures for Health you would make it more obvious from the package which cultures can be reused, like this one, and which are one-time cultures. (Posted on January 11, 2013)Quality Price Value
- Good Review by Cindy
-
This is the first yogurt I've ever made. I use raw cow's milk. The yogurt is not as thick as store bought,more like the thickness of a regular store bought yogurt, not Greek yogurt.Price Value Quality
The flavor is good & I would recommend the starter. (Posted on December 15, 2012)
- Nice! Review by Cindy
-
This is my first time making yogurt & everything went well. I used organic whole milk from the grocery store. The yogurt came out thick and creamy. It was just like you'd buy at the store! I am very pleased. (Posted on October 31, 2012)Value Quality Price
- Yummy Review by short muffin
-
So very yummy. I make about a gallon of milk with one cup cream at a time. I strain half of it. Both are great. My 6 year old didn't like it at first and now she eats it with honey instead of dessert. (Posted on May 11, 2011)Value Quality Price
- Love it! Review by Kathy
-
I bought and started using the Greek starter in January. The first little batch was thin and needed straining, but the other batches I have made have been wonderful. Sometimes I strain them for a thicker "greek-style" yogurt, sometimes not - great either way. Perfect with berries. (Posted on March 31, 2011)Price Value Quality
Attention!
Starter cultures, rennet for cheese making and cultured vegetables, juices and condiments are sensitive to excessive heat. Once your order has shipped, an e-mail with tracking information will be sent to you. We encourage you to use the tracking information to anticipate the arrival of your items so they can be removed from the mail box and stored in the refrigerator promptly.