Questions on Piima Yogurt Starter

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• From Cat42 at 10/6/11 7:32 PM
  • How many packets of piima culture come with one $12.99 order?
  • One packet of culture is included in one order. The packet contains enough culture to make two "activation" batches of yogurt of one cup each. The activation batch can then be used to make additional batches of yogurt, in the proportion of one tablespoon of yogurt to one cup of milk. (That is, you can use one activation batch to make up to four quarts (one gallon) of new yogurt.)
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• From Gordon at 9/8/11 6:29 PM
  • Is it really possible to make butter out of pasteurized milk by adding Pima Yogurt as a replacement for enzymes lost through pasteurization of milk
    
    Thank you for your time
    Gord
  • Any type of yogurt culture can be used to culture pasteurized milk. If the fat content of the milk is high enough, that cultured product can then be made into butter. Different yogurt strains will have different flavors, which will affect the flavor of the butter. If you're planning to make butter from your cultured milk, you would want to make sure you don't culture it too long, or it will coagulate too much and won't be easy to churn.
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• From Pam C. at 7/24/11 6:29 PM
  • How do I know my Piima yogurt activated ok? Mine never did thicken and look like yogurt - it seems to have separated into curds and whey. Thanks,
    
    Pam
  • Piima is traditionally a very, very thin yogurt. In fact, some people prefer to call it a fermented milk rather than yogurt. The fat content of the milk you make it with will determine how thick it gets.
    
    Separation into curds and whey is usually a result of too rapid culturing (too warm), or too long culturing. If your piima has separated, you can pour off the whey (save it for soaking flours or fermenting vegetables!), and stir up the curds to make a smoother drink.
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• From Eva Shaw at 5/27/11 9:36 AM
  • Can Piima culture ship to Arizona? It is between 85 and 95 degrees right now.
  • Yes, we can ship Piima cultures to Arizona. All our cultures are shipped dehydrated, so they should be stable during transit. We recommend that you refrigerate them once you've received them, to improve the shelf life.
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• From Jan at 3/17/11 5:01 PM
  • In order to insure a consistent temperature, can I use a yogurt maker to make this type of yogurt?
  • Piima is a mesophilic culture, meaning that it works best at room temperature. A yogurt maker is much warmer, and could damage the culture. If your house is very cool, or you want to ensure a consistent temperature, you could try using a low temperature mat such as a seedling mat that's available at gardening stores. These are designed to stay at around 70 degrees.
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• From Judi at 3/9/11 2:00 PM
  • Is this piima starter a dry one? Or a moist starter? If it is a dry starter, is it one pound dry? And is the ratio 1 T. piima starter to 1 cp. milk or cream?
  • The Piima culture, like all our cultures, is shipped dry. It is one teaspoon of starter, which you can use to set up two batches of mother culture (1/2 tsp to 1/2 cup milk each batch). Once you've got the mother culture set up, you can start making Piima yogurt by just saving a small quantity of each batch to culture the next batch. (Directions are a little different if you are using raw milk.)
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