Questions on Piima Yogurt Starter

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• From JL at 4/21/13 3:36 PM
  • After cultured and allowed to refrigerate for 6 hours, how long before the piima spoils if left in the fridge?
  • Hi Jamie
    
    Your culture will remain viable for re-culturing for 7 days in the fridge between 40 - 45 degrees, 1 month it will remain edible.
    
    Please remember we recommend to never eat anything that looks or tastes offensive to you.
    
    I hope that helps.
    
    Best wishes
    Maggie
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• From Hariyanto at 4/8/13 1:38 AM
  • If i concerned about bacterial mutation from re-culturing, what should i do with this culture and thermophilic starter culture?
    
    
    
    
  • To minimize the risk of cross contamination, we recommend leaving at least 2 feet of space between culturing foods and airtight lids when your culture is in the fridge.
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• From JL at 2/23/13 4:14 PM
  • What is the shelf life?
  • The Piima Yogurt Starter packets, unopened, will last 3-4 weeks at room temperature; 9 months in the refrigerator; 12 months in the freezer.
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• From Deanna at 1/28/13 11:34 AM
  • Actually, a comment on the answer to Jan's question about insuring a consistent temperature. The seedling mat suggested in the answer is a great idea, but seedling mats don't have a thermostat, so they just raise the temperature a certain amount above ambient temperature. What you really need is a thermostat. Fortunately, they make thermostats for seed mats, and you can use them with any source of heat--a seed mat or a regular heating pad. If you culture in an enclosed place (like an electric oven, an excalibur dehydrator, or a cooler, you can even use a plain ceramic light bulb base with a low watt bulb as a source of heat. The thermostat will turn the heat source on and off as needed, to maintain the proper temperature.
  • Thank you for your comment, Deanna!
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• From Allison at 7/7/12 4:50 PM
  • Will the Piima taste sour? I cultured my first batch and it set into yogurt consistency, but didn't taste like yogurt at all, instead it tasted sweet, just like milk. Wondering if I messed it up some how.
  • Piima is a mild-flavored yogurt drink. If you are used to eating tangy or tart yogurt, it may taste sweet to you. If the yogurt set, you cultured it properly.
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• From Lynnw at 6/26/12 3:58 PM
  • Can the mother culture be frozen if it's not going to be used soon? Will it still be viable?
  • If you want to take a break from making yogurt, you can preserve some active cultures by freezing or drying. Neither method is completely reliable, but our customers report a fair amount of success with both.
    
    For more information and instructions: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/storing-taking-break-yogurt
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• From KJ at 4/9/12 7:23 AM
  • My mother culture turned into curds and whey. Can I still use it to make other batches?
  • Separation into curds and whey, although still tasty, isn't usually a good sign for the yogurt culture itself. If your mother culture is less than 7 days old, it might still be worth a try.
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• From Waggie at 11/10/11 4:36 PM
  • Can you use Lactose Free Milk to make Piima Yogurt?
  • Lactose-free milk is usually made from cow milk with lactase added. Lactase is the enzyme missing in the gut of lactose-intolerant individuals. It breaks the lactose down into two simple sugars: glucose and galactose. The yogurt culture also consumes the lactose, and uses it to produce lactic acid, which makes the milk proteins coagulate. So if the milk did not have any lactose to start with, the yogurt culture would not work.
    
    However, since the lactose IS broken down in the culturing process, there is not much lactose left in the finished yogurt even when you use regular milk. As a result, many lactose-intolerant individuals can enjoy yogurt. You might want to try a small amount of good quality plain yogurt, and if all goes well, start making your own.
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• From Mommy to many at 11/7/11 3:53 PM
  • Can Piima yogurt be started and "chained" with raw goat milk? Is this an unending yogurt culture to chain; or do we need to start a new mother culture after a number of batches? Thanks so much!
  • Piima yogurt works very well with goat milk. To perpetuate the culture, you will need to maintain a "mother culture" which you will then use to inoculate each batch of raw milk. Take a look at the Piima instructions to see how that works: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/media/docs/Piima_Yogurt_Instructions.pdf
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• From shannon at 10/29/11 8:18 AM
  • I've been doing kefir and love it but need to try yogurt now for the Standard Carbohydrate Diet. The author recommends culturing yogurt for 24 hours to reduce as much lactose as possible. Is there a starter you recommend for doing 24 hour yogurt or would any work fine?
    Thank you
  • A mesophilic yogurt will set up in 12 to 48 hours. You can begin looking at the yogurt at the earliest end of the range, and check it again every half hour or so. Our mesophilic yogurts are Viili, Filmjolk, Matsoni, and Piima.
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