Make Your Own Yogurt FAQs

Q: Why should I buy yogurt starter?
A: Making your own yogurt has a lot of benefits - it's healthier, easy, fun, and cheaper.
A healthy, self-perpetuating starter culture like the type we have available on our website allows you to make a small one time investment in a starter culture and then all you have to buy is milk or cream. The process is simple. You simply add the yogurt starter culture to the milk, mix and allow it to sit on the counter. After the yogurt is finished culturing, move the yogurt the fridge for a few hours to complete the culturing process.

Here is how much you are paying for yogurt from the store: $.09 - $.19 oz.
Here is how much you are paying for yogurt when you make it yourself: $.04 oz.

Q. What ingredients are in your yogurt starters?
A. See our product info and nutritional facts page.

Q. Which bacteria strains do your yogurt starters contain?
A. Each pack contains ~3 grams of loose powder or in particular - skim milk powder, starter culture media, and laboratory cultures Streptococcus Thermophilus and Lactobacillus Bulgaricus – live lactic acid bacteria – min. 2.5x108 cfu/g.

Q. Do you have a dairy free yogurt starter?
A. No. All starter contain skim milk powder.

Q: Can I use your starter to make soy yogurt?
A: You can use our starter cultures to create soy or coconut milk yogurt but the starter will not perpetuate in those mediums. Therefore you would need to maintain a small amount of yogurt made with regular milk to use as a starter culture to make soy or coconut milk (the ratio is 1 tablespoon starter culture yogurt to 1 cup soy or coconut milk).

Q. Is this a room-temperature yogurt starter?
A. Yes. To make yogurt, you simply add the yogurt culture to milk, stirred and then allowed to culture on the counter before being placed in the refrigerator.

Q. Do I need to buy yogurt starter each time I make yogurt?
A. No. With proper care, our yogurt cultures are self perpetuating. You simply reserve a small amount of yogurt from a previous batch to make a new batch saving you lots of money over buying commercial products! However, if you are not in Bulgaria, it is recommended to use a new starter with at least every other batch in order to get the unique qualities of Bulgarian yogurt

Q. Do I need a yogurt maker?
A. No. You have everything you need to make yogurt at your home. See the 6 easy steps for making Bulgarian yogurt at home.

Q. How to make a thicker yogurt?
A. Add half-and-half to the milk before you boil it. Half a carton of half-and-half to a gallon milk is the perfect proportion.

Q. Can I use goat milk to make yogurt?
A. Yes, you can use goat, cow, buffalo or sheep's milk to prepare yogurt. Each one will have different taste qualities but as long as y are using our yogurt starter, they will all have the uniqueness of Bulgarian milk.

Q. Can I use non-homogenized milk to make yogurt?
A. Yes. Non-homogenized milk makes wonderful yogurt. The only difference you will see when making yogurt with non-homogenized milk is that the cream will rise to the top of the yogurt just like it does with the milk so the top layer of the yogurt will be more yellow in color.

Q. Can I use low fat milk to make yogurt?
A. Yes, but the resulting yogurt will be much thinner in consistency than yogurt make with whole milk (see below for information on straining your yogurt to create thicker yogurt). Fat is what makes natural yogurts thick. Commercially available low-fat yogurts include additives and stabilizers to make them unnaturally thick.

Q. How do I flavor yogurt?
A. There are several options for flavoring homemade yogurt without processed sugar. Be sure to wait until the homemade yogurt making process is completed before adding sweetener or flavorings. This ensures that the bacteria necessary to culture the yogurt is not disturbed.

The best tasting sweetener for homemade yogurt is raw honey. Raw honey adds not only a pure sweetness to the yogurt but also has a number of health benefits.
If you prefer a fruity flavor try sugar-free jam. Sugar-free jam comes in a number of varieties and is readily available. Just stir a little jam into your finished homemade yogurt.
Flavored liquid stevia drops also can be used to add fruity, chocolate or other flavors. Stevia drops are often available at health food stores.
Flavor extracts such as vanilla extract can also be used. We recommend using pure flavor extracts versus artificial extracts.

Q. How do I store the yogurt starter? When does the yogurt starter expire?
A. See storage and expiration information here.

Q. Where can I find recipes for using yogurt?
AA. Click here for recipes using yogurt.

Q. My yogurt didn’t thicken in the allotted time period?
A. Occasionally yogurt may take longer to thicken than specified in the instructions. This can happen for several reasons including possible drafts which might result in a lower temperature where the yogurt is culturing. It is very important that proper temperature is maintained. It is acceptable to let the yogurt culture for longer than indicated by the instructions and even if the temperature was a bit too cool, this will likely resolve the issue. Simply check the yogurt every two hours or so and place it in the fridge once the culturing process is complete.

Q. How can I get the dried yogurt starter completely mixed into the milk?
A. One of the easiest ways to incorporate the dried starter culture into the milk is to secure a plastic lid on the container and shake until the starter and milk are fully mixed. If shaking isn’t an option, stir the starter into the milk as much as possible. The instructions allow for a bit of excess starter not to incorporate without damaging the final yogurt.