# The very best yogurt starter ever!!!



## Tim Pruitt

Folks,
I have found the best yogurt starter ever. It makes THICK creamy yogurt. I purchased at Walmart - a small tub of Stoneyfield Farm OIKOS oganic Greek vanilla or plain yogurt to use as a starter. A tablespoon or so added to a quart of milk does the trick!!! I did use pasteurized milk and added stevia instead of sugar and a dash of vanilla flavor. Try it - I hope you are as delighted as I am.


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## MiaBella Farm

mmmmmmmm, sounds yummie Tim!


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## Sondra

AH thanks Tim I bought some to make yogurt but then ended up eating the stuff instead of making yogurt.


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## Mad Helper

I am getting good at Kefir.
How do I make yogurt?
Take milk, add starter? That simple? 
Steve


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## Tim Pruitt

Steve yogurt likes temps at about 110 degrees and it take 8 to 10 hours. You can do this with an ice chest by putting the milk and starter (sugar and flavoring too if desired) in a sealed container and filling the ice chest to rim of the container with hot water of about 110 or a little more. OR you can put the dish on a heating pad and cover with towels. Any way to keep it warm. A couple of spoons of starter to a quart of milk and keeping it warm equals yogurt.


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## buckrun

That certainly is optimum temp for fast results but I just do it on the top shelf of the kitchen- in the low 80's up there and it takes longer but still does fine. I use the Bulgarian starter pack from Ricki's and keep a mother culture. Gets better with every batch. 
I always add sweetener or fruit or flavoring after it has firmed up for fear of freaking out the culture. Nice to know you can do it at the same time. Mixed in or just at the bottom? Thanks for that tip.
Lee


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## Mad Helper

Thank you!!
Got to try this out!
Steve


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## Tim Pruitt

Lee,
I add flavor and sweetner to the milk just before adding the culture.


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## Holly Govero

Where can I get the starter? I have the yogurt thing to plug in and it makes the yogurt. Never tried it..


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## hsmomof4

I add my sweetener and vanilla (and unflavored gelatin) when I start to heat up my milk. I find that the vanilla extract added later leaves a slight alcohol flavor in the yogurt and when I add it at the beginning, the alcohol has time to evaporate.

Holly, if you are just starting out, you can buy either plain or vanilla yogurt at the grocery store to use as a starter. Get the very latest expiration date you can find, and make sure it has live cultures in it. The more variety of cultures, the better it is for you. Once you find that you enjoy making it, you can buy cultures at places like www.dairyconnection.com or Ricki's...look for the link in the stickies under suppliers...I can't remember what it is off-hand. Also, if using storebought yogurt for your starter, do not open it until you are ready to use it and only use it once for that purpose...once you open it, there is the potential for contaminating the starter. There will be more yogurt than you need for starter, so just eat the rest. After that, you can use the yogurt that you make to be your starter for the next batch...just make sure that there's one container that you don't open until you are ready to use it for starter.


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## Holly Govero

Should I put yogurt that from the store and added in my milk in the yogurt machine thingy and let it go? Because I wanted to make strawberry yogurt so bad. Since I cannot have cows milk anymore. I dont know what happened to me. I was fine with cows milk but not anymore. It kills me bad.. Anyways. I can use frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries from my garden and crush it up and use regular sugar in the yogurt before put culture right???


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## hsmomof4

Holly,
if you cannot have cow's milk at all (can you eat storebought cow's milk yogurt with no ill effects?) then you might want to go straight to buying the cultures, instead of using the storebought yogurt for starter. I wouldn't add the fruit until after it's set up, after incubating. Partly because I would be afraid it wouldn't set up, but also because the fruit will inevitably have some bacteria on it and you are going to be letting this sit out warmed up for extended periods of time, trying to encourage bacterial growth. You only want the good bacteria to grow, but if there's other bacteria in there, it's going to grow, too. Your yogurt machine should have some sort of instructions, I would think. But sugar, yes, you can add that before.


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## Tim Pruitt

Holly,
You can add sugar, stevia, or other sweetners. While you can make yogurt with raw milk (the cleaner and fresher the better) - the best results will be from milk heated to at least 165 and then let it cool down to about 110 before adding the culture. The reason for this is because you want the yogart culture to be the only bacteria in the milk. 
You can use the yogart that I found at Walmart - just a spoon or two per quart. I am not kidding, the yogurt turned out firm with a nice texture and an excellent taste - no gelatin is needed.


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## Rose

I agree with Tim - no thickeners, etc., needed.

I heat the milk to 145, hold for 20 minutes. Cool to 120, stir in yogurt culture or purchased unflavored yogurt. (Dannon, Yoplait, or other good brand)

Place in quart jars in a styrofoam ice chest with a heating pad set on low.

Should be done in 6 to 8 hours.


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## mamatomany

I can't wait to try this!


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## Holly Govero

Well. I can eat yogurt from the store brought but it does bother me lil bit. If i eat ice cream from resturant and Oh it make me sick! But that is okay. I have the package of yogurt culture. I have to figure it out.. Thanks!!


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## chewie

is the ice cream that makes you ill real or soft serve? i have no issues with cow's milk, but that soft serve gunk doesn't set will with me. the more 'real' i eat, the less my body seems to tolerate the fake stuff that is in soooo much of our foods today. 

and thanks tim for the tip, i wanted to know about that adding sweetener part, and getting something to make a thicker yogurt sounds great! so then you just keep a small jar, and use that for your own mother culture for the next batch? will this 'mother culture' wear out after some time, or does it keep producing itself again? thank you


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## Bella Star

Sounds wonderful Tim and I love yogurt ..... but I dont have any milk right now as I am back to buying store bought


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## Tim Pruitt

Chris, I have made yogart from the original container and it turned out well. Then I made a second batch just using the culture from the first batch. It is great. Now I have made my 3rd batch by using the culture from my 2nd batch - it is great! Thick and good - without any thickners.

I do add sugar or stevia - you could use artificial if you desire....


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## MiaBella Farm

How much sugar do you use for a quart?


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## TroyG

This will be something fun to try next year when we have more milk. Everything we have right now is going out the door either as fluid milk of soft cheese. Lucky for us I will have the new commercial kitchen with cheese cave done before all of our does freshen in February. I cannot wait to start making lots of hard cheese.


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## buckrun

Wow Troy! A cheese cave! How awesome. Taste testers needed? I have a veeeeeery experienced palate!
Lee


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## hsmomof4

Michelle,
I use a cup of sugar per gallon, so it would be 1/4 c. per quart.


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## MiaBella Farm

Thanks Stacey!


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## Tim Pruitt

Or you can just do it according to your taste.


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## red farmer

I'm sorry I should have told you guys! my wife used this starter about 6 months ago. and has been refreshing the yogurt for 26 times now. and it is just as good as when started.. once it starts it goesss.... dance:
Jacque


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## janette

How about vanilla, how much do you all use for 1 gallon milk??


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## MiaBella Farm

I already have customers asking about raw goat yogurt, so it is definitely on my "to do" list!


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## hsmomof4

I use 2 T. vanilla for a gallon. YMMV. I just made yogurt this past Saturday after our no-milk break and boy, it is yummy. I even made it "lower fat" by using the skimmed milk out of our cream separator. That felt really good.


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## Jen1204ca

I am l00king f0r ways t0 use up s0me 0f the fr0zen milk. Can fr0zen milk be used f0r y0ghurt? I als0 have y0ghurt fr0m Wal-Mart that I can use f0r culture, as well freeze dried culture called Y0gourmet, but that states that it is f0r machines 0nly??? S0, which sh0uld I try the st0re bought 0r the freeze dried 5g package? I 0nly have 1 litre jars, quart sealers, and am w0ndering h0w much stevia and h0w much vanilla t0 add, and at what point. Thanks! S0rry f0r all the questions...


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## lazydaisy67

I just used this Friday with a batch of yogurt! 1 quart of fresh milk heated to 180 for 5 min, then, when it was still hot I added 1/2 cup Splenda and about 2 TBS of really good vanilla from Mexico. Then I kept it incubating for 8 hours in my cooler with hot water since my children have lost my heating pad. I'm not entirely happy with the results, although the flavor is amazing! It's still too runny for my kids to eat. They just turn their noses up and run away when they see that it's not thick like store bought. It certainly is thicker than with Dannon as a starter, though. I'm going to try some gelatin next time.


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## Tim Pruitt

Just reviving an old thread here rather than creating a new one. I am still using the OIKOS greek yogurt for a starter and it is great! My mother (age 90) makes a large batch or two a week. You do not need to strain with a cheese bag to get thick yogurt. Of course, it would be thicker and truly "greek style" if you hung it in a cheese bag. However, we just sweeten the milk (I use stevia) and add vanilla if you wish or just make it plain if that's the way you like it. 

Mother always heats her milk first to 165 and lets it cool down to about 110 and then adds the starter from an older batch. She has kept the starter going for over 6 months. 

I don't heat my milk - I just use it fresh and add a tablespoon of OIKOs that I am using for a culture into the fresh milk. I make yogurt in my Salton 1 quart yogurt maker (love this product) which is enough for me. I purchase 16 oz of Oikos Organic Greek Plain Yogurt and divide it up in baggies and freeze it so that I can always have fresh culture on hand because since I don't pasteurize eventually it starts becoming more sour than desired. I can make at least 6 batches before needing new culture by taking a heaping tablespoon from the previous batch as a starter. 

If you make plain yogurt you can also use it in the place of buttermilk in most recipes and also for sour cream. 

My breakfast is usually 1/2 cup of whole milk yogurt, 1/2 cup of Flax seed granola, 1/2 cup of frozen fruit (berry blend) and 1/2 banana! YUM! I can't wait for breakfast! Sometimes it is also my evening meal.


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## Halo-M Nubians

I have a salton and love it too. I've always heated my milk up. So your saying you just bring it warm from the goat and it setting up well for you? Love the freezing idea-Thanks!


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## Nancy

We use the Oikos as a starter in our feta cheese. Works great.


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## Tim Pruitt

Yes, you can bring it in fresh from the goat and make yogurt. Be aware though that contaminated milk will mess up your culture but having more in the freezer means that you can start fresh again. Otherwise, as long as the yogurt is tasting as you desire, you can just use the last bit of it to make a new batch. When you are out of culture in the freezer, then make a new batch of culture by using only pasteurized milk. This will ensure the same quality each time.


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## Rose

Add pureed fruit when you eat it. You don't need sugar. :biggrin


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## lonestrchic23

Oikos is my 2nd fave store bought yogurt, but my most loved is Fage....

OMG the texture is awesome and it's soooo yummy!!

http://www.fageusa.com/products/fage-total-classic/

My friend uses it the same way you do the Oikos Tim, she doesn't heat her milk. At first I thought she was doing it wrong, but when I rated the end result.... Wow! Just perfect!!

I need to buy a yogurt maker, we have excess milk, and go through yogurt like crazy..... Would make more sense to make it.....


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## MF-Alpines

Tim, how much stevia do you use per quart of milk?


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## Tim Pruitt

Oh sorry! I haven't been here for a while to the cheese making part of the forum. 

I just sweeten to taste. I think though it is about 4-5 packets per quart. I also make it plain and sweeten with honey.


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## MF-Alpines

Thanks, Tim.


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## Lauri

Can you use raw milk that has been frozen?

Thank you


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## Tim Pruitt

I would imagine you can use raw milk that has been frozen. Try it and see!

My son bought a 1/2 gallon yogurt maker with cheese bag! He can't say enough about the good yogurt he makes for his family of 6. If he wants cream cheese, just make unsweetened yogurt and dump in cheese bag to drain! Loves it!

http://www.harvestessentials.com/euro-cuisine-ym260-yogurt-maker1.html

Unsweetened yogurt is great as a substitute for buttermilk in homemade biscuits. It will also work in place of sour cream on a baked potato.


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## smithurmonds

We've drained yogurt overnight and ended up with the creamiest, most delicious cheese! I agree with Tim on that one.


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## doodles

I have all the fancy yogurt makers but found that with a large family it is easier to use a crock pot. I bring milk to 165,remove lid and turn off heat. When it reaches 110 I mix in cultures,sweetener,vanilla and replace lid. I wait 12 hours and carry the crock pot to the fridge to finish setting up. The family just scoops out what they need and put in fruit,granola etc. EASY!


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## Greylady

Can yogurt be frozen and then thawed? Or frozen for popsicles only.


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## Rose

No sugar.


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## mnblonde1

Thanks for that tip! mine is always runny when I buy a starter-picking some up tonight!


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## lorit

I've always made plain yogurt for cooking but bought the RH flavored for the kiddos to eat. Got the extra milk now and should really save the money so want to learn how to make the flavored version. Stevia is mentioned in this thread as a sweetener - do you all use a powdered or liquid form of stevia? And how much per quart? I gather it is added to the warm milk prior to the starter being added. If I wanted to make a simple vanilla yogurt would I also add that to the milk prior to the starter? And how much?

As far as fruits go, I am thinking it would be just as easy to add a dollop of jam or fresh fruits when the yogurt is served? THANX!


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## In it for the Bucks!

Greylady said:


> Can yogurt be frozen and then thawed? Or frozen for popsicles only.


We do it all the time and it turns out great!! My favorite is to put it in the kids popsicles molds or in little dots on a cookie sheet and frezze. SOOO good. Great alternative to ice cream!! and with no sugar added.


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## Nuttynanny

I have made both cow's and goat milk yogurt my goat yogurt was much softer. I know with cow's milk some times I would add a little dry milk to the mix to firm it up which worked great. Haven't done that with the goats yogurt yet. Maybe this week. To cure the yogurt I use my food dehydrator takes about 9 hours.


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