Heirloom Matsoni Yogurt Starter Culture

I only got this because it supposedly has hints of honey and that seemed interesting. I didn't taste any of that and the culture seemed pretty weak, even after 3-4 cultures. I had far better success with the mesophilic cultures I ordered from positively probiotics. I'll probably try their matsoni

A 10/10 Yogurt Culture!

I’ve always been a yogurt lover (I eat yogurt every morning without fail), but I’ve never actually made the stuff myself. After a few successful attempts at yogurt making (and a few off-tasting, store-bought Fage yogurts), I decided I needed my own heirloom culture. I was tired of buying yogurt just to make yogurt (seems wasteful and inefficient). And I didn’t like the unknown shelf-life of the stuff at the store. Plus I dislike the fact that you have to replace store-bought cultures after every 3-4 batches of yogurt because the bacteria can get unstable. I really try to not depend on the market for things, if I can avoid it. And I liked the idea of an “forever” culture, since I can be lazy and forgetful, lol. In July 2024, I bought the Matsoni culture for a variety of reasons, the main ones being the unusual tasting notes. And the fact that I can make yogurt with it without my Instant Pot or special technology, should the need arise. And I haven’t been disappointed! Activation started off slowly, as did the first few batches of yogurt. But Abigail from Customer Support was there to the rescue with great troubleshooting tips and suggestions. (The customer service responses were lighting fast, by the way). She helped me figure out that my kitchen was probably a bit too cold (68-70 F), and suggested extra yet mild heat sources like my Instant Pot to help the starter culture along. Then when my batches started getting lumpy and bitter tasting, Abigail helped me determine that I was probably over fermenting my culture. I was making yogurt in my Instant Pot on “low” for 12 hours with the ratio of 1T of culture to 1C milk, which wasn’t working for me. I made adjustments from there when I wasn’t getting the results I was after. I hit the payload after a few experimental micro-batches. In case this information is helpful, I activated my starter with Horizon Farms organic ultra-pasteurized grass-fed milk (whole fat). Activation and the initial setting took about 24 hours—for 10 hours of those hours my starter was at room temp (72-74 F), the other 14 hours it was at the “low” yogurt setting in my Instant Pot (the internal temperature of which reads 83 F). What I do to make delicious yogurt now: I use Fairlife whole fat milk or Horizon Farms organic grass-fed whole fat milk. It depends on my mood and what’s at the store. If I’m using Fairlife, I use 2T yogurt culture to the whole 52 oz bottle. If I’m using Horizon Farms, I use 1/4c yogurt culture to the whole half-gallon container. I clean all of my yogurt making tools and my Instant Pot with Palmolive antibacterial soap and hot water. Once that’s done and I’ve mixed the starter and milk together, I set my Instant Pot to 9 hours on the “low” yogurt setting. It’s usually done, delicious, and nicely set by that point. Because I like thick, Greek-style yogurt, I take my yogurt making one step further with straining. I use a Euro Cuisine yogurt strainer, and leave my yogurt to strain in the fridge overnight. The longer I strain the yogurt, the milder tasting it gets, which tells me the Matsoni gets some of its flavor from the whey. Otherwise, Matsoni makes mild-tasting, ricotta textured yogurt when the whey is removed. Almost like yogurt cheese. Sublime! I also found that when I set aside yogurt starter BEFORE I strain my yogurt, the next batch of yogurt has a tangier taste and smoother texture, both of which I like. Thanks Cultures for Health for making and selling a 10/10 product, along with the fabulous and fast customer service! I look forward to many years of yogurt and yogurt making to come!