Euro Cuisine RI52 All Natural Yogurt Culture Starter, Perfect for Dairy Free, Whole Milk, Protein Probiotic Pouches for Smooth Creamy Homemade Yogurt

I tried making yogurt using Fage and other "good" brands. It never tasted like the parent culture and wasn't all that thick. I read some blogs that said you needed a freeze dried culture and then searched here at Amazon. There were many good comments here, so I chose the one that would give me the characteristics I wanted.Success! It's truly delicious. I have tried culturing it as short as 4 to 5 hours and as long as 10. It seems to thicken more the longer you leave it. At 4 hours, I get at least 50% whey when I drain it to get something close to a Greek yogurt in thickness. At 10 hours, I get only about 12 ounces of whey when I started with about 40 ounces of milk. I use 2% organic milk most times, though I've use non-organic 1% also. The 2% appears to give me a taste and texture that rivals whole milk yogurt that I purchase. I leave some plain and flavor some. I use the plain to inculturate the next batch - one time I waited at least 10 days - and it's worked every time. I only use about 2-3 T of plain to 40 ounces of milk.I like the Euro Cuisine Greek Yogurt Maker that is sold here, but find that I prefer cheesecloth. I still use the Euro Cuisine - it's a handy container - but it's not as easy to clean as cheesecloth. I also found that the Matbah Insulated Food Server - also sold here on Amazon - is an excellent container in which to put the cultured milk. Since my oven does not have a pilot, it doesn't keep it warm enough. But, this container does. After 2 hours, it's still about 105 F and after 4 hours it's still around 100 F and already set enough that it doesn't matter if the temp goes down more.

I am of Mediterranean origin and yogurt is a key element of our cuisine. We consume 1/3 gallon of yogurt everyday and eat it with almost every dish. That is why we make our yogurt daily and never buy it from outside. Home made yogurt is a kind of tradition in our house that has passed many generations. I have tried various cultures as starter but for the last couple of years I rely on this one.First of all, key to making thick yogurt lies in the technique rather than the culture. All you need is to warm the milk in moderate heat up to 185 F which is very close to scalding. You should keep an eye on the milk as it can get burnt leaving you a nasty pan to clean and a burn taste in your final product or overflow which again is a mess. But this should not discourage you since if you keep the heat in moderate setting and/or mix it a few times during heating it should not be difficult to guess where to stop even if you do not have a thermometer (I strongly recommend buying one for accuracy and consistency)The purpose of initial heating is not killing the bugs like many people believe. Even if you use pasteurized milk which I do, this initial heat is necessary to get a thick end-product since that high temperature denatures the milk proteins and makes it easier for helpful bugs to work on them.Next step you allow it to cool down to around 110 F or to the level that you can barely touch with your finger. That temperature is ideal for the growth of thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria and this starter contains those type.Then you add one sachet to one liter of this pre-treated (heated and cooled) milk and after thoroughly mixing you immediately cover it and incubate. If you are using a yogurt maker 5-6 hours of incubation should be adequate (for those starting from this culture) if you do not have a yogurt maker then cover it with blankets ( a few sets) or various cloths to keep the internal heat (traditional technique I had used for many years before buying a yogurt maker) This time the incubation time depends on the external temperature, how you cover it and the volume of your milk. But around the same time should be fineTraditionally people in my home country use pre-made yogurt as a starter culture and they even borrow culture from neighbors when they need to change it. A store bought yogurt could be a replacement for using a starter culture sachet like this one but in the long run, this comes cheaper than buying yogurt from the grocery every once in a while and is more convenient since it can be stored for a long time at a cool-dry place with no need for refrigeration.I use my previous yogurt as the starter culture for the next one. 2 table spoons in one liter of milk is more than enough, and that way the incubating time can be significantly reduced compared to using starter culture like this one. For example, using yogurt maker, I incubate the yogurt made from a previous yogurt for 4 hours to get the desired thickness. Under same conditions it takes 5-6 hours to get the same density when starting from this powder.However using previous yogurt as starter, the efficiency goes off in time while the acidity increases due to other colonies finding their way to the medium. If you keep everything clean and store your yogurt in closed containers in the fridge then this cycle should last around 45 days until you need to start a fresh cycle from this powder.That is how I get this one order last for a year without sacrificing from the quality. Therefore I rate this as a 5 star product due to the price and the convenience it offers. I hope this tips help the other home yogurt makers save some money, remember: yogurt has been made for thousands of years and using starter culture is only a thing of the last few decades...Note: I use T-fal YG232BUS Balanced Living Yogurt Maker with LCD Timer, White and Update International THFR-17 5 1/2"-Long Dial Frothing Thermometer during the procedure I explained above. I can recommend both products for those who need one.

Ok, I didn't really follow the directions on the package. All I did was boil 2 glasses of water and mix with a whole can of condensed milk. Then I added 2 cups of cold 2% milk. Then I sprinkled the powder and used a whisk to stir..I don't have a yogurt machine so I used the traditional way, the only way I know of: a large pot of hot-warm water. So I managed to divide the entire contents into 5 glasses (cuz I had 4 classes of liquid plus one can of condensed milk). After covering them with plastic wrap I put them into the pot that's half full of warm tap water mixed with boiling water.After 7 hours (overnight), I looked at the yogurt and it was still liquidy so I thought I had failed. But I didn't give up so I dumped out the water and poured in another gallon or two of warm tap water and let the same batch of yogurt try incubating again. Three hours later, I picked up one of the glasses and saw that the yogurt had solidified. IT WORKED!!!! Finally!The taste was as I'd expected. Yummy, creammy and smooth.