Ask Allie!

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Allie, Not a question, but a more detailed answer to Clint who would like a goat milk or goat cheese flavor from his cultured yogurt.... I regularly use dry goat milk powder (full fat and/or nonfat) in combination with cow milk. Meyenberg brand dry goat milk is readily available, stores well, but be aware it's about twice as expensive as dry cow's milk. The flavor after culturing with dry goat's milk is possibly a little more tart than using cow's milk alone.... Recently I drained and thickened a 1L batch into labneh and then blended that with a 4 oz. flavored goat cheese (Cypress Grove Sgt. Pepper, if you wondered). Wonderful (and goaty) flavor came through and less dense than the goat cheese alone.

Hope that it's helpful to Clint.

I appreciate all of you at Positively Probiotic creating this forum. It's a great way to share our challenges and our discoveries.

— Elizabeth

This is really excellent information, Elizabeth! Thank you!!

2 Questions: I have seen some folks saying they freeze starter portions from batches if they want the starter to keep more than 5-7 days. Some use ice cube trays and then put the cubes in a baggy to keep in the freezer. This seems like a great idea. Are there any reasons this might not be a good idea?

Also do I need to take the starter portion out before I separate the whey for thicker yogurt? Can you use either the whey or the thickened yogurt as your next starter?
Is there equal bacteria in both? Thanks so much for your answers.

— Becky

None that I’m aware of, no. I use breast milk bags to freeze mine, but loads of people prefer ice cube trays since it’s pre-portioned. 

Whey is substantially weaker, so you’ll want to take your samples either before you strain or from the curd once you’ve strained.

Hi, I recently ordered some Crème Fraîche, and am wondering--do I use that to culture milk, or whipping cream?

— Matt

Half-and-half or cream. Not milk unless you want a thinner finished product.