It's commonly advised to maintain a separation of around 4-5 feet between different fermenting batches. This helps minimize the risk of cross contamination and ensures each batch develops its unique flavors effectively. If you are storing your ferments in the fridge temporarily, it is recommended to use a tight-fitting airtight lid to maintain freshness and prevent potential contamination during the storage period.

You can store yogurt starters in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer. The yogurt starter will gradually weaken the longer it is stored, which may impact its effectiveness.

Yogurt cultures need to be fed once every seven days to keep the bacteria healthy. We already know you’re not always going to be consistent about that, because life. But do the best you can. You can certainly go longer than that but you risk bacteria die off, and especially if you do it a bunch. Basically that means that doing it often will weaken the culture and possibly kill it.

Most mesophilic yogurts can be on the thinner side. Straining a portion of the whey from the yogurt can help! You can use a nut milk bag OR you can line a plastic strainer with unbleached coffee filters, add the yogurt, cover, and place in the refrigerator for a few additional hours.

Another way to thicken yogurt is to heat the desired amount of milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Then cool the milk back down to room temperature between 68-78F. Add the yogurt starter and culture as normal. Sometimes we even will boil down the milk until it’s barely caramelized before cooling back to room temperature for a sort of baked yogurt.

Thermophilic yogurt cultures require a temperature between 90 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit to develop. It takes between 4 and 12 hours for the yogurt to reach the desired consistency. There are traditional recipes that call for as long as 72 hours incubation time, so if you forget about it, don’t sweat it! Just get to it as soon as you can and move on with your day. Head’s up about the long-aged yogurts: they’re quite sour!

Mesophilic yogurt cultures ferment at room temperature (between 70-77 degrees Fahrenheit), and this form of preparation typically results in a runnier texture. The phrase “Dangerous on a spoon” comes to mind. Mesophilic yogurt usually takes between 12 and 24 hours for the yogurt to reach the desired consistency. There are a few other distinctions between the two forms of yogurt. Opt for thermophilic starters for thick or Greek yogurt.If you prefer ease of preparation and runnier yogurt, (or just use it for smoothies or frozen yogurt) then you will be happy with the mesophilic cultures. We tend to recommend mesophils to really busy people, because it’s less to keep track of.

When yogurt is left to ferment for an extended period, it undergoes separation, resulting in the formation of curds and whey. The whey, which appears as a liquid layer both around and atop the yogurt, can be either mixed back in for a creamier texture or poured off based on personal preference.

It’s okay if it happens once or twice. However, when you consistently deprive the culture of nourishment, you are essentially starving it. This practice, if done habitually, can lead to the gradual weakening and eventual demise of the yogurt culture. Remember to keep a close eye on the yogurt as it ferments and watch for important clues that indicate it’s done fermenting.

Please do not add probiotic capsules or powders during activation batches. We recommend that you don’t do it at all because it can and often does kill the culture over time.