Probiotic Yogurt Starter/Natural (5 Boxes. 10 Bottles) Makes up to 30 quarts of Yogurt.

I've been making yogurt from previous batches and/or starter for many years now. So I know from yogurt starters, and this one is excellent! My search has ended. I'm not ever looking further for any other brand. My instructions are a bit longer, more complicated than VIVO's but health issues demand it. Using 1 plastic bottle (2 per box) of starter "grains", I brought 1 liter/2 qt whole organic milk (not ultra pasteurized!) to 180° then let it cool in a glass bowl to 110 - 115°. I then put some of that milk into a small bowl and whisked in the starter, then returned that to the large bowl of cooled milk, whisking it all together. Nice that it doesn't have excessive packaging (unnecessary capsules) and it dissolved readily. May not do this step with the extra bowl next time, just whisk it in directly. Other brands necessitated that step due to their more granular quality. Into the gas oven (off) but with the oven light on, wrapping the bowl with towels to insulate. Tho it can be finished sooner, I wait a full 24 hours to get the full antihistamine benefits and make it thick. Holy moley! This yogurt came out as thick as the faddish "Greek" yogurts! And the taste is amazing: not too tart, not too sweet. Best of all, this brand does NOT have dextrose (sugar) or milk solids or thickeners added. Just the beneficial bacteria - and a nice, wide variety of them! I have an overproliferation of Candida in my gut leading to leaky gut syndrome. BTW if you have unresolved GI issues the Western Drs can't find via their $$$ tests, look that up and follow the diet. After years of suffering, many Drs and tests and lotsa $$$, I figured out what it was myself thru web research. Within 1 week of following a Candida diet I already improved! But, you need to be careful on which bacteria you're adding back : bulgaris, dubrecki, casei, reuteri, Buchneri, helveticus, and hilgardii all can defeat the purpose (degrading whey, inhibiting IgE response, etc). Or so I read in extensive research. Are those bacteria in this brand? Yes, but I figured with so many others that are definitely helpful, the smaller amounts of the bacteria potentially hurtful are less.. And with these many varieties of bacteria, something has to help! So far, so good. I'm tolerating it well, a serving each day, at different times of day and no reaction at all! Phew! So happy to find a yogurt starter that suits ALL my many requirements: price, packaging, bacteria types and of course a tasty and thick end product! YeeHaaa! Highly, highly recommend.

This makes the best yogurt we've ever made. Second batches made from the first batch are pretty good too. Subsequent batches, I recommend using another vial of this culture. (Over time, the mix of organisms changes.)

I'm delighted with this yogurt starter! I use it in my instant pot on the Yogurt setting along with Ultra Filtered milk. It's worked every time, easy peasy. (As someone who is lactose intolerant, I am utterly delighted to have easy, creamy, dairy goodness without a fist full of pills.) This is not a tart yogurt. In fact, the flavor is so mild you could mistake it for mascarpone. In fact, the Vivo Probiotic Starter's flavor is so mild that I've taken to straining it overnight and using the resulting extra thick yogurt as a substitute for cream cheese in baking. Sometimes I add some savory spices and use it as a sandwich spread or labneh substitute. No matter whether I drain off a little bit of whey and stir in flavor or drain it overnight until it's a solid brick, the texture is always smooth, creamy, and an utter delight. I've experimented with a few starters and this has become my hands down favorite.

In my search for starter, this was one of my choices. I remember it worked well. Price and quantity, I think made me move on.

I bought my first box of this starter last month, Jan 23. So far I've made 4 batches of thick and creamy yogurt with a nice mild tang using lactose free milk. My method is to heat the milk to185°F in a glass container in a microwave, then transfer the glass container to a large pot of water that is just boiling for 30 minutes. This keeps the milk just above 180°. The 30 minutes at or above 180°F denatures the whey proteins making it easier for the milk to thicken. I then cool the milk to 104°F, add the starter, and incubate for 12 hours in a Brod & Taylor proofing box at 104°F. Two batches of yogurt were made from the powdered starter. Two batches were made using two tablespoons from a previous batch. Updated 07/05/23 I'm on my second box of product. I've made around 14 batches so far and each one has been great. I was initially uses 1% lactose free milk but am now using non-fat lactose free milk and still consistently getting mild tasting, smooth and creaming yogurt. All batches were made using 30 minutes at 180° F, then cooling to 104°F, then adding the starter and incubating for 12 hours at 104°F.

It made a nice yogurt and thickened properly. However I had problems with it - It gave me a migraine headache, so there must be some ingredient in it that sets me off. I tried two separate times, with two different types of half and half. If you are hypersensitive or have chemical sensitivites, this probably is not the yogurt starter for you. This is not returnable.

Excellent yogurt...