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Monday, January 13, 2014

Freezing yogurt to use as starter for future batches (or making yogurt for dirt cheap)


(This link has the full article from 2012, which details how I make yogurt.)

I had a request, recently, for more information on how to make yogurt for dirt cheap. So, I thought I'd share what I do, and what I've found that works for me.

The primary cost is the whole milk. I look for it on markdown -- milk that is close to it's sell-by date. Turning milk into yogurt extends the life of that milk. So, if there's just 1 week before the sell-by date on the milk, I know that I can make it into yogurt the next day and have the yogurt still be good for another few weeks. Traditionally, yogurt-making was a simple food preservation technique. The yogurt contains cultures which produce lactic acid, which, in turn, retards spoilage of milk (see here, article in Mother Earth News).

So, buying whole milk when marked down, due to nearing the sell-by date, is my first step in making yogurt for dirt cheap (most of the time, I spend under $2 for a gallon of whole milk, which makes 3  1/2 quarts of thick yogurt). If I find more whole milk on discount than I need for yogurt-making right away, I freeze the milk and make yogurt at a later date.

My second step for dirt cheap yogurt is free yogurt starter.

I've been making yogurt for 2  1/2 years now, about 2 times per month. For my first batch, I bought one 6-oz container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt for 39 cents. I've been using descendants of that first batch for about 50 batches, now. Based on a price of 39 cents per container of Yoplait, I've saved over $19 on yogurt starter.

What's my secret? I have a method that seems to work for me. I freeze my own homemade yogurt as starter for successive batches.

Some people chain-yogurt (using a bit from each previous batch to make the current batch). I prefer to freeze my starter in quantities large enough to make several batches. The advantage, here, is that if I don't get around to making a new batch of yogurt for a few weeks, I have viable starter waiting for me in the freezer. Yogurt cultures only remain viable in the fridge for about a week to 10 days.



Every 4 or 5 batches, the day immediately following making a fresh batch (after I'm sure it has set), I scoop 6 ounces of yogurt each into 5 or 6 freezer containers.

This is important -- I wait until the day after I have made yogurt (and the yogurt has incubated in my cooler filled with 115F degree water plus has had a chance to finish setting-up in the fridge) to take some yogurt to freeze for future starter. 



I label and date each container. Frozen yogurt can remain viable for many months in the freezer, but why push it. This last batch (1/6/14) was made with yogurt dated June 2013. So, I know for sure that my freezing methods work for 6 to 7 months from the point of incubating to the point of using it as starter. I keep these containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer.

I never let myself use the last container of frozen yogurt, but always keep one in reserve, just in case I do something wrong in the yogurting process.

I've read that eventually the bacterial strains will die out, and I'll have yogurt that doesn't set. But I'm putting this off by freezing several batch-starters at a time. Meaning that I'm probably only about 8 descendants from my original batch made with the 39-cent container of Yoplait.

My yogurt costs me 55 to 60 cents per quart. For our budget, that is dirt cheap.

Update on freezing yogurt starter and its viability

It's March 2019 and I am still using yogurt starter from previous batches. I recently found 3 containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer, dated June 2017. I successfully made batches of yogurt with that starter. The yogurt is just as thick as my original batches. My hope is that you have as much success with freezing 2nd day homemade yogurt to use as starter as I have.


Another update on freezing my homemade yogurt for use as starter
Here it is January of 2020. I never would have believed this would be possible but I am still using quantities of yogurt as starter which are descendants of that original container of Yoplait, bought in 2012. Yes, I've been freezing small amounts of each batch of homemade yogurt, then using those as starter for subsequent batches. I have never had to buy more yogurt to use as starter. The resulting yogurt is thick and tart -- just the way I like it.

Happy yogurting!



76 comments:

  1. I have not been freezing my starter! I am going to do that! That will save me a lot over the long run, because if I cannot afford to buy milk for a while the starter can go bad, which means wasted food plus buying a new starter. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Brandy,
      You're welcome.
      It's been very handy, for me as well. I never know when I'll find whole milk at my price point. So, I may go several weeks without making yogurt, or I may make yogurt twice in one week (that happened just this past week, with 2 gallons of milk found on mark down, and no freezer space for the extra gallon of fresh milk).

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  2. I had no idea that the cultures would remain active after freezing - that's great to know - I was often buying new starter.

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    1. Hi anexacting,
      I stumbled upon that information just before I made my first batch. I was researching everything I could about making yogurt, as I had attempted once before many, many years ago, without success.
      The frozen yogurt will look very unappealing, when you thaw it. But it still has enough active cultures to set yogurt.

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  3. Hi Lili! I'm a regular follower of your blog but this is my first time posting. I was wondering.....do you thaw your frozen yogurt overnight in the refrigerator before using? I use powdered milk for my yogurt and it works great! I have however been buying my starter. I would love to use your method!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Susan,

      That's a good question. If I think ahead of time, then yes, I thaw it in the fridge overnight. But most of the time, I take a container out of the freezer in the morning, and just leave on the counter for a few hours. It's totally thawed by the time that I need it. Just don't use heat to thaw the starter (microwave or stove). Heat will kill off your active cultures, and render your starter useless.

      I'm pleased to meet you, Susan. Thanks for commenting.

      Delete
  4. You’ve mentioned freezing the starter before and I’ve been following your example ever since.
    What flavor(s) of yogurt do you make? What do you use for flavoring? The photo looks like jelly, maybe.
    Have you calculated how much your dirt cheap yogurt is when you flavor it?

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    1. Hi frugal spinster,
      We each flavor our own, as we have it. This leaves the plain yogurt still plain so I can use it in cooking, and let's everyone have it their way.
      For flavorings, it depends on what's in season in our yard or picked in the wild (blackberries), or what I have in the freezer. Blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, plum, raspberry. And you're right, for extra sweetening, we use homemade jelly (red currant or crabapple) or homemade jam (blackberry or plum). I make the jellies and jams with fruit grown here or picked in the wild, and sugar. No pectin, unless I have a flopped batch. So, the cost of the jelly/jam is a couple of cents per serving of yogurt.

      A 6-oz serving of plain yogurt costs about 10 to 12 cents. So, a flavored 6-oz serving would probably cost about 12 to 15 cents.

      Has your frozen starter worked well for you? For me, I feel a certain amount of confidence, each time I make yogurt with my own frozen starter. I know that my yogurt was frozen while still very fresh and viable, whereas the stuff in the store could have been sitting there for a long while. Or they could have changed their formula, and it wouldn't work for homemade yogurt. Just suppositions, maybe needless worries.

      Delete
  5. Hi! Thanks for this post. I just froze a bunch of starter, we'll see how it works in a couple of weeks after I use up the starter that's still in the fridge. You mentioned in your post that you also freeze your milk? I've never done that! How do you do it? (Apart from just sticking it in the freezer) Does it need any special prep? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Kelly,
      The only "prep" that you need for freezing milk is to pour off about 1 cup of milk per half-gallon, to allow for expansion during the freezing. Sometimes, milk will separate a little bit during freezing and thawing. I've found that I can shake it up, well, before pouring, and my family has no problems with it. Give it a try and see what your family thinks.
      Have a great day!

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  6. Help! I just went through the boil cycle, cooling down now and realize I forgot to thaw my starter. I don't have any fresh yogurt only have a container that's been open for a week, will that still be okay to use?

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    1. You have two choices --
      1) you can thaw some frozen starter in a container sitting in another dish of barely warm water, not hot, just barely warm. Change the water to warm, whenever the water gets too cool. Or, 2) you can try your container that is a week old. It may work.
      Good luck! Personally, I would go with trying to thaw the frozen starter. You can always reheat the milk to the right temp.

      Delete
  7. thanks for this article. it provides the approach for big cost savings with everyday items. i'll definitely try some of these out in my next cycle of yogurt production. thanks.

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  8. Since we live out in the country far from markets selling organic yogurt and milk I freeze both. For my starter I found a plain wonderful tasting medium size container, lined muffen pan put about 3 TBS in each then froze. When frozen put in plastic bag. I now have enough starts for several new batches and they take up very little space in freezer.

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  9. THANK YOU! I recently started making yogurt again with our Instant Pot and found your method of freezing yogurt starter culture to be very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to share you knowledge. It was very helpful.

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  10. Stephen Inoue,
    thank you for the kind words. I'm happy to share what has worked for me.

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  11. Hi! So I have I big container of Dannon plain yogurt that I bought as a starter and I want to use that up before freezing my own for a starter. I only use about 1/4 cup to half gallon of milk, should I just freeze all of the Dannon in 1/4 cup portions and use that as I need it first before using my own yogurt for a starter?

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  12. Hi there,
    I've never frozen commercial yogurt to use as starter later. It's viability after freezing would depend on how fresh the yogurt is right now (how long ago it was made). The longer yogurt sits in the refrigerator after the incubation period (which is a warmer temp, around 110-115 F degrees, so bacteria continue to reproduce), the less viable the yogurt is for making a new batch. So, if you're pretty sure the yogurt is fresh, like you just made a batch with this container of Dannon and it turned out well, then I don't see why freezing it in 1/4 cup or slightly more wouldn't work.
    Good luck with this. If you remember, please come back here and let us know if frozen commercial yogurt works for you. I'd be very interested in this info, as would other readers, here.

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    Replies
    1. I will let you know for sure, I hate to waste this big container! Now to find enough small containers for freezing.....:)

      Delete
    2. If you don't have enough "containers" to freeze and store the extra starter. You can freeze the starter in an icecube tray or cupcake pan. Then pop out the small frozen blocks of yogurt starter and store in heavy ziplock bags, vacuum seal or some other container in the deep freeze. Then just grab a yogurt cube when ever you need it to make a batch

      Delete
  13. thank you this info is simply incredible! i had stopped making yogurt because i found it a pain to constantly have to go to the store for fear my own yogurt would be too weak as a frugal person i am definitely going to see what other posts you have because finding you randomly with this info has truly made my day!

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  14. Hi there,
    I'm glad that this info is helpful!

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  15. This is such a great idea to freeze yogurt for starters as cubes! Thank you!

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  16. Where I reside you can't find regular yogurt in small containers, only flavored ones. I was surprised to read your mother batch was from a small container of "vanilla" yogurt. I would have thought that the sugar in the vanilla would not only interfere with the culturing process but adulterate the taste of the yogurt. I make yogurt often and I think you just saved me a lot of money. Thanks for sharing your experiences in a well written article. One more thing, please, how much of your frozen descendant yogurt do you use in one gallon of milk. Leo

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  17. Hi Leo,
    I use about 6 to 8 ounces of yogurt per 1 gallon of whole milk.
    As for the vanilla and adding flavor to that first batch, I never noticed any flavor as a result of the starter yogurt having vanilla extract and added sugar. I'm glad this information was helpful!

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  18. When I thawed mr started yogurt it was runny, like milk, not creamy and thick like it was when I froze it. Is that normal?

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  19. Hi there,
    yes, that's normal and will still work as a starter.
    Good luck!

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  20. I am so glad to find out we can freeze our starters! That's so great! I am puzzled at the difference of how much is used in each batch though. I use 2T per gallon of whole milk and it turns out beautifully. It's nice to know we have so much leeway.

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  21. Instead of freezing do you think we could also dehydrate or freeze dry the starter?

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  22. Hi Annie,
    I honestly don't know if home-dried yogurt starter would still be viable. I do know that you can purchase dehydrated yogurt starters, so that would indicate that it's possible. That would be an interesting experiment.

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  23. Hi Jean,
    I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. I thought I did, because I remember reading your comment and think about it as I'm putting away yogurt to use as future starter. I think it is interesting that the amount can vary so much. I've only tried the amount that I once read to use. I agree. It is good to know that the range of variation can be somewhat large and still produce a good result.

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  24. Why is my yoghurt runny at certain times

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    Replies
    1. Hi, well, I don't know exactly why your yogurt is turning out runny. But I can tell you what seems to have made a difference for my own batches of yogurt. For my experience -- it's been tight control of the temperatures. I heat the milk to just over 180 degrees F on a cooking thermometer. Then I cool the milk to 115 degrees F before whisking in the starter. And finally, I put 115 degree F water into the cooler where I incubate the yogurt overnight. I do know that active yogurt is somewhat sensitive to temperature. Have you been certain that you're heating the milk high enough to kill of bacteria, then incubating at about 115?
      The other possibility is the milk you're using. If your milk is ultra-pasteurized (in contrast to just pasteurized), I've heard the yogurt won't set up right. The milk should say on the packaging if it's ultra-pasteurized, at least in the USA it has to be stated.
      I hope you can get this figured out.

      Delete
  25. Dear Lili, I'm very happy to find out your blog. It's a real treasure. Thank you very much for your effort and time to continue this for years. I respect your persistency and hard work.Thank you

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  26. I tried freezing my homemade yogurt starter as soon as I made my fresh batch about 2 weeks ago. A week later I decided to make another batch. I thawed the frozen starter in the fridge overnight but I could tell it was only partially thawed when I took it out of the fridge to use. So I whisked it to smooth it out, and combined it with my milk (about 110 degrees).
    Sadly the yogurt failed, I tried to think what I did wrong.
    I've only started making yogurt a couple of times, so it's a learning process for me.
    I thought it can possibly be due to: not completely thawed starter (low temperature) vs warm milk (high temperature) competing too much and the good bacteria died during mixing...
    But it's just my thinking, I really don't know what might've gone wrong.

    I bought store yogurt again to make my yogurt and it worked, now that I see your post here, I'm going to try again with my frozen starter next time.
    Hopefully if I thaw it completely before mixing, maybe it'll work?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Selena,
      I don't know how/what process you're using to make your yogurt in order to say what might have gone wrong. My guess is either the milk wasn't heated high enough (180 degrees F), or the yogurt wasn't incubated at the necessary temperature (about 115 F). The only other thing that I can think of is the type of milk used. I've read that ultra-pasteurized milk doesn't work well for making yogurt. In any case, here's a link to a post I wrote on how I make yogurt. And for me, I follow these directions to the letter and my yogurt has always set.

      http://www.creativesavv.com/2012/07/my-foray-in-making-yogurt.html

      You might read through the directions and see how your process differs from mine, and maybe you can determine what might have gone wrong. Good luck with your yogurt-making.

      Delete
    2. Yogurt bacillus have very soft “Shells”. My guess is that combo of whisk especially with partially thawed ice crystals killed your yogurt.
      My practice is to never vigorously stir yogurt when making it. Just gently stir to incorporate.

      Delete
    3. Hi Blum,
      That's an interesting theory.

      I do whisk the starter into my 115 degree milk every single time and have only had one batch not set fully in 9 years (this last winter -- milk that was ultra-pasteurized). But what I don't do is whisk the starter before adding it to the milk. I whisk it as I'm dumping it into the milk.

      My method follows Harvard University's School of Public Health instructions to "Whisk into the milk ½ cup plain yogurt with live cultures."

      https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/yogurt/

      As for starter that is still partially frozen, I do set my starter on the counter to thaw while I'm heating then cooling the milk. This seems to to give the frozen starter extra time to thaw, so there's no need to do any extra whisking of the starter. And it should be noted that frozen, then thawed yogurt starter always looks "loose" and separated. But that doesn't affect it's ability to set a new batch of yogurt.

      Delete
  27. I just read through your article. I amazed how you freeze yogurt as starter.
    So I made yogurt some weeks back. I froze part as starter so I just took it out now to make another batch, but it was runny and not thick before freezing then. I just used a part to see if it will activate. I haven't froze yogurt as starter before I just did it. I hope it comes out ok

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    1. Hi there,
      I hope that your yogurt turns out with your frozen starter. I've been using descendants from my first batch of yogurt as starter now for 8 years. I never imagined that I could keep this up for this long. I really believed that I'd need to buy more yogurt to use as starter at some point.
      Good luck to you!

      Delete
  28. I am so happy to find out you can freeze starter yogurt and keep it as a starter indefinitely! I was considering not bothering to make my own yogurt if I needed to continue to buy expensive starter cultures every few batches. This is so good to know, and I am grateful for finding this out on your page. Thank you 1000 times! This makes homemade yogurt much more affordable, as it wouldn't be that affordable if one requires expensive starter cultures every few batches. Why is this information not more accessible?

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    1. Hi friend,
      I'm so sorry I didn't see your comment until now. I'm glad this info is helpful for you. Freezing starter from my own batches has worked for over 8 years now for me, so I'm hopeful this info will work for others.

      Delete
  29. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Can I ask, do you defrost the yogurt starter before using to make your next batch?

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    1. Hi Debbie,
      Yes, I get the starter out of the freezer around the same time that I begin heating the milk. I let the starter thaw on the counter while the milk heats. It's thawed within about 3 hours. If you don't want to thaw yogurt starter on the counter, then get it out of the freezer the evening before and put it in the fridge to thaw. Best of luck!

      Delete
  30. Hi! Thank you for this post. To clarify, you freeze between 6-8 oz of your fresh yogurt per gallon of milk? I would love to not have to buy starters any more. :) Also, I was following a recipe that says to keep around 115 degrees for 24 hours. Can you explain why you do around 12 hours, and why that amount of time is okay? Do you know? Thank you!

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    1. Hi Jami,
      The day after making a batch of yogurt with 1 gallon of milk, I freeze about 3 6 to 8 oz containers of yogurt to use in 3 future batches. This ensures that if I have a bad batch I still have some starter to try again with new milk.

      As for a 12 to 16 hour incubation, that's what yields a thick and tangy yogurt for me, using 6 to 8 oz of starter for 1 gallon of milk. If you're using less starter, then maybe you need a longer incubation. But I don't know for certain. A longer incubation might also yield a tangier yogurt. If the 24 hours seems to work for you, then you might not want to change it. But if the timing doesn't quite work, you could try reducing the time by 2 hours with each successive batch, until the timing works for your schedule and you still have a yogurt you like. The original recipe that I started with suggested 3 to 4 hours for incubation, using 1 gallon milk and 6 ounces starter. I accidentally left the yogurt overnight one time and the yogurt was thicker and tangier. So that's what I continued with.

      I hope this helps!

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    2. I have been cooling my milk down to room temperature before adding my culture. Then I incubate it for 4.5 hours at 110-115 degrees. Would I incubate it the same time if I used frozen culture, thawed?

      Delete
    3. Hi Susan,
      Yes, as long as the starter has been thawed, just incubate as usual. In my experience, freezing the starter, then thawing, didn't seem to affect incubation time.

      Delete
  31. This blog was super helpful! I am about to start yogurt making, I am going to try a different type of yogurt I had never heard of (mesophilic yogurt that doesn't need heat to culture) and I got 4 different varieties to try and I know I won't be able to keep all 4 going at once because I just can't eat that much so it's good to know I can try all 4 and just save starters as I alternate so see which ones I like best.

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  32. Wow smart way for saving money. I have strained yogurt, thick just like greek yogurt. Can I freeze thick yogurt for starters?

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    Replies
    1. Hi friend,
      I haven't tried freezing strained yogurt. What I don't know is how much of the bacteria/culture is in the whey that would be drained off when straining. I just don't know. But my guess is this would work. I would say try freezing enough for one batch, then thaw and make a batch of yogurt.

      If you try freezing strained yogurt (and you remember this post), please come back and tell the rest of us your experience. Good luck!

      Delete
    2. Interesting. After making one post, I was now looking this information up and here it is on your page again. I'm going to freeze it with the whey. I usually strain the living heck out of it because I need it lower in carbohydrates, but just for kicks, I might also keep a container of it strained and give that a test too. If I do, and if it works, I'll let it be known.

      Delete
  33. Wow and wow! 8 years and still going! My question is my concern over if the good bacteria would weaken over time doing it your way? E.g the starter weakens.

    I have frozen two little containers of yoghurt to use as starters from a batch of store brought yoghurt. Also, I have made one new batch from the store batch yoghurt before freezing. And it works so far. I used two huge tablespoons of starter, 1 1/2 cups milk powder and make it up in a one litre container adding water. It sets for 12 hours in a yoghurt maker (essentially a thermos) But am thinking of extending the time to 24 hours as it eliminates the latose e.t.c.

    This is way easier than trying to do a sour dough Starter! I failed miserably.

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  34. Just to clarify, I don't mean will the starter will work but is your yoghurt still better for you than say a probiotic pill after 8 years of using the same starter. If that makes sense? Or as good for you as your first batch of yoghurt etc

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    Replies
    1. Hi Audience of One,
      I don't have an answer to that. I'm not a nutritionist nor do I have the scientific tools to determine the benefits of my homemade yogurt after using descendants from an original starter from 2012. I can tell you, though, that I am still using descendants from that original starter, freezing portions from new batches of yogurt. And my yogurt is still setting up. I'm kind of amazed myself. I honestly believed that I would need to buy a new starter by now.
      Sorry I can't answer your question on my yogurt's nutritional merits.
      Wishing you success with your yogurting.

      Delete
  35. How do you defrost your yogurt starter? I’m just beginning and have made several successful cold start yogurts with my IP. My first several were testing different times, sweetened or unsweetened, and that type of thing. I have now found my preferred times and such, so was excited to use my frozen starter for the first time. However, after leaving it to defrost in the fridge (It was in there two days as something came up.) it separated. I wasn’t sure if I’d done something wrong, or if it would even work, so I tossed it and started over. A little help for this beginning would sure go a long way.

    I’m using 2% Fairlife milk and Fage Total 2% as my original starter. I then use my Instant Pot Evo Duo Plus on its yogurt setting. Since the milk is ultra pasteurized I can use the cold start method and skip the pasteurizing step. I set it to fermentation for 8.5 hours, then set it to high (Same thing as normal on other IPs.)

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    Replies
    1. Hi there,
      I thaw the yogurt on the counter for several hours (it's while the milk is heating). It does separate after freezing and thawing. That's totally normal. But it still works as starter. I use 3.5% milk that's not ultra-pasteurized. So I can't give advice on making yogurt with 2% UP milk. Good luck to you!

      Delete
  36. Thanks you for sharing this information! I have a few questions. Would I be able to use some store bought yogurt that I froze or the first batch has to be from fresh not frozen? After opening a yogurt carton, do I have to use it to make yogurt right away or can wait a few days to make my yogurt? Also, there is another method to keep the culture going and that is like a chain-yogurt but instead of saving some in the fridge after each batch you would save in the freezer so that it can still be good to use after several weeks. Have you ever tried this other method of freezing after each batch instead all at once? I wonder which method would keep the cultures viable for longer.

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    Replies
    1. Hi there,
      I can't be certain, but I think so long as the store bought yogurt had active cultures when you froze it, it should work as a starter when thawed. The cultures will deteriorate once thawed, just like the fresh yogurt needs to be frozen within a few days of making to maximize the cultures for use as starter. If you thaw some yogurt to use as starter, try to use it within 1-3 days. I've never frozen yogurt for starter after each batch. I tend to freeze enough for 3 additional batches. The theory is that with each generation, the cultures will weaken. So if you freeze after each batch, you'll reach that point where your cultures won't work as well sooner than if you freeze in multiples. Freezing in multiples means you progress through the generations more slowly. All that said, I've been using descendants from my very first batch over 10 years ago, and the yogurt still works as a starter. The other benefit to freezing in batches is I always have a back-up starter in the freezer in case something goes wrong in making yogurt (like my thermometer is broken and I have the wrong incubation temperature or heat and cool temperature).
      Good luck!

      Delete
  37. You have a good idea here, I'll give you that. I did freeze some starter once and it thawed looking pretty dismal as I read it would. I'm reading up on it again (thus I came to your pages here) because the wife and I are taking off and I know our son isn't going to want to continue the strain we've been using. I'm probably going to make one batch freeze a good chunk of it, and eat the rest. Then I'll resume making it once we get back. FYI - We used store bought Fage yogurt. I haven't been keeping track but we're probably between 20 and 30 continuous batches in and it's still going strong. From what I read, I didn't think it would last this long, so I'm pretty happy. Your idea to store some of an earlier batch is really good to keep it going once we finally get to the point where the culture we've been using continuously fizzles out.

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  38. Hello! I just got into yogurt making recently and have been doing it the chain-method and I am so glad to have found this post! I am wondering though— you said you freeze your starter in large enough containers to make around 3-4 batches. Does this mean that when want to make a batch of yogurt you entirely defrost this starter container, use whatever quantity you need, then put the remainder back into the freezer (to then be entirely defrosted again the next time you want to make yogurt, and then the remainder frozen again…)? If so, does this cycle of completely defrosting and refreezing degrade the starter at all? Thank you so much!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there,
      I'm sorry if my wording is confusing. I freeze my homemade yogurt in large enough "quantity," not "containers", so that I have enough for several batches. So, I use small 8-oz containers, enough for 1 batch at a time, just several of them -- 3 or 4 8-oz containers for 3 or 4 batches, thawing only 1 container at a time. Does that make sense?
      best of luck!

      Delete
    2. Thanks so much for getting back to me, that clears it up. From there I am also wondering, from the frozen starter do you chain-make your future 4-6 batches after that?
      As in, for initial time, you make the yogurt from the frozen starter, then use a reserved portion of that initial batch to use to make the following batch and so on for around 6 batches? Again, I really appreciate your reply!

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much for getting back to me! That makes sense now. I'm also really curious-- do you know about how many "generations" you have been using your original vanilla Yoplait starter for? And have you had to make any big adjustments to the amount of starter/incubation time because you have had the starter for so long? Apologies for the weird wording-- I'm still new to this!

      Thank you again for the reply

      Delete
    4. Hi,
      I'm not sure how many generations, but it's been since 2012 -- a lot of batches of yogurt over the years. The changes I've made to how long I incubate my yogurt are more because I like tangier and thicker yogurt. I now incubate a batch for about 12-14 hours. I think I use the same amount of starter as I did at the beginning. I have had a couple of thinner batches of yogurt which I think was from the brand of milk I used. I don't know where you live, but in 2019 or 2020, I was buying milk from Walmart and every batch I made with W's milk turned out thinner. I switched back to a brand that I knew had always worked before and my yogurt turned out thick again. So, if you happen to have a thin batch, try switching the brand of milk.

      happy yogurting!

      Delete
    5. Hi, I saw you had another question I missed. When I'm down to one or two containers of starter in the freezer, I freeze another 4 or 5 containers of fresh yogurt (day 2 of making yogurt, after chilling). So the batch when I freeze a bunch of starter, I end up with less for us to eat just that week. So it's not chain-making yogurt from one batch to the next, but using one batch of yogurt to make starter for several more batches.
      Hope that answers your question.

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    6. Apologies to be bombarding you with questions! But that about answers all of them! Thank you so so much!

      Delete
  39. Thank you for your helpful information. Yesterday I wanted to make yogurt and had to go to the store for yogurt. With your method, I hope to never have to do that again. It has been very educational and heart warming to read your replies to questions. Happy yogurting! Thank you!

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  40. I used to make yogurt in the 70s and recently remembered how I did it with a one quart thermos with the oven light for 8 hours so now that consumption may be at the heart of global issues it’s one small step to reduce

    I wanted to thank you as I wasn’t sure about freezing my starter when I wasn’t ready to make more tight away for whatever reason

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  41. And I finally got to use a couple strained cultures my wife froze for me while I was away for two weeks. Once they were thawed they became very liquid, as I expected, but the two new batches of yogurt they produced came out just great. While they produced great yogurt, they wouldn't have been enjoyable to eat.

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  42. That's my experience too. It was really cool to see that the undesirable thawed yogurt could produce wonderful yogurt.

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  43. Yes, and that also works if you've let it culture too long and you're not happy with the taste, as I did a number of times. I will say though, it'd odd to thaw it, see it looking as undesirable as it does, and then watch it produce another excellent batch.

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  44. Thank you, this is very helpful! I'm using it to help WIC recipients get the most out of the food they bring home. <3

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hello! Will this method also work for vegan yoghurt?

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    Replies
    1. Hi there,
      Making vegan yogurt is a little trickier. I've done it successfully with a specific brand of soy milk. My theory is the vegan milk has to have a similar protein and sugar component to that of dairy milk. So, for instance a similar amount of grams of sugars (as listed on the label) and grams of protein,. I made the soy yogurt using a dairy starter I'd frozen, not soy yogurt starter. So I don't know how much of the active cultures remain in the vegan yogurt in order to use it to make future batches.

      I do think it's worth a try, though. The worst that could happen is the batch will fail and you could use the failed vegan yogurt in recipes as you would use vegan milk, such as pancakes or a cream sauce.

      My soy milk yogurt was not as thick as dairy yogurt, so I strained it through a coffee filter to thicken it, and I enjoyed that. Wishing you luck with this!

      Delete
  46. I always look at the ingredient list in the commercial yogurt. Some of them have two strains of bacteria and some have more. I found that Nancy’s yogurt seems to have six different strains so I’ve always chose that as my starter I can say for sure that’s better but I figure having different varieties is always helpful. I will freeze my leftover yogurt in an ice cube tray, and one or two of those cubes could go into the next batch

    ReplyDelete

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