Yogurt and kefir

[Yvonne Smith]

Hmm. Then can't you just start some and once finished reserve a small portion like a "sourdough bread starter" to add and make a new batch?

Yes, you can do that with both yogurt and kefir. However, if you are using the starter packets, after a few batches, it seems like some of the bacteria have an overgrowth or something that changes the taste of the finished culture. So, I save enough of the first batch to make several new starters from that, and this way, you can get a lot of quarts of kefir or yogurt from the same packet of starter.
Just keep saving a little of each batch for starter until you think it tastes a little strange, and then start over with a new packet of culture.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

Just keep saving a little of each batch for starter until you think it tastes a little strange, and then start over with a new packet of culture.

I can see that.

I'd imagine people run into that with bread starters too. At a certain point unwanted critters might rise too far in population while some of the others get replaced. Before long you're drinking old socks.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

My new warming plate arrived yesterday, so last night I tried starting a quart of kefir in it. I set the timer for 12 hours at 90 F , and this morning, it was ready and tasted delicious. I put most of it in the fridge to chill and used the rest as a starter for the next quart.
I just used a wide mouth quart jar and covered it with a little crocheted cover to help hold heat in the jar.

Kefir cultures at room temperature, but it takes a lot longer in cooler weather than in the hot summer, so in warm weather it will culture overnight, but in the winter it needs at least 24 hours, sometimes more if the kitchen is really cold. The yogurt maker works at 110, so it is too hot for kefir, or for the L.Reuteri yogurt, but my warming plate works form 70-110 F, so it should be able to culture almost anything I want, and barely takes up any room. It was only $15 on amazon, and seems like it was a really good deal.
Here is how it looked with my first quart of kefir and the crocheted jar cover.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

I am so pleased with the Coolinario reuteri kefir starter that I ordered some of their reuteri yogurt starter. It is supposed to be out for delivery today, so I am going to try making a batch of yogurt using this new starter. It does not have to go for 36 hours like the regular L.Reuteri yogurt, and I can just ferment it until I like how it is looking and tasting.
Since I am making the kombucha in the jar with the warming plate, I will use my yogurt maker for this yogurt, but either one should work, since I can set the temperature for the reuteri to proliferate best.

 

[Marie Mallory]

My new warming plate arrived yesterday, so last night I tried starting a quart of kefir in it. I set the timer for 12 hours at 90 F , and this morning, it was ready and tasted delicious. I put most of it in the fridge to chill and used the rest as a starter for the next quart.
I just used a wide mouth quart jar and covered it with a little crocheted cover to help hold heat in the jar.

Kefir cultures at room temperature, but it takes a lot longer in cooler weather than in the hot summer, so in warm weather it will culture overnight, but in the winter it needs at least 24 hours, sometimes more if the kitchen is really cold. The yogurt maker works at 110, so it is too hot for kefir, or for the L.Reuteri yogurt, but my warming plate works form 70-110 F, so it should be able to culture almost anything I want, and barely takes up any room. It was only $15 on amazon, and seems like it was a really good deal.
Here is how it looked with my first quart of kefir and the crocheted jar cover.

View attachment 1107

Looks neat. I still hope to try it this winter.