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What you get when you order Caspian Sea Yogurt - yogurt starter & instruction book
Print Recipe
How to Start Caspian Sea Yogurt From the Happy Herbalist
Happy Herbalist sells two yogurt cultures - Caspian Sea Yogurt and Villi. Usually they recommend Caspian Sea Yogurt because it multipies best at 68 °F to 86 °F. Villa multipies best at 60°F. Starting instructions are the same for both.
Prep Time10 minutes
4 days of yogurt making (10 minutes per day of hands on time)4 days
Total Time4 days
Course: Yogurt
Cuisine: Universal
Servings: 1 cup
Equipment
  • clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid -- wide and round is best (more surface area for the bacteria to absorb oxyen)
  • paper towel or cloth towel that will cover the opening of the glass container while fermenting
  • rubber band to secure the covering over the glass container
Ingredients
  • 1 package Caspian Sea Starter www.happyherbalist.com
  • 8 ounces FRESH milk (per day x 4 days) purchase the best sell-by date possible and start culturing immediately; to start a culture, it's best to use whole homogenized milk
Instructions
  • Obtain culture
    Order the culture on-line from Happy Herbalist. You'll receive live starter in a food grade plastic bag and an instruction booklet.
    It will likely ship the same day and arrive in your mailbox 2-3 days later. Possibly during very hot summer days, it will be arranged to be shipped on a "cooler day". You don't want it sitting in a hot mailbox for too long. As soon as possible after receiving the starter, refrigerate it. Also, since it is a live culture, it needs to be started ASAP. Within a day or two is best.
  • Repeat these steps 2-6 four times (each cycle will take about one day)
    1st time: Snip a corner of the starter package and squeeze the starter into a clean glass container.
    2nd, 3rd & 4th time: Place about 2 tablespoons of yogurt from the previous batch into a clean glass container.  Use the creamier center yogurt for this purpose. Sadly, the remaining yogurt from the previous batch must discarded,  it is not ready for consumption yet.
    Adding the Caspian Sea Yogurt starter culture for the first time
  • Add milk, stir and mix well.
    Adding milk and stirring
  • Cover with a paper towel, and secure with a rubber band. Set on counter. Allow to sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours.
    Covering the Caspian Sea Yogurt with a paper towl
  • After about 8 hours, you can start to check to see if your yogurt has set (is ready). Check every hour or two by slightly tilting the jar. If it is like milk and runs along the tilted side, it is not done. If it is similar to the firmness of a milkshake, it is done. If it has separated into a liquid (whey) and lumpy (curds), it has over-fermented. Ideally, check often and stop the ferment before it gets to the over-fermented stage. However, if it has over-fermented, do not throw it out. Refrigerate as below and then in step one, stir mixture and take appropriate amount for the seed for the next round.
    Yogurt has set (doing the tilt test)
  • Remove the covering and cap the container tightly. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
    CSY in sealed container ready for refrigeration
  • Consume and propagate like regular yogurt
    Your ferment is now very healthy, active and balanced. You can start consuming it.