Homemade yogurt
How do I know that my yogurt has live and active cultures in it? I used store bought organic Greek yogurt with live and active cultures as my starter, and it turned out beautiful and thick,but I'm making it to replace taking probiotic capsules. In all my studying beforehand I never found a conclusive answer as to, HOW do I know if the yogurt bacteria is in it?
Best Answer
In the US yogurt will list in the ingredients the particular strain(s) of lactobacilii that it includes. It will also say on the label: "Contains live, active cultures"
Even the cheap yogurt I have looked at says it contains live cultures.
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How do I make homemade yogurt?
6 Basic Steps to Making Homemade YogurtIs making your own yogurt worth it?
Making your own yogurt is way cheaper than buying yogurt at the store. Depending on the milk you buy and the kind of yogurt you like, homemade yogurt costs 60 to 80 percent less. It's easy to calculate the savings, because one litre of milk makes a 750-g tub of yogurt (plus some).How safe is homemade yogurt?
If proper food handling and safety methods are followed, yogurt can be made safely at home without fear of foodborne illness taking over the product. Turning milk into yogurt is an excellent way to extend the shelf life of milk by a week or two and is a safe dairy choice for those of us who are lactose intolerant.What is the difference between homemade yogurt and Greek yogurt?
Regular and Greek yogurt are made from the same ingredients but differ in nutrients. While regular yogurt tends to have fewer calories and more calcium, Greek yogurt has more protein and less sugar \u2014 and a much thicker consistency. Both types pack probiotics and support digestion, weight loss, and heart health.More answers regarding homemade yogurt
Answer 2
The fact that you made the yogurt is proof enough. Your yogurt has live cultures.
In principle every yogurt is a colony of bacteria living in milk. When you make new yogurt, you are establishing a new colony, using the starter as "colonists" who then take over the new milk. The result is a lively ecosystem of bacteria.
Companies nowadays optimize food for long storage time, and frequently also for some blandness. Since a lively colony can go more sour with time, some of them actively go and kill the bacteria after the yogurt has been made. This stops the yogurt's taste from changing.
The reason why people warn you about choosing "live cultures" for homemade yogurt is that, if you happen to pick a storebought yogurt with killed-off culutres, they won't be able to colonize your new milk. Instead of yogurt, you will end up with spoiled milk, wasting time and food. They don't mean that you will make somehow "dead yogurt" from a dead culture.
Answer 3
If it works, meaning that with two tbsp of the store-bought yogurt you can make a new 1lt batch of yogurt, well, it has live culture! Anyway try not to keep the new made yogurt in incubation for too long, because the longer the time you leave it, the more the bacteria thrive, up to the point that they eat all the lactose and finally die due to overpopulation! normally 10-14 hours are enough to make a thick nice yogurt, but avoid longer incubation times if you prefer a milder yogurt. One of the problem with storebought is that you can keep using the yogurt to make fresh batches just for 3-4 times, after that it will no longer work and you should buy another "mother". If you are interested there are "heirloom" cultures, that instead you can perpetuate indefinitely. (I have been making mine from the same mother from 5 years now). Many people also are keeping their yogurt for years having started from store-bought.
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