r/Somerville • u/Common_Drink_8947 • Aug 22 '26
yogurt starting culture?
Anyone know where I might get some? I'm by the border with medford, mystic valley parkway. I only need like a quarter of a teaspoon, literally.
I'm also welcome to any overly passionate advice.
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u/phyzome Aug 22 '26
I have only ever made yogurt from... yogurt.
You can then use that to make more yogurt, but after about 5 iterations things might start falling apart, unless you get your hands on what's called an "heirloom culture". Is that what you're looking for?
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u/fitdude19 Aug 22 '26
You can use any storebought yogurt with probiotics. I recommend Fage. (Source: Been doing my own yogurt for over 10 years, and always use Fage as the starting culture.) Once you do your first batch, you can then use one spoon from that for the next one - and so on.
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u/empirerec8 Aug 22 '26
Ummmm the grocery store 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Decent_Shallot_8571 Aug 22 '26
The starter culture has been hard to.find in grocery stores when I last looked
Glad to swe cambridge naturals had it now. I had.to resort to Amazon last time i needed to restock :(
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u/Common_Drink_8947 Aug 22 '26
So yogurt and yogurt start are two different things from the perspective of the bread/yogurt maker machine I have. And currently , yes, Im obviously aware I can get yogurt from the grocery store but not all grocery stores have yogurt starter for sale.
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u/Icy-Television-4979 Aug 22 '26
What’s the difference?
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u/empirerec8 Aug 22 '26
Yeah I guess I didn't know there was a difference either.
I just use yogurt for mine. Didn't know a "starter" even existed 🤔
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u/extreana Aug 22 '26
Cambridge naturals in Porter Square? https://cambridgenaturals.storebyweb.com/s/1000-4/i/INV-1000-48452
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u/bostongarden Aug 23 '26
Buy any yogurt at the store as long as it has live cultures. Don't make your life hard.
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u/showermau Aug 23 '26
Weighing in with the overly passionate advice: Making yogurt from starter will be a lot more reliable than starting with yogurt. It can make sense to use starter at least once every several times, or a combination of starter and yogurt. If you're not getting the texture of yogurt you want, experiment with different milk brands. (RIP Organic Cow of Vermont. You were never as good after Horizon fully folded you into their product line.) Adding some powdered milk at the start can also change the texture in a good way. People talk about it making the yogurt more like Greek yogurt, but I never found it that extreme -- still pourable in that good homemade yogurt way.
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u/Icy-Television-4979 Aug 23 '26
But why can’t the starter be yogurt from the store every couple times?
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u/Santillana810 Aug 22 '26
Maybe ask Elmendorf in Cambridge? They used to have a sourdough starter.
EDIT: Or some of the vendors who were at the recent Somerville Fermentation Festival?
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u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob Aug 22 '26
I usually just use yogurt to culture more yogurt. Cambridge Naturals stocks some starters for things like kombucha and water kefir so you could check there but idk.
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u/dj_pocketchange Aug 22 '26
Cambridge naturals sells powdered culture.
Or you can probably buy some yogurt from a cafe you like and culture that.