Cultures for Health Buttermilk Starter Culture | DIY Buttermilk, Sour Cream, or Butter | Heirloom Starter Cultures at Room Temperature | Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, Rich in Probiotics for Digestive Health

First of all, I must say I do not like drinking buttermilk. I bought this for baking, but the first batch smelled so good that I had to try a sip. That led to a full cup. It's nothing like the stuff you get in a grocery store. The second batch was even creamier than the first and has a nice viscosity.. So, while I may never become addicted to drinking it, I'll give it a 5-star rating. Easy to make. Delightful to the taste. And it makes a delicious buttermilk pie.

I’ve had no problems culturing this buttermilk so far. Even the first batch from the starter came out fine, though I did let that one wait longer than the other batches. I bring the milk up to room temp, about 70 degrees, but no warmer than that. I thought the milk cold from the fridge would slow the process too much. Even in my cool kitchen, the buttermilk only takes about 8-10 hours to get nice and thick, pleasantly tangy. You only need to save 1/4 cup of the buttermilk from last week to add to a quart of fresh milk, and you have a fresh new batch. And you can keep doing it over and over.Update: the buttermilk was very enjoyable for the first few times, but it kept getting thinner and thinner. Since I enjoyed it thick, but not so thick as yogurt, it was becoming disappointing and I stopped. No changes from the first few cultures…temps and culture times were the same, just the results became disappointing. I will try again with the second packet once I am ready for another round, but it is a toss up on whether this is worth the cost since I do have to buy milk, and I NEED to make it every week to keep the culture fresh. Store bought is more expensive than milk, but I only buy when I am ready to use it.

We have weekly created new buttermilk using a small amount from the previous week's buttermilk, and kept the same culture going for 7-8 years quite successfully and satisfactorily. Unfortunately, we let one container of milk sit in the refrigerator too long, and it was no longer excellent-tasting buttermilk but bitter and with a poor odor. We were unable to get culture from the person that supplied it 7-8 years ago, so we tried this product, used it according to directions (a bit different than how we've produced buttermilk in the past) and it didn't seem to work. So we used more of it in the manner we are used to, and it still did not product what we recognize as buttermilk. Not sure what the problem is, but at least this envelope of product did not work as advertised. We went to a premium local grocery store and got the best quality buttermilk they had, used it, and we've got a new culture that reproduces from batch to batch again. (note: we use raw milk, but that should only have enhanced the process!)

For some reason I cannot eat yogurt, even when I culture it myself. Somewhat desperately, I tried this buttermilk culture and it works. I can drink it and afterwards have no digestive problems.After a couple of batches it settled in and is going strong. It doesn't take a lot to start another batch either. I usually pour all of the buttermilk out of the quart jar that will come out, leaving maybe a couple of tablespoons, add cold milk, and put it in the fermenter at 75F. Although it has gelled in about 12 to 15 hours, I let it ride for 24 hours just until I notice at the bottom of the jar the product is beginning to break into curds and whey. Perfect. A few hours in the fridge allows the flavor to develop a bit. I'll then whisk it to break up the gel, making it easy to pour.Just for grins I made a 2 quart batch using only 1 tablespoon of the fresh batch. After 24 hours at 75F it was done as usual.

Package came quicker than expected. Only one thing would've brought it to a 5 star and that would've been further instructions on what kind of milk to use and the texture the product will be. In the absence of instructions I had to request Professor Google to see if I could use evaporated milk and the good Professor said yes. The resultant brew was horrible. It was thin texture and poor tasting (probable due to both the evaporated milk and the fact of the cold snap bringing our house temperature down into the low 60s that night).. I have a funny kind of milk allergy that leaves me unable to use cow milk unless it's been further processed in some way than simple pasteurization - can eat small amounts of yogurt, tolerate cultured buttermilk, and cream gravy made with evaporated milk. If the grocery will restock goat milk I'll try again ( they hadn't had it in stock for over 10 days and I didn't want to wait ) and maybe stir a little active culture yogurt in with.

When I made my first starter I used a quart of organic whole milk. After 24 hours it hadn’t turned. I was leaving town for a day so I took a chance and left it out. When I returned after a total of 60 hours it was nice and thick. I mixed it well and set aside 1/4 of starter. I added 1/4 cup of this starter to 1 quart of whole milk. I am now to the third generation and I’m finding that 30’ish hours is sufficient time to get the thickness and level of sourness I like. I’ve made it with cheap whole milk and with expensive organic whole milk. Results were the same. And I keep buttermilk for drinking a small amount daily as the live lactobacillis cultures are great for gut health.

Received 2packets of culture. Used 1 to activate the culture per included directions then used some of that to make buttermilk. It did take additional time to make the buttermilk, and the instructions did say it might need that extra time. This first batch not as thick as store bought but future batches might be thicker; the flavor was good. I made buttermilk cheese as well, great on salads, and I froze some to make future batches. So with the buttermilk I made some delicious vanilla chocolate chip cupcakes. I love baking with buttermilk and it is nice to be able to culture my own.