Mesophilic Direct Set Cheese Culture, 5-Pack

Works great and very long shelf life

Great product

Great cheese culture. I use it all the time. Never had a problem with this brand.

I've been making my own yogurt for years, but I miss the fromage blanc and faisselles I used to eat all the time in France. So I finally got my hands on a yogurt machine that you can set at low temp for 24+ hours, and got these cultures, plus liquid animal rennet from this company. I made my first batch yesterday, using store-bought 2% milk. 24hrs at 72F, and the results were exactly what i was looking for. The fromage blanc was basically perfect. The faisselles are very good but I do like them a little more firm - I'll experiment with calcium chloride next time. The only issue, and why I knocked off one star, is the packaging and instructions on it. The cultures come in small packets and it says one packet for 2 gallons. That's way too much for me, so I had to weigh the packet (0.5g) and measure... 1/8th of that for 1 quart of milk (I was experimenting, but a normal batch should be like 1/2 gallon, one gallon tops). Measuring such small quantities of fine powder is not practical. At least I have a fancy balance that weighs down to 0.01g! Also if you don't use the whole packet, you can't seal it back up. It would be great if those cultures were sold in small jars, or at least smaller packets - for a gallon or even 1/2 a gallon.

Gardening bout done for the season. Now I can make cheese. I haven't used yet. Im sure the quality of this will be as good as any of the qualities of anything I've ordered from Amazon.

I enjoy experimenting with and making homemade stuff. It's my understanding that this culturing material is really for making cheese, but can be used for making other stuff too. Like Cottage Cheese, cultured butter, etc. You don't even need fresh milk or cream to make things,(although I suspect the finished product will be better if you can get fresh dairy to start with). But you can make excellent things like sour cream just using the highly processed, (ie. Ultra pasteurized Milk and cream) from the grocery store. I find using any kind of REAL half&half ,(NOT the fat free half & half. I don't know what that stuff really is, but I doubt that it would work.) Anyhow, start out with a small carton of half & half or up to about a pint. It just depends on how much you want to make. For each half pint, add approximately, (I FIND IT ABSOLUTELY makes LITTLE difference how much culture you use.) 1 eighth to 1 quarter TEASPOON full of the culture. Mix them well and pour it into an appropriate size container. Place a piece of cheese cloth or dish cloth,( or anything else like that) over the container, (this helps the mixture to breath & keeps stray stuff from falling into it while its becoming sour cream. Also ,when choosing a container, keep in mind that you will need a lid to seal the container when the process is done.) So, find a warm place,( 80, 90, 100 degrees) to put the mixture, stirring gently with a fork, every 45+/- minutes, for the first 2 to two and a half hours. Then, JUST LEAVE IT ALONE, for about 24 to 36ish hours. (NO, IT WON'T SPOIL!)After that, take a fork and mix it up, put a lid on it, and store it in the fridge, just like the gloppy you buy at the store, that they pass off as sour cream. You know the ones I mean, like the one brand named after a flower. After trying your ridiculously easy to make sour cream, I think you'll find that national brand named after a flower tastes a kin to flour and water with a hint of vinegar. Enjoy yours, and have fun experimenting!

Works well as a mesophilic culture for milk.

Gives a great taste to cheese.