The bacteria used to produce our organic Beijing yoghurt starter originated from sweet fermented rice. This is traditionally mixed with whole milk, sugar and honey to produce a very sweet tasting yoghurt. In our opinion, Beijing yoghurt tastes fantastic served without sweetening. So if you are watching your waistline you have no need to add sugar or honey. The bacteria from the sweet fermented rice have strong viability and this produces an heirloom yoghurt that can be re-cultured time and time again. This is a thermophilic yoghurt starter that requires heat to ferment. We recommend a yoghurt maker to get consistent results from our organic Beijing yoghurt starter.
Beijing yoghurt is popular in China and Northern Vietnam. Traditionally served in ceramic containers and found on many streets in the region. Yoghurt was most likely brought to China by the Mongolians, who are known to have consumed it every day at the time they invaded China. It also possibly travelled to Beijing along the Silk Road. Either way, yoghurt was originally produced by ancient nomadic herder populations that carried the day’s milk with them in goat or sheepskin bags.
Allergens – Contains milk (cows).
Recommended activation date for culture:
1 year from the date of shipping. Best stored in the freezer if the product can not be activated on arrival.
Please note that we do not send printed copies of instructions with your purchase. If you would like to have a printed version, you can open a printable PDF by clicking here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
A yoghurt maker or similar device capable of heating to 42 degrees.
Feel free to experiment with flavouring your yoghurt. The important thing to remember is to always remove enough yoghurt to reculture the next batch before you add any flavourings.
This starter will only work with animal based milks. You can use goat, sheep and buffalo milk. It will not work with dairy free alternatives.
Yes you can. However we would still recommend you follow the activation process with boiled and then cooled pasteurised milk.
You do not need to boil the raw milk before use. However due to the high microbe and bacterial levels present in raw milk, the yoghurt starter will compete for dominance. This can lead to a thinner yoghurt overall.
You can freeze the yoghurt for short periods of time (1-3 months). Beyond that the bacteria will start to decline.
You can also dehydrate the stater by pasting a thin layer onto parchment paper and leaving it to dry in a well ventilated area. Thermophilic yoghurts do not always cope well with dehydration and may not remain viable after.
Sadly neither of these methods are full proof and we can not guarantee they will always work. . The best way to preserve the bacteria in the starter it to use a freeze dry method which requires specialist equipment.
We recommend that you do. Milk will contain naturally occurring colonies of microbes, which is why milk still spoils over time. Left at warm temperatures for long periods of time (in the yoghurt maker), these microbes compete for dominance with the bacteria in the yoghurt starter. This can often stop the starter from being able to do its job and lead to a thinner yoghurt overall.