Mesophilic Starter Culture - Non-Manufactured Sources

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I read on another website that the Thermophilic Starter can be "substituted" with yoghurt  ( is that correct?)
And mesophillic Starter can be substituted with cultured Buttermilk ?

Now , i can have Yoghurt here in Thailand, but Buttermilk i can't.  Is there any way to make mesophillic Starter with something other then cultured Buttermilk? Or as other option , how do i make a cultured Buttermilk at home? I have store-bought Milk only.

thanks, mbox

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Very hard situation you are in mbox.

Mesophilic bacteria thrives in room temp about 21C to 24C. Fresh milk has got them but you can't get fresh milk either, can you?
If you can find fresh milk then you can follow this entry here

[Cheese Head]

Echo Gurkan, probably easiest to get a friend to carry some in for you from Australia or USA etc or you could just try mail order and see if it arrives, probably best to do it in winter, so from Australia for now?

Two other ideas, phone local Yogurt manufacturers and ask where they are getting their culture from, you could also try posting in the Thailand Board, maybe someone will reply.

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Thanks Gurkan & john,

That link about Clabber is very informativ .

I currently get my supplies from cheesemaking.com which was always reliable and fair priced for the shipping to thailand too....i was hoping to find things locally to replace importing things but i think i will get the meso in future in larger amount so it will keep for a while.
But i also found a dairy farm about 300km from home which i may give a visit ...they should have fresh Milk and i believe buttermilk too...i have also a Farming college here just out of town they have cows and milk but the milk is sold through indirect source and very inconsistent quality ( believe they added a significant amount of water) , thats why i am on store-bought milk.

This Forum is great , it seem to have started after i did my first , rather unsuccessful, cheese making try-outs and than stopped until now....

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[Sailor Con Queso]

MBox,

You should learn how to prepare Mother Cultures. A little bit of dry culture will last a VERY long time.

Making Mother Cultures

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MBox,

You should learn how to prepare Mother Cultures. A little bit of dry culture will last a VERY long time.

Making Mother Cultures

great stuff and i will try that out...thanks a lot
umm induction cooker i like it :-)

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[fied]

Making your own is probably the way to go, but if it's possible to get good creme fraiche or sour cream in Thailand, that would do it; the real things should be made with buttermilk, or a meso culture..

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Making your own is probably the way to go, but if it's possible to get good creme fraiche or sour cream in Thailand, that would do it; the real things should be made with buttermilk, or a meso culture..

oh, i think i can get sour cream ....so can i use sourcream instead of meso ?

thx,

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[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

I am guessing that the bacteria concentration would not be ebough with straight sour cream.

What I would do is, mix half sour cream and half skim milk in a sterile jar and leave it for 24 hours or till it sets like yogurt. Smell and taste for off flavours. If it smells and tastes good, use it as a meso. Keep the ripening to about an hour. Check the pH. If you don't have a pH meter, check your flocculation and the hardness of your curd. If these two indications are looking somewhat OK, continue with the making.

I would use about 160ml above starter for 8 litres of milk.

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Thanks  a lot , great info Guerkan , i will get the sourcream today what i saw yesterday at Makro and try that out....

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[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Have a look at the label, it may be saying "cultured". Buy the one that says "cultured" if you find any.

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I am afraid i have that choices i will buy the only one Brand there is ....if there isn't cultured written on it  i will just eat it :-)
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[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Even if it does not say "cultured", try making your meso. Sour cream does not go sour without any culture unless they've added some sort of acid.

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Oh BTW, can you find some kefir there? Or you can order from Australian guy Dominic, he sends it to overseas. It has a lot of bacteria in it, and would be possible to use it as a starter.

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Ok i got the sourcream this noon and mixed it with regular pasteurised milk ... i just checked now and i see already that it firms up nicely...i think there is some real culture inside that sourcream....which means i have a "homemade "meso starter now :-)  and a home made yoghurt will serve as homemade thermo starter.

I shall try to make some cheese with my homemade starters now :-)

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