Meet viili. He cultures at room temperature.

I’ve got a new best friend.  A friend that makes my life easier and is wonderfully delicious in all sorts of probiotic ways. 

Thus far on our homesteading journey, we’ve made yogurt three ways: in the crockpot, in the dehydrator with raw milk, and now, I’d like the pleasure of introducing you to my newest love: VIILI YOGURT from Cultures for Health.

You may wonder why it’s worth it to order this specific yogurt culture – and don’t worry, I enjoy blabbing, so I’m more than happy to tell you.  Yay for being mouthy.

I specifically ordered this culture for one reason: it cultures at room temperature.  Plus, it originated in Finland - which is pretty cool.  And double plus, it's an heirloom variety that thrives on cream.  Hey...I thrive on cream!  It was meant to be.

Remember back to when we were making kefir?  Well, this yogurt works very much the same way.  You have your 'starter', which is your initial batch of yogurt.  And all you have to do is use 1 tablespoon of 'starter' for every cup of milk you are culturing.

So for example, if I want to make 4 cups of yogurt, I simply fill a Mason Jar full of milk and then add in 4 tablespoon of my previously-cultured-yogurt.  I leave it out on my counter for 12-24 hours and that's it.  Delicious, healthy, tart yogurt at my fingertips.  Cultured at room temperature! Can you believe how awesome that just made your life?  We can have fresh, high-quality homemade yogurt without having to mess with heating, temperatures, or any special equipment.


The only thing I have to do is remember to save some of our batch each time to start the next batch with!  And because I already have approximately 14,598 things to think about at any given moment (including, but not limited to: dirty diapers, the upcoming Presidential election, laundry that needs to be put away, the hole in my sock, a nasty bathroom sink that somehow attracts dog hair, dinner that should have been started, my Harry Potter addiction, an upcoming teenage girl Bible study I need to start prep on, my next knitting project, my procrastination on ordering seeds, dusting my nasty computer keyboard, etc.) only having to remember one extra is quite nice.


I think this particular culture would work perfect for moms-on-the-go who really don't have extra time to mess with temperatures and perfect timing.  Trust me, this yogurt is very forgiving.


I normally leave my yogurt plain, as I often use it for soaking flours or in this delicious recipe.  If I'm wanting some sweet yogurt, I simply drizzle it with real maple syrup and top it off with berries, bananas, or soaked granola.  Probiotic deliciousness, if you ask me.


Even if you make this yogurt using high quality, organic milk, you still save a bundle off of buying store bought yogurt.  Plus, you get to choose what you put in it.  Score.  This is quite simply the easiest way to enjoy homemade cultured dairy, besides kefir of course.


You can order the viili culture HERE if you're interested.  Which you may or may not be.


I was.  But I just get excited about this sort of thing.  


I know.  It's a sickness.  I've come to accept it.  


If you need a geeky hermit to culture your yogurt for ya, you know who to call.