Cream cheese starter culture

Make your own cream cheese at home with this cream cheese starter culture. Making cream cheese is simple; in fact, cultured cream cheese is one of the easiest cheeses to make! All you need is a pack of this starter and cream.

What is cream cheese?

Mildly tart, richly creamy: homemade cultured cream cheese is a treat. Packed with probiotics, it is much more beneficial for your digestive system than regular storebought cream cheese.

Cream Cheese is a delightful fermented dairy product made by fermenting regular cream with beneficial lactic acid bacteria until it thickens. Afterward, it’s strained to create a firmer, spreadable cream cheese. The process is straightforward, requires minimal hands-on time, yields a high amount, and the result is incredibly delicious! Plus, when you make it yourself, you can experiment with endless flavor variations!

Content cream cheese starter culture

• 2 gram for 4 l of cream
• Produced in Bulgary
• Allergens: milk

Ingredients

Live active lactic acid cultures of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactococcus lactis.

Storage instructions Cream cheese starter culture

In the freezer. Even after use, store the starter in a freezer tightly wrapped in a Ziploc bag or vacuumsealed. The starter is very hydrophilic – if moisture gets into the package, the quality will deteriorate. Shelf life is approximately 2 years in the freezer.

No yoghurtmaker needed

Cream Cheese is a mesophilic product, meaning it can be cultured at room temperature, or slightly higher (30-32 °C). No yogurt maker needed.

How to Make Cream Cheese

This process involves maintaining the cream at a warm temperature during incubation, providing the ideal conditions for lactic acid bacteria to thrive.

1. Start by heating the cream to just above 45°C, setting aside a small cup of it. Keep the remainder in the container you used for heating or divide it into culture-friendly containers like 1-liter jars.
2. Once the reserved cream cools to about 30°C-32°C (lukewarm to the touch), add the starter culture from the pack and stir gently until it’s fully dissolved—this may take a couple of minutes. Important: add the starter to the small cup of cream, not the large containers!
3. As soon as the cream in the large containers cools to around 32°C, pour the starter-mixed cream back into the jars, distributing it evenly. Stir the cream gently—do not whisk, as whisking introduces air bubbles, which can slow the incubation process.

Incubating Your Cream Cheese

1. Prepare your microwave or oven by placing a blanket inside—these appliances are insulated and help minimize heat loss. Place the jars on the blanket, loosely covering them with their lids or a towel. Wrap another blanket or large towel around the jars to ensure warmth is maintained throughout incubation(Alternatively, find another warm spot in your home, like near your stove or central heating boiler. Of course you can also use our yogurt maker with adjustable temperature set to 32°C.)
2. Leave the jars overnight (around 8 hours). Check if the cream has set—it should resemble thick yogurt and separate easily from the jar sides when tilted. If it hasn’t fully set, give it a few more hours and check periodically.
3. Once the cream has thickened, pour it into a cheesecloth (or a clean dishtowel) and allow the whey to drain for 12 to 24 hours, depending on your preferred consistency. The longer it strains, the firmer the cream cheese becomes.
4. Transfer the cream cheese from the cheesecloth to a jar or storage container, and seal it with an airtight lid.
5. If you’d like to add flavorings (such as salt, scallions, chives, or sweet additions like cinnamon or sugar), this is the time to do it while the cream cheese is still soft and easy to mix. It will firm up significantly once refrigerated.
6. Refrigerate the cream cheese for several hours to allow it to firm up fully and enhance its flavor. Enjoy!

Tips:

• Our Cream Cheese starter contains live active cultures, allowing you to use a portion of your cream cheese from a previous batch to make new batches continuously. You can even use the whey for this!
• This starter works with any type of cream, whether it’s raw or pasteurized, double cream, half-and-half, or even a mix of cream and milk. Non-dairy heavy cream can also be used, but it may require a thickener since most vegan creams don’t thicken on their own.
• The higher the fat content of the cream you use, the thicker and tastier your cream cheese will be.

Online Yoghurt making course

In 29 bite sized English spoken video lessons you will learn all about making yoghurt (and other fermented dairy) at home, without the need for special tools, in this online course by the founder of startercultures.eu. You will learn to ferment any yoghurt, promote your probiotics and save money by never having to buy yoghurt again!