Best Cultures For Health in 2026

LOW MAINTENANCE: This culture is direct-set, meaning it only cultures once, perfect for beginners or anyone who doesn't want to have to maintain a starter.

COST EFFECTIVE: With this starter you can culture up to 4 gallons of non dairy yogurt, effectively spending less than half what you'd pay for store-bought ready-made vegan yogurts, including cost of milk you'll use!

VEGAN: Make your own plant based yogurt from your favorite non dairy milk! Soy milk is the only kind that will naturally thicken without pectin, but you can also make delicious yogurt drinks from almond milk, oat milk, or whatever you like.

VERSATILE: Make a variety of Hard Cheeses such as Provolone, Parmesan, Swiss, and more to spice up your meals.

INDIVIDUALLY PACKED: Four packets of the starter culture allows experimentation with different cheeses.

GLUTEN-FREE AND NON-GMO: Have peace of mind knowing that only the right natural ingredients are used.

INCLUDES: Rennet tablets (5); citric acid (4 ounces); cheese salt (8 ounces); thermometer (1); butter muslin (1 yard); and detailed step-by-step instructions for making mozzarella and whole milk ricotta.

QUICK RECIPE: This is a great kit if you're new to cheesemaking; while it may take some practice to get used to, our included mozzarella instructions only take about half an hour.

GIFT IDEAS: Any friends or family members will love this all-inclusive kit, whether they already love making their own cheese, enjoy cooking and baking, are interested in cultured foods, or simply want a new unique pastime.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: This powdered starter is the easiest culture in the world, so if you want to get into kefir but aren't ready to maintain milk or water kefir grains, this is the perfect solution for you!

COST EFFECTIVE: Includes 4 packets of starter culture, and with proper care, each kefir starter can be re-cultured 2-7 times; simply reserve 1/4 cup from previous batch for next one.

VERSATILE: Can be used with a wide variety of different kinds of beverages, including milk, water, juice, coconut water, or plant based milk such as coconut milk.

INCLUDES: 4 packets of cream cheese starter culture with vegetable rennet already mixed in to make the cheese making process easier for you, plus step-by-step instructions to help guide you.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: No starter to maintain with a direct-set culture! Plus, you don't have to press or age it, and you'll already have most or all of the necessary equipment at home. Perfect for beginners, experimenters, and anyone not looking for a long-term project.

VERSATILE: Your morning bagel will be that much more delicious with cream cheese spread you made yourself. Use in a number of tasty foods, like cheesecake, jalapeno poppers, buffalo chicken dip, and many more.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: Sourdough is one of the most forgiving cultures to work with, making it a great choice for beginners or breadmaking pros. Plus, this dehydrated culture gives you a chance to get familiar with feeding your starter before it's time to bake!

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, our sourdough starter can be reused indefinitely to leaven baked goods, making it easy for you to create delicious bread over and over again.

VERSATILE: Make more than just bread! Use this starter to try your hand at creating delicious pizza dough, muffins, pancakes, pasta, banana bread, cakes, and more.

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, our heirloom Greek yogurt starter can be reused indefinitely to continuously culture more yogurt for as long as you want—all you need is 2 tbsp of previous batch!

HEALTH BENEFITS: Traditional Greek yogurt owes its famously thick consistency to the whey straining process. The resulting protein-rich, low carb yogurt is packed with Vitamin B12 and riboflavin, among other nutrients.

LEGENDARY TASTE: The first documented yogurt, Greek yogurt is popular for its creamy texture and tart taste, perfect for eating with granola and berries, blending into smoothies, or adding to a plethora of recipes.

INCLUDES: 4 packets of tempeh starter spores (rice, soybeans, Rhisopus Oryzae culture) and detailed instructions for making your own authentic tempeh. Each packet cultures 2 cups of dried beans, which translates to about 1.5 pounds after soaking, boiling, and culturing.

AUTHENTIC TASTE: Tempeh is a delicious Indonesian dish made by fermenting soybeans so that mycelium knits them together and produces a sort of cake with a nutty, smoky, mushroomy flavor.

VEGAN PROTEIN: One of the best homemade meat substitutes you could ask for, finished tempeh can be marinated, sliced, fried, or however you would prepare meat. Put in sandwiches, soup, or level up with vegan bacon or meatless chicken nuggets!

FRESH SOUR CREAM: Give your Tacos or Baked Potato a pop of fresh flavor by making your own sour cream.

NO MAINTENANCE: Simply freeze the unused packets of starter until you are ready for another batch.

EASY-TO-USE: Each packet yields 4 quarts of sour cream and takes only a few minutes of preparation.

INCLUDES: 4 packets of starter cultures specially formulated for making deliciously tangy, salty feta. Just add milk, rennet, and calcium chloride (optional—creates a firmer curd).

MILK OPTIONS: This popular Greek cheese is traditionally made with sheep milk, or a combination of sheep and goat milk, but you can also use cow milk if preferred. Try something different for each batch and discover what you like best!

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: Even if you've never made cheese before, our easy-to-follow instructions walk you through every step, so you can easily familiarize yourself with the process.

VERSATILE: Includes 2 packets of starter culture. You can culture milk into buttermilk or cream into butter, and you can use finished buttermilk to make sour cream as well!

HEIRLOOM STYLE: Simply reserve ¼ cup of buttermilk from previous batch to culture the next one, and you'll essentially have a limitless supply. To keep the culture strong, make a new batch at least once per week.

MESOPHILIC STARTER: No finicky temperatures to monitor while your buttermilk cultures! At a balmy room temperature of 70-77°F, it will easily culture on your countertop.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: Sourdough is one of the most forgiving cultures to work with, making it a great choice for beginners or breadmaking pros. Plus, this dehydrated culture gives you a chance to get familiar with feeding your starter before it's time to bake!

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, heirloom our sourdough starter can be reused indefinitely to leaven baked goods, making it easy for you to create delicious bread over and over again.

HEALTH BENEFITS: Sourdough, in addition to being a low carb bread, is a great source of vitamins and minerals. Plus, finished loaves are chock full of prebiotics, which help promote good digestion.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: Sourdough is one of the most forgiving cultures to work with, making it a great choice for beginners or breadmaking pros. Plus, this dehydrated culture gives you a chance to get familiar with feeding your starter before it's time to bake!

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, our sourdough starter can be reused indefinitely to leaven baked goods, making it easy for you to create delicious bread over and over again.

VERSATILE: Make more than just bread! Use this starter to try your hand at creating delicious rye crackers, pizza dough, muffins, pancakes, pasta, and more.

BEGINNER FRIENDLY: Sourdough is one of the most forgiving cultures to work with, making it a great choice for beginners or breadmaking pros. Plus, this dehydrated culture gives you a chance to get familiar with feeding your starter before it's time to bake!

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, our sourdough starter can be reused indefinitely to leaven baked goods, making it easy for you to create delicious bread over and over again.

VERSATILE: Make more than just artisan bread! Use this starter to try your hand at creating delicious gluten free pizza, gluten free cookies, and other tasty gluten free snacks.

HEIRLOOM STYLE: These kefir starter grains can be used to continuously re-culture more kefir for as long as you want, offering an essentially limitless supply from just one purchase.

HEALTH BENEFITS: Water kefir is full of enzymes and probiotics for digestive health — many more probiotics than even yogurt or buttermilk! It's also a great dairy-free alternative to milk kefir.

VERSATILE: Kefir can be consumed plain, flavored in a second fermentation, used in place of whey for lacto-fermenting vegetables, or used as an ingredient to make healthy snacks.

PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS: Because there is no starter to maintain after use, this is the perfect yogurt for those who are looking to get into the world of making their own.

HEALTHY: Each starter packet contains a complex blend of bacteria that boosts the nutritional content of your yogurt, creates great flavor, and promotes easier digestion.

PREMIUM: Each Traditional Flavor Yogurt Starter is made with fresh, high quality ingredients that are natural and non-gmo, ensuring you know exactly what is going into your recipe.

INCLUDES: 4 packets of our homemade yogurt culture starter and detailed step-by-step instructions. This starter is direct-set, meaning it only cultures once, but each packet cultures 1-2 quarts of milk, so you still get plenty of yogurt without the upkeep.

LOW MAINTENANCE: Because there is no starter to maintain after use, this is the perfect yogurt for those who are looking to get into the world of making their own.

HEALTH BENEFITS: Ingesting good yogurt bacteria known as probiotics helps promote better gut health. Yogurt is also high in protein, vitamins and minerals such as calcium. You can make all sorts of tasty healthy snacks with this yogurt pack!

EASY TO USE: Make rich and delicious crème fraîche with the easy to follow instructions for this starter culture.

MILD FLAVOR: Crème Fraîche has a milder in flavor and is a much more versatile condiment than sour cream.

SINGLE USE: 4 single use packets make up to one quart each with only a couple minutes of preparation time.

HEIRLOOM STYLE: With proper care, our heirloom Bulgarian yogurt starter can be reused indefinitely to continuously culture more yogurt for as long as you want—all you need is 2 tbsp of previous batch!

HEALTH BENEFITS: Yogurt contains plenty of probiotics for digestive health. Plus, unlike other yogurts such as Greek yogurt, Bulgarian yogurt isn't strained, so it offers extra nutrients like calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B12, and much more.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED: The original yogurt, the first known in existence, Bulgarian yogurt dates back several millennia, and is also acclaimed as the healthiest yogurt in the world.

INCLUDES: 4 packets of our dehydrated yogurt starter cultures. You'll receive one of each of our favorite Scandinavian yogurt strains: rich, custard-like Filmjolk; mild, thin Piima, perfect as a yogurt drink; mild, creamy Viili; and honey-scented Matsoni.

HEIRLOOM STYLE: Simply reserve a tablespoon from previous batch to keep culturing more yogurt as long as you desire. Once prepared, yogurt maintains re-culturing viability for 1 week in fridge and stays edible for 2 weeks.

PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS: This is a mesophilic culture, meaning you don't need a yogurt maker to make your own delicious yogurt! All the included yogurts culture at 70-77 degrees Fahrenheit.

VERSATILE: Make several types of soft cheeses such as cottage, cream, Chèvre, Neufchâtel, blue etc.

INDIVIDUALLY PACKED: Four packets of the starter culture allows experimentation with different cheeses.

GLUTEN-FREE AND NON-GMO: Have peace of mind knowing that only the right natural ingredients are used.

SPREADABLE: Add a special something to your cheese and cracker tray when you make soft, spreadable chèvre at home with goat milk.

EASY TO MAKE: Simple instructions make it easy for the cheese making novice to make batch after batch of delicious cheese.

NO MAINTENANCE: 4 packets starter culture plus easy-to-follow instructions. Just store the unused starter in the freezer until you're ready for another batch.

INCLUDES: Our direct-set vegan yogurt starter culture (4 packets), Pomona's Pectin (1 box), a pocket test thermometer, and a cotton nut milk bag, as well as detailed step-by-step instructions.

VEGAN: Make your own plant based yogurt from your favorite non dairy milk! Soy milk is the only kind that will naturally thicken without pectin, but you can also make delicious yogurt drinks from almond milk, oat milk, or whatever you like.

HEALTH BENEFITS: Yogurt contains probiotics for digestive health, and vegan yogurt contains just as many probiotics as dairy based yogurts. It's also a great source of vegan protein!

VERSATILE: Drink plain kefir or add juice or fruit for a refreshing gut healthy treat, or bottle for a naturally carbonated drink.

REUSABLE: Can be used to create a new batch of water kefir every 24-48 hours without a loss in nutrients or health benefits.

GLUTEN-FREE AND NON-GMO: Make your own healthy kefir with absolute peace of mind that you're getting highest quality ingredients.

DIY YOGURT: With our starter cultures, you can make your very own yogurt at home using nothing but pasteurized whole milk and basic equipment you'll already have lying around the house.

VERSATILE: Viili is a variant of Finnish yogurt with a thick, creamy consistency and mild flavor, a tasty favorite for any yogurt recipe or all on its own.

HEALTH BENEFITS: In addition to being a delicious gluten-free, non-GMO snack, this yogurt is rich in probiotics, improving your gut health and helping you feel great.

DIY YOGURT: With our starter cultures, you can make your very own yogurt at home using nothing but pasteurized cream or whole milk and basic equipment you'll already have lying around the house.

VERSATILE: Piima is a variant of Scandinavian yogurt with a mild flavor and thin consistency, the perfect yogurt for drinking. You can culture Piima with cream rather than milk for a topping similar to sour cream.

HEALTH BENEFITS: In addition to being a delicious gluten-free, non-GMO snack, this yogurt is rich in probiotics, improving your gut health and helping you feel great.

BUDGET FRIENDLY: Make delicious fromage blanc at home for a fraction of the cost of grocery store prices.

SPREADABLE: A mild-tasting, spreadable soft cheese that can be added to bread, an omelette or potatoes for a pop of flavor.

NO MAINTENANCE: Includes 4 packets of direct set cheese culture which means you can put them in the freezer and saved until you want to make cheese again.

DIY YOGURT: With our starter cultures, you can make your very own yogurt at home using nothing but pasteurized whole milk and basic equipment you'll already have lying around the house.

VERSATILE: Filmjolk is a variant of Swedish yogurt with a thick, custard-like consistency and tangy flavor reminiscent of cheese, delicious with fresh fruit or served over pie.

HEALTH BENEFITS: In addition to being a delicious gluten-free, non-GMO snack, this yogurt is rich in probiotics, improving your gut health and helping you feel great.

INCLUDES: All the cheese making supplies you need to make your own homemade cheese: 4 oz citric acid powder, 1 yard butter muslin (fine-weave cheese cloth), 1 food thermometer, and our easy-to-follow instruction and recipe booklet.

PANEER: This fresh cheese is one of the easiest and most versatile to make at home. It's full of protein and doesn't melt like other cheeses, so it can be used as a vegetarian meat similar to tofu.

QUESO BLANCO: Also a fresh, non-melting cheese, queso blanco is firm and slightly sweet. It crumbles nicely and thus makes a fantastic taco cheese, salad topping, or garnish for whatever you like.

DIY YOGURT: With our starter cultures, you can make your very own yogurt at home using nothing but pasteurized whole milk and basic equipment you'll already have lying around the house.

VERSATILE: Matsoni, also known as Caspian Sea Yogurt, originates in the Republic of Georgia. It has a thin, custard-like consistency with notes of honey, and is a popular choice for frozen yogurt.

HEALTH BENEFITS: In addition to being a delicious gluten-free, non-GMO snack, this yogurt is rich in probiotics, improving your gut health and helping you feel great.