Caspian Sea Yogurt (Matsoni, Matzoon) is a dairy product of Armenian (and Georgian) origin. It has been a staple food in those Caspian Sea nations for centuries and later found it’s way to the Western world through the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea and slowly gained popularity as Caspian Sea Yogurt. It, much like the Bulgarian yogurt, is renowned for its health benefits and is believed to have consistently contributed to the longevity of the people of that region. It is traditionally made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep or buffalo, domestic animals abundantly farmed in its native area. Caspian Sea Yogurt is a mesophilic product, which means you can culture it at room temperature.

It is super easy to make Caspian Sea Yogurt using our Bacillus Bulgaricus Caspian Sea Yogurt starter culture.

All you need is a pack of our starter and milk.

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Caspian Sea Yogurt Starter

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Our Caspian Sea Yogurt (Matsoni) starter makes a smooth, creamy Caspian Sea Yogurt with a mild, slightly tart flavor.

The starter makes a genuine Caspian Sea Yogurt of exceptional quality with traditional Matsoni flavor, consistency, taste and aroma.

Simply select a pack size and enjoy some great Caspian Sea Yogurt!

Select Pack Size

Since Caspian Sea Yogurt contains type of cheese cultures, it’s best if you use it with dairy milk — cow’s, sheep’s, goat’s, skim, whole, raw, or pasteurized.

There are two ways to make Caspian Sea Yogurt – the traditional mesophilic way and a faster, fail proof way, which I personally recommend as it yields results faster. The two methods are explained below.

Traditional Mesophilic Caspian Sea Yogurt Making Instructions

Use this method if you prefer to make your Caspian Sea Yogurt the traditional way, manually or with the help of a yogurt-making machine.

This is the traditional method to make mesophilic yogurts. I, frankly, prefer this quick and fail proof way, but the beauty of the traditional way is that you don’t really need to do much – just wait. So it’s ideal for people who like hands-off cooking 🙂

The traditional method consists of two parts:

Part I. The Activation

Let a cup (200 ml) of milk warm up to room temperature (around 76°F / 24°C) on its own, if using pasteurized milk, or if using raw milk, bring the milk a boil then let a cup of it cool down to room temperature on its own.
Add the starter from the pack to the milk and stir until it dissolves.
Note: Do not whisk. Whisking introduces air bubbles into the milk and that slows down incubation.
Cover the jar with a lid or a towel to keep the milk clean from dust and air-borne particles. Towel is maybe better because it allows air to still go in, which speeds up activation a bit.
Let the milk sit for about 24 hours and then check if it has set (firmed up).
Note: Milk has set if it separates somewhat cleanly from the sides of the jar when you tilt the jar. Some mesophilic yogurts will be slimy so separation might look messy but you will clearly notice change in consistency.
If it hasn’t set in 24 hours, then keep it going and check every 2-4 hours until it sets. Some mesophilic cultures may take up to 72 hours to set depending on the ambient temperature and other conditions in your environment.
Congratulations, you know have an active mesophilic yogurt, which you will use as a starter in the next step.
Note: You can also choose to eat it but be careful, it might be tarter than you expected, especially if it took too long to set – some of the strains might be past their prime and even smell funny.

Part II. The Fermentation (The actual yogurt making)

Add your activated starter (the cup of yogurt from the previous step) to a liter (or up to 4 litters) of milk. Do this in a single container so all the starter can mix evenly with all the milk. The milk can be room temperature or cold, straight from the fridge.
Stir gently until the active starter dissolves.
Note: Do not whisk. Whisking introduces air bubbles into the milk and that slows down incubation.
Distribute the milk into culturing containers (1L mason jars work best).
Cover the jars, the same way as in the activation step, and leave at room temperature for 12-48 hours until the yogurt has set. It will now set much faster than before. It will also be much yummier!
Note: If your environment is warmer, the yogurt will set faster. So check it after 12 hours then check every 2-4 hours to make sure it has set. As in the previous step, the yogurt is set if it separates somewhat cleanly from the sides of the jar when you tilt the jar. Some mesophilic yogurts will be slimy so separation might look messy but you will clearly notice change in consistency. Also, keep in mind that mesophilic yogurts are naturally thinner than thermophilic yogurts so be prepared for a viscous or slimy consistency.
Move it to the fridge and keep it there for at least 2 hrs before eating it. Cooling the yogurt will help it thicken and improve its taste.
Enjoy!

Do not forget to save a cup of the ready-made yogurt to use for making your next batch! Keep that in the fridge and make sure you use it to make your new yogurt within 3-4 days to ensure all bacteria is viable and in great condition.

Note: If using raw milk keep in mind that it will likely have residual bacteria in it that may interfere with the strains in the starter. In that case, we suggest doubling the amount of starter needed for your volume so you can make sure the strains from the starter dominate the rest.

Advice for your peace of mind: If at any point during the later stages of activation or fermentation you are in doubt that the process is working, simply dip a knife straight down into the milk and take it out. if it’s slimy then things are already happening, if it’s clean, then incubation hasn’t started yet and you’ll need to wait a bit longer to test again.

Fail Proof Caspian Sea Yogurt Making Instructions

Use this method if you have difficulties getting good results with the traditional method or would like to get your results faster, try this fail-proof manual method instead.

This is a fail proof manual method that you can use with mesophilic cultures to get your yogurt to turn out faster compared to when using the traditional mesophilic method.

This method relies on keeping the milk warm during incubation, which speeds up the process by making the culturing environment more beneficial to the development and procreation of the lactic acid bacteria.

Heat up the milk to just over 167°F / 75°C
Set aside a cup from the milk
Keep the rest of the milk in the container you heated it (or distribute it to the culturing containers – 1L mason jars work best)
When the milk in the cup is at 86°F / 30°C (it will feel lukewarm to the touch), add the starter from the pack to it then gently stir it until it dissolves, about a minute
Note: You are adding the starter to the milk in cup, not to the milk in the containers!
When the rest of the milk (in the containers) is ready, at around 90°F / 32°C, distribute the milk from the cup (the one with the starter) to the jars, proportionally to their volume.
Gently stir the milk in the jars.
Note: At no time whisk. Whisking introduces air bubbles into the milk and that slows down incubation.
Place a blanket in your microwave (or oven). Microwaves and ovens are thermo-insulated and minimize the loss of heat.
Place the jars in the microwave on the blanket.
Loosely cover the jars with their lids or a towel.
Cover with and wrap around another blanket or a large towel. Make sure the blankets are covering the jars from all directions to minimize heat loss. This will make sure jars stay warm all throughout the incubation process.
Leave overnight (about 8 hours). Check if yogurt has set, if it hasn’t (different mesophilic strains have different incubation times so some may take twice that time), leave it for a couple of more hours, and keep checking a couple of hours apart, until it sets.
Note: The yogurt is set if it separates somewhat cleanly from the sides of the jar when you tilt the jar. Some mesophilic yogurts will be slimy so separation might look messy but you will clearly notice change in consistency. Also, keep in mind that mesophilic yogurts are naturally thinner than thermophilic yogurts so be prepared for a viscous or slimy consistency.
Move to the fridge and keep there for at least 2 hrs before eating it. Cooling the yogurt will help it thicken and improve its taste.
Enjoy!

Advice for your peace of mind: If at any point during the later stages of or incubation you are in doubt that the process is working, simply dip a knife straight down into the milk and take it out. If the knife is slimy then things are already happening. If it’s clean, then incubation hasn’t started yet and you’ll need to wait a bit longer to test again.

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