FAQ

• Only use the Probiotic Maker in Ground Fault protected outlet (GFI or GFCI)
• Never immerse it.
• Do not rinse it or get it wet or hold under running water.
• Unplug first then wipe with a damp cloth to clean.
• Do not use where it could fall into water or where there could be standing water.
• Never hold it by the cord or use the cord to hold or lift up the unit, especially if connected to a bottle.
• Do not use where it could be knocked or dropped or pull the cord out of the unit.
• DO NOT FOLD or roll up the unit. The padded area should never be folded or rolled or damage or injury may result.
• Trust your gut - If a batch smells really bad (like rotten milk and not like plain yogurt/kefir) or the bottle is bloated then discard the entire batch as the milk was bad or there was contamination. Your health and safety is most important. So let us know if you had a bad batch and we will send you an extra free starter with your next order.

The process is quite simple and doesn't require any dishes, thermometer, special containers, hours of prep time...:

1. Start with a fresh, unopened bottle of milk or some milk alternatives (see Milk Alternatives Page).
2. Add an entire fresh probiotic starter packet to whatever size bottle you are using.
3. Replace the cap and shake it to spread around the probiotic starter "seeds".
4. Slide on the maker with the padded heating side in contact with as much of the bottle as possible (e.g. put thin stretchy fabric side over the handle area where there are air pockets)
5. Plug the maker into a GFI protected electrical outlet overnight.
6. Leave the maker on until the milk turns tart or starts to thicken (versions with a lot of protein). It can take up to 12 hours or more in the cold of winter, with milk alternatives, smaller bottles... You can culture a little longer for a little more tart/thicker.
7. Unplug and remove the maker from the bottle. DO NOT SHAKE it while warm or that could break up the protein clumps and lead to more whey separation.
8. Place the bottle into the refrigerator to cool and thicken a little more (if applicable).
9. If desired flavor the entire bottle or flavor by the bowl or glass or add to smoothies, recipes...
10. Enjoy a glass of fresh probiotic shake for a quick breakfast, snack, meal replacement...

Batch time can vary greatly. For example a batch during the heat of summer with fresh milk and a fresh starter packet could take say 8.5 hours while another batch in winter could take 12 hours.

So it can take up to 12 hours or more for a batch to finish (takes much longer in the cold of winter, with alternatives, smaller bottles with less warming surface, cardboard that insulates...). Some alternatives can take twice as long as the minimum 8 hours.

Leave the maker on at least until it turns tart or starts to thicken (for versions with a lot of protein) &/or the whey (yellow liquid) starts to separate (if applicable). 

Normally it will thicken more as it cools. You can culture a little longer for more tart or for a little thicker result with high-protein versions.

If there is any whey separation (whey protein often separate as the yellow liquid) the batch is finished. Some times it will not get any thicker but will actually start becoming more separated the longer it goes. The whey separation happens much more on the skim milk as it doesn't have any fat and will be more chunky with thinner liquid in between. You can pour off the whey or strain it (how you make thicker Greek yogurt or kefir/cream cheese).

See the Milk Alternatives page for more information as most alternatives won't thicken. In that case you can culture until you reach the desired level of tartness. As the taste changes from sweet to tart you know the probiotics are growing (because the probiotics consume the sugars to grow and output the acids/tart taste).

The beauty of the Probiotic Maker™ is that you can flavor and sweeten however you like. 

Customers love to experiment with flavoring options. Some favorites include blended fresh or frozen fruit, chocolate protein powder, monk fruit, Lemon Merengue Pie (stevia and lemon extract), crystal light, ranch dressing packet for veggie dip, freeze whey in ice cube trays to add to green smoothies...

The all time favorite is to blend up a bunch of strawberries with some sugar and vanilla and flavor the entire bottle! (So delicious and very beautiful!)

For a simple easy solution that doesn't require any special work you may want to just flavor with some vanilla and 1 to 1.25 c. of sugar for an entire gallon (adjust to taste, remember to shake up well the first time to dissolve the flavoring so it won't settle on the bottom and that can break up the protein clumps and make more smooth if desired).

A cup of sugar per gallon may sound like a lot but if you do the math that may end up only being 1/2 to 1/3rd the sugar in yogurt tubes (64 per gallon) or low fat yogurts (32 per gallon).

We have reduced the amount of sugar to just over 1 c and the kids love it. Some people prefer it plain or add to green smoothies or on their cereal...

Get creative and note your favorite recipes to share with others.

"Not long at our house with 8 kids!".  

As the manufacturer, we recommend you enjoy the fresh probiotics within a couple of weeks or by the expiration date of the milk, whichever is soonest.

The Probiotic Maker™ is designed to target around your natural body temperature of 37°C or 98.6°F. So under normal use it will generally stay around body temperature. 

The temperature of your maker is controlled by a thermostat so even if you left it plugged in forever, even without a bottle, it can never get hot enough to burn the skin or any type of counter or wall (your cat is safe too). 

There is also a back up thermal fuse that permanently shuts off the power if it ever gets too hot.

The Probiotic Maker™ works with all types of bottles (e.g. glass, cardboard, plastic...).

As the maker only targets body temperature, then it is nowhere near the temperatures where the plastics start to melt.

Touching a plastic bottle with your body temperature isn't an issue so the maker warming to about body temperature shouldn't be an issue either. The maker automatically shuts off when it senses the bottle has reached the target temperature and could be plugged in for years and still never get to a dangerous temperature. 

As the manufacturer we recommend growing probiotics right inside a sealed, fresh, pasteurized bottle of milk/alternative to avoid potential contamination.

Traditional yogurt (contains thermophilic or heat loving cultures) is made at higher temperatures (~113 F or 42 C). Those are lethal-fever temperatures and can kill off many kefir-type strains (mesophilic or medium heat cultures). 

The inspired Probiotic Maker™ targets body temperature to get the benefits of both Thermophilic (yogurt) and Mesophilic (kefir). As such it will not thicken as much as traditional yogurts (most factory yogurts have artificial thickeners). 

You can culture it a little longer for a little thicker result. You can also make really thick authentic Greek yogurt by straining off the whey with a strainer or cheesecloth (e.g. 1 cup of Greek yogurt from 3 cups of fresh probiotics). 

You can culture the "yogurt" a little longer to make it more tart and thick. For example, the photo with the bowl with the fruit was skim milk (no fats to smooth out so thicker protein clumps with thinner whey liquid in between). It was cultured for about 10.5 hours and thoroughly cooled (never shake when warm or you can break up the protein clumps and cause dramatic whey/yellow liquid separation). 

Remember that any time you shake or blend that breaks up the protein clumps that will probably never get as thick again. So you may want to gently pour out of the container into a bowl or cup and gently stir in any flavorings. Or you can blend the flavorings with a little of the probiotics but then stir or shake the blended mixture in to flavor the entire bottle (that way you are not blending the probiotics).

If your shake is too thick to pour congratulations on culturing a great thick batch. That is very rare as the probiotics are cultured at a lower temperature than yogurt so it will not be as thick as regular yogurt or factory products with artificial thickeners. You could squeeze it out of the jug into a bowl and flavor like traditional yogurt and eat with a spoon. 

For a shake, you can actually shake up the bottle to break up the thickened/coagulated proteins which makes it more consistent and thinner and easier to pour. 

If you shake in flavorings that will also break it up so it will no longer be too thick to pour. The more you shake it, the smoother it becomes and thinner. Some prefer it chunky and thicker while others prefer it more viscus and smooth.

Unplug the unit and gently wipe with a damp cloth to clean.

Do not immerse, hold under running water, saturate, place in a washer, or wet the unit.

Remember to never fold or roll the unit up as that can permanently damage the unit.

The fresh probiotics will be tart/sour/tangy because the probiotics consume the natural sugars (e.g. lactose in milk) in order to grow and output acids as a result (e.g. lactic acid in milk). The more the probiotics grow, the more acid is produced and the more tart or sour the taste. That is why unflavored yogurt is tart/sour/tangy.

For a more mild, less-sour taste try culturing for a shorter period of time (e.g. pull a batch when it turns from sweet to tart or just starts to thicken).

Regardless you will want to flavor and sweeten to taste for your preferences and to offset the natural sour taste of the yogurt (unless you like lemon flavor which is already acidic:-).

If you have pre-sweetened and flavored the entire gallon you may need to turn upside down and shake as the sweeteners and flavoring have a tendency to settle to the bottom.

If a batch smells really bad (like rotten milk and not like plain yogurt/kefir) or it is producing gasses or the bottle is bloated then discard the entire batch as the milk was bad/old or there was contamination (our starters don't contain yeasts so it should not produce gases or bloat the bottles). We will give you an extra free starter with your next order to replace any starter used with bad/contaminated milk so don't take a chance with your health.

The Probiotic Maker has a sensor (hard rectangular piece on the middle of the inside of the warming pad). The unit will cycle on and off as necessary to try and keep the bottle around body temperature.

If the unit is not on a milk jug or has an air gap right around the sensor then the unit will heat up really fast and the sensor will shut off and not come back on until the temperature of the sensor cools down. So it will feel like the unit is not heating even though the unit is working.

The maker will cycle on and off dozens of times automatically every batch as the target temperature is reached at the sensor. Once the cooler milk circulates to the sensor then the unit will cycle on again until the target temperature is reached. So the maker will cycle on less and less frequently as more of the milk reaches target temperature. Once the milk starts to thicken and the circulation slows then the maker will cycle on even less frequently. 

The area around the sensor will maintain the target temperature so the top and outer side may be cooler, especially if the milk has thickened and stops circulating the heat.

So it is important to have the sensor close to the milk bottle/carton for best results. So on a gallon the sensor will set right on the edge on the side opposite from the handle.

If a cool maker doesn't heat up when first plugged in to a working outlet then the maker needs to be replaced. As long as you are getting our starters every month we will replace the maker forever with our Forever Free Replacement. Otherwise the makers have free replacement for an entire year from the date of purchase.

Of course the warranty only covers manufacturing defects and does not cover abuse, misuse, or damage from folding the unit, rolling up the unit, strapping/wrapping/clipping tightly around a smaller bottle, piercing the maker...

The protein clumps naturally have very little flavor and accept the added flavors very well. If you have flavored a shake and it tastes a little flavorless then you will probably want to shake up more to break apart the proteins that have coagulated.

You have cultured it to perfection but you may want to shake it up to get the flavoring throughout (like stirring up a fruit on the bottom yogurt). You may want to flavor more or perhaps flavor by the glass or add to a smoothie or...  There are so many ways to enjoy.

The yellow liquid is called Whey (acidic whey to be precise). Whey separation is a natural result of cheese(whey) or Greek yogurt production(acidic whey is what is strained from regular yogurt to make Greek yogurt). Whey is a good source of protein and contains live probiotics. 

It can be shaken back in before dispensing (remember to never shake when it is warm as that can lead to dramatic whey separation and little protein chunks) or
drained off for a thicker yogurt shake. Whey separates over time naturally as the probiotics continue to grow and increase the level of acid.

Whey separation is much more dramatic when using fat-free milk as there are no fat molecules to keep things smooth and combined. So many times using skim milk will result in thicker protein globs with more liquid whey in between.