How much probiotic powder do you use? Do you have a preferred brand? This sounds like such a fabulous treat!

OOPS! I use about 2 tbsp of it. I’ll fix the recipe – I forgot the add button

No preference as to brand – I buy whatever’s on sale. This also makes a good ‘goat cheese’ if made into small chunks and dehydrated just a little bit.

do you put in on a collander because its going to drip out the bottom? should a plate be placed under the collander? as you can see i’m really going to try to make this recipe lol

yes, and yes – more properly I use a fine mesh strainer, but I find only a few drops drip out – it’s a pretty thick cream.

Well how about using a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter?

that would be good – make sure to put a line on top, too.

i’m so excited, my cream cheese will have been sitting for about 48 hrs by tomorrow morning… and tomorrow i’ll (try to) make those bagels! i didn’t have/ was familiar with a mesh strainer so i put the cheese in _cheesecloth and put it in the colander and left it in the oven… i’ve had quite a bit more than a few drops of water come out, and all the sides turned a brownish color…anyway, can’t wait till the culmination of this 3 day bagel making event lol

LOL! let me know how it went!

it turned out sour :*(.... it tasted like cream cheese when i very first blended it and now its sour and maybe spoiled.. is it cuz i used the liquid probiotics?

hrm – I’ve only used the powdered probiotics. Probiotics continue to sour theproduct as they produce lactic acids etc. so I’m guessing that you have a coupla things going on – first, your oven may have been too high, and may have caused the ferment to take place quickly. I’d try reducing the amount of time you ferment it. Second, you may have used an ‘off’ or strong brand of culture – try using the powdered culture or reducing the total amount of probiotic. Third, you might have had too much liquid in the mix. Try using less liquid next time.

Sour is probably not spoiled – the probiotics act as a preservative, however, if in doubt… throw it out!

What is probiotic powder anyways?

IT’s a powder you can buy at a drug store in the laxative section, or in the health food store (or if worse comes to worse, you could use cultured dairy product) – helps aid in digestion and improve the health of your intestines.

This is brilliant! Thanks so much poemomm. I made only 1 cup macadamias to quarter cup of probiotic powder, blended it in my standard blender and then left it overnight under a teatowel in a bowl. Next morning the flavour seemed intense but the texture a bit gritty so I put it into the fridge. A taste yesterday had me undecided – the probiotic flavour was very intense but there was still no ‘marriage’ of the flavours but today the miracle alchemy has occurred! I have a bowl of firm, acid, creamy white almost flakey ‘cheese’ that carves, holds together and tastes like no other raw food I have ever encountered. I’ve just mixed a spoonful back into a second runnier macadamia mix to see if I get a yoghurt tonight! And mixed some with some algave, lemon juice and rind to a creamy texture and popped it onto a brownie base to see if I get a lemon cheesecake….. And there is more than enough left over to play around with some in a big green salad for dinner! Muchas gracias!

No that was one big dessert spoon of probiotic rather than quarter cup!

Poemomm, Thanks for the info about sprouting the millet,it’s sprouting as I write. I also made the cream cheese recipe you supplied and after following it to the letter,I found that I liked the taste of the cheese after 24 hours of sitting. I also added a little sea salt. Is there a reason you say 48 hours? I don’t want to interrupt the process too early. Later on today I’ll make the bagels and tomorrow morning will be like a trip back in time. Much gratitude!

I say 48 hours because our house hits about 60 degrees F at its highest and it takes that long to ferment… Adjust to suit your taste and time. I’ll edit to indicate!

i wonder if it would be the same with rejuvelac instead of probiotic & water? i have rejuvelac in abundance… i’ll try it.

The fermentation aspect will be the same. But the flavour won’t. What gives sour dairy products their distinctive tastes are the live and active cultures – specifically L acidopholus, and Lactobaccilus. I’m terrible with the spelling, btw. If you want a true flavour, you’re going to need to find a source of these probiotics. Incidentally you ‘could’ make rejuvilac with the cultures and have the best of all worlds, if you wanted to branch out…

do you have to soak the mac nuts first? if so, how long?

NO! I never soak mac nuts – I think they get slimy and weird flavoured.

Could you possibly leave out the probiotic powder and use rejuvelac instead of plain water?

poemomm, i think your spellings are pretty close. i don’t know exactly what cultures are present in the rejuvelac, but there are definitely live and active cultures in there.

i made some cheese with brazil nuts and rejuvelac that came out nice and cheesy tasting. it’s been keeping me satiated after eating big all vegetable dinners. thanks for posting, i want to make it with mac nuts but they are super expensive (14.10 a pound at my wonderful health food co-op)

I saw a video last night using almonds and rejuvelac to make a nut cheese that looked closely like a cream cheese. Of course you could always add some fresh herbs to this. I’d think you would add them before you drain the excess liquid. Now isnt that tempting. And you could definately make a hit at a party with some raw crackers ;).

I just finished making this delicious cheese myself. Although it did have a faint sour taste, it was fine. Perfectly smooth and creamy. I added a little raw honey, and spread it on my sesame sunflower seed bread with slices of banana. Yum, yum…thanks for sharing this! :)

this looks so yummy! but, i don’t have a dehydrator or radiator and i can’t think of anywhere else to put this! i really want to try it, though. any other suggestions?

Top of the fridge or in a VERY low oven. If you live in a warm climate you could just put it in the sun.

Hello – I have not been able to find any powdered probiotic – health food store , etc. Do you have a brand or something I can search for any buy on line?

Here’s one (and suitable for vegans): http://www.foodreactions.org/products/junior_probiotics.html

honeywater, I am making this right now; it is just sitting on the counter in my kitchen, and it is working! (My kitchen is around 70 or 72 degrees.)

poemomm, my mom just had a veggie pizza the other day (crescent roll dough with cream cheese/sour cream mixture and then cut-up fresh veggies on top), and she challenged me to make an all-raw version. I knew I had seen this recipe, so now I am trying it. Thanks! I also gave her a piece of your two crust pie to eat on her road trip today. Your recipes might be a huge part of helping my mom eat high raw – you rock!

okay, mine went into the circular file. sigh! Not sure what happened, but I did learn one thing, unless you are into St Patricks Day big time, do not, I repeat, do not use green probiotics, it just makes it hard to look at. I felt like saying I do not eat green eggs and ham, I do not eat them on a train, I do not eat them on a plane, I do not eat them anywhere. lol But I have not given up, will try again.

I made a small batch of this to try it out – what a mistake! It is gone, and I never got to try even half of the ideas I had for it! It is so good, I keep using it for all kinds of stuff. I bought more nuts, and I am going to try it with cashews maybe?

I want to try this, but can’t help thinking that the probiotic is a huge amount. Am I reading it right, 1/4 CUP, American measure?

jsorens2 – I used capsules, and I used about 10 of them. It was done in a day. I think the cooler the temperature, the more probiotic you need because they don’t multiply as quickly if it isn’t warm. My house is around 72 degrees F and I just let it sit on the counter. But maybe it also depends on the brand of probiotic you use?

angie – thanks so much. I will cut the probiotic down since I live in sunny Southern Cal and it’s going to be a warm weekend. I really appreciate the answer just in time for my first try at this!

Yes, the amount of probiotic and culturing time really depends on the temp of your house and the quality of the brand you use.

here at our house it’s generally around 57 degrees during the day and even lower at night. And no, I’m not really happy about walking around in my coat inside. LOL I expect to reduce the amount as spring comes.

I find, though, that if you’re using a starter batch of the cream cheese that you’ve already made, you WILL need 1/4 c of the cream cheese.

How long will this keep?

I tried this and it bombed big time. It was absolutely horrible, taste and texture wise, and talk about an expensive mistake! Whew! Obviously it’s my error, so does anyone have a hint as to what I did wrong? It was sour and gritty, not smooth at all. Others rave about this, so it’s “cook’s error,” me! Help?

mine turne out sour too. i think i may have used too much probiotic powder. i only let it ferment for 24 hours. i can never get my raw recipes to turn out the way they are supposed to.

I make this a few weeks ago – I am still eating it with my breads. I only put in one capsule of Power Dophilius Probiotic and it was sour within 24 hours. I put in frig and added more salt and the sourness went down in a day or two. I honeslty don’t think you need that much probiotic powder. I use probiotic to get my sour cream really sour and no matter how much I make I only need the one capusle. As long as you blend it in well – it should sour up the whole batch. My suggestions to those having problems with it being too sour is to not leave it out so long – the longer it ferments with the probiotic – the more sour it will be. Stick in the frig sooner than later and it will stop souring.

if i put it in my dehydrator what temperature should it be at? i think the lowest is 75 or so. will that make a difference on how much probiotic i should use and how long to leave it set out? thanks. i can’t wait to try it.

I love this stuff! I tried making it once with sunflower seeds, which was OK, but nowhere near as nice. btw, if you don’t strain it in cloth, & just leave it to ferment in a jar, you get a great sour cream.