Natural Cheesemaking: Using Clabber, Kefir, and Raw Milk Cultures for Homemade Cheese

Learn how to make natural cheese using traditional raw milk cultures like clabber, kefir, and backsplash whey. Join me with Robyn Jackson from Cheese From Scratch as we walk you through creating starter cultures, troubleshooting funky batches, and making an easy clabber cream cheese at home, even if you are brand new to cheesemaking.

There is something incredibly grounding about learning to work with milk the way generations before us did, long before freeze-dried cultures and packaged starters.

In this post, we'll dig deep into what natural dairy cultures really are, how they work, and how you can use them to make everything from simple cream cheese to beautifully aged wheels, all starting with the raw milk already in your kitchen.

If you have ever wished you could stop buying specialty cultures or wondered whether clabber is actually safe, you are going to love this.

Why Natural Cheesemaking Matters

For thousands of years, cheesemakers relied entirely on the living bacteria already present in raw milk. Only in the last century and a half have we switched to sterile freeze-dried cultures, and many homesteaders now feel intimidated by the sheer number of commercial packets with cryptic names like MA3259B.

Homesteading Hack: If you can maintain a sourdough starter, you can maintain a natural cheese culture. It is truly that simple.

What Is a Starter Culture?

Every cheese, whether it is a simple cream cheese or a months-aged wheel, starts with lactic acid bacteria. These bacteria feed on lactose in the milk, create lactic acid, and slowly acidify the milk enough for it to coagulate.

Starter cultures:

• Acidify the milk
• Influence flavor and aroma
• Determine texture
• Help cheeses age safely

You can buy commercial starters, but raw milk already contains everything needed to build a strong and reliable culture if you train it well.

Clabber: The Traditional Raw Milk Culture

Clabber is simply raw milk that has been allowed to ferment naturally until it thickens. Historically, this is how people made cottage cheese, fresh cheeses, and sour dairy products before commercial cultures ever existed.

But clabber is not just old milk on the counter. It becomes a true culture only when it is:

• Fed fresh milk daily
• Kept at room temperature
• Maintained like a sourdough starter

This transforms clabber from funky, unpredictable raw milk into a stable, reliable, and delicious dairy culture perfect for cheesemaking.

Important Reminder:
That first jar of clabbered milk after sitting out for three to five days is not what you use in cheese. Think of it as the seed starter. Feed it through several generations until it smells buttery and sweet.

How to Make Clabber at Home

1. Day 1:
   • Place fresh, warm, raw milk in a clean jar. Any amount will do, but I usually start with a pint jar.
   • Cover with a coffee filter and an elastic band or a loose-fitting plastic lid.
   • Let it sit at room temperature for three to five days.
2. When Milk Coagulates:
   • It will look thick, sometimes separated, and smell strong.
   • This first batch is not for eating.
3. First Feeding:
   • Add one teaspoon of this clabber to a half-pint of fresh, raw milk.
   • Cover loosely and let sit 12 to 24 hours.
4. Repeat Daily:
   • Each day, feed a spoonful of the new clabber into a half-pint of fresh raw milk, discarding the rest of the clabber (or feeding it to chickens, pigs or the compost pile).
   • Coagulation should happen every 12 to 24 hours.
   • The aroma will slowly become buttery, sweet, and pleasant.
5. Ready to Use:
   • When your culture smells good, tastes mild, and thickens in under 24 hours, it is strong enough to use for cheese.

How Do You Know If Clabber Goes Bad?

While it's pretty simple once you know what you're looking for, the following chart can be helpful while getting started:

Using Natural Cultures for Cheesemaking

You can use:

• Clabber
• Kefir (especially for pasteurized-milk users)
• Backsplash whey (advanced method)

Each culture has a unique bacterial profile. Keep in mind that your cheese will taste like the culture, so keep it tasting delicious with regular feedings.

Kefir as a Natural Cheese Culture

Kefir contains more yeasts than clabber. When maintained daily and fed like a true culture, it can make excellent fresh cheeses. But if kefir is not kept strong and balanced, it can:

• Create holes
• Encourage mold
• Impart yeasty flavors

If someone only has access to pasteurized milk, kefir is usually the best natural culture to maintain.

What About Using Whey Backsplash Whey

This is an old method where you save a bit of whey from yesterday's cheese to culture today's milk.

But it only works when:

• The whey comes from a cultured cheese
• You use whey from the right stage around 12 hours after culturing
• Your milk is abundant

This is not ideal for beginners or anyone buying expensive raw milk.

Beginner Friendly Recipe: Clabber Cream Cheese

This is the easiest natural cheese for beginners and teaches the foundational steps of all cheesemaking.

Clabber Cream Cheese Quark Style

Makes: One to two cups
Time: Twelve hours plus straining
Ingredients:

• One gallon of raw milk (warmed to 90°F)
• One tablespoon clabber culture
• A few drops of rennet
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Warm milk to 90 degrees or use fresh warm milk straight from the cow.

Step 2: Add clabber culture and stir gently.

Step 3: Add a few drops of rennet. Cover and maintain warmth for 12 hours.

Step 4: Once coagulated and separated, pour into a cloth-lined strainer.

Step 5: Tie up and hang for 12 hours.

Step 6: Salt to taste and enjoy.

This same method forms the basis for:

• Cottage cheese
• Greek yogurt style products
• Quark
• Fresh spreadable cheeses

Natural cheesemaking brings us back to the rhythms and tools God already built into creation. When you learn to trust raw milk's natural ecosystem and maintain your culture daily, you build a truly self-sufficient kitchen that does not depend on packets, powders, or stores.

Whether you are starting with a simple clabber cream cheese or dreaming of aged wheels in a cheese cave someday, remember:

Start small. Stay curious. Feed your culture daily. And enjoy the journey.

Where to Find Robyn

If you want to go deeper, explore:

• Robyn's website, Cheese From Scratch
• Robyn's book, Cheese From Scratch
• Follow Robyn on social media on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram