Yogurt, Butter, and Beyond

This hands-on class explores the fundamentals of traditional dairy fermentation—one of the most important and misunderstood food-processing technologies in human history.

Dairy fermentation is a natural biological process. All mammals rely on it internally to properly digest their mother’s milk as infants. As we age, all mammals lose the ability to digest milk safely and efficiently. By fermenting dairy before we consume it, we are essentially replicating this biological process outside the body, transforming milk into its safest, most nourishing, and most delicious forms.

Through fermentation, beneficial bacteria break down lactose, improve digestibility, increase nutrient bioavailability, and naturally produce important compounds like vitamin K2, which plays a critical role in directing calcium into our bones and teeth—rather than into soft tissues like the arteries—and works synergistically with vitamin D.

In this class, we’ll transform simple milk and cream into a variety of traditionally fermented dairy foods, including:

• Kefir

• Yogurt

• Fermented cream (crème fraîche)

• Cultured butter

Along the way, we’ll cover how to select the right milk, introduce and manage bacterial cultures, control fermentation, and understand how time, temperature, and technique affect flavor, texture, and digestibility.

By the end of the class, you’ll leave with the knowledge, recipes, and confidence to ferment dairy at home—turning everyday milk into deeply nourishing foods that support health, tradition, and flavor.

At Modern Stone Age, fermentation is understood as a biological food-processing technology that improves safety, nutrition, and digestibility.

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