How Much Cheese Culture Per Gallon?

Dose is activity, not volume — and it is keyed to the named product.

Here is the fact that breaks every generic dosage chart: culture strength is measured in activity units — DCU on Danisco/Choozit products, CXU on LyoPro — not by weight. An eighth of a teaspoon of one brand is not an eighth of a teaspoon of another.

Figures you can trust, product by product

• NECSM single-use packs: 1 packet per batch, up to 2 gallons.
• Choozit MA 11: about 1/2–1 tsp per 6–12 gallons (retailer directions).
• Choozit TA 61: about 1/2 tsp per 6–12 gallons.
• Choozit MA 4002: manufacturer sheet — 5–10 DCU per 100 L for soft and semi-hard cheese; 2.5–5 DCU per 100 L for quark types.
• Flora Danica: about 1/8 tsp per gallon as a primary culture per distributor sheets.
• Propionic Shermanii: about 1/16 tsp per 1–3 gallons.
• Penicillium roqueforti: 1/16–1/8 tsp per 2–4 gallons.

Two adjustments that matter

Raw milk: retailer guidance for Choozit packs is to reduce the dose by 25–50% — the milk's native flora help acidify. Over-dosing is a defect, not insurance: too much culture ripening too long gives over-acidified, sour, bitter cheese. If a batch tastes over-acidic, reduce the dose next time — the retailer FAQ says exactly that.

Use our dosage calculator — it is keyed to named products, and where no sourced figure exists it tells you to read the packet instead of guessing.