You do not need to culture the cashews in order to make this cheese. I would suggest using this recipe for my Easy Spreadable Vegan Cheese Log if you'd prefer not to use the probiotics. I would also suggest mixing in herbs or other flavors if not culturing because I think that the tanginess from the culturing process helps mask the tofu taste. As far as what brand of probiotics will work, I've only tried the Renew Life probiotic so I can't say how well others would work.