Home Made Yogurt

Use a double boiler to heat milk or rig up a big pot with a steamer tray in it. Fill clean glass canning jars with milk and place on the tray and immerse in a few inches of water. Heat the whole thing until the milk is up to 180 Fahrenheit. I use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. You can find them for a few bucks at most kitchen stores. Then I cool the milk to 110 degrees. It takes ten minutes to cool down if you immerse the jars in cold water. Then I add a teaspoon of starter (plain live active yogurt) to each jar. Close the lid, shake a bit, and then put in a warm place to incubate for 4-6 hours. I place the jars above my oven and cover with a tea cozy. In the winter I put it on the metal covering on my boiler. Some folks use an insulated picnic cooler with a few jars of hot water. I have a friend who incubates her milk in a thermos. I never stop being amazed by growing my own culture! Save a little bit for the next round. By the way, heating the milk is necessary because it enables the enzymes in the milk to be more receptive to the yogurt culture. Cooling to 110 is so you don't kill off the culture. Have fun! Enjoy! In India women culture their milk every night before bed to enjoy fresh yogurt for breakfast in the morning.