Make Your Own Yogurt!!

I am now selling Nike Air Force and Jordan Shoes on my ebay store. They are a hot item in the urban areas. There is a high demand for them so thought I'd give it a try. Anybody interested may see them in my WHOLESALE section in my store. http://stores.ebay.com/Nichols-Soap-N-Stuff So it's been awhile since I've been on here. I made a trip to Nebraska with my husband and two kids. What a wonderful time we had!!! It was REALLY HARD to put my boy back on the plane for New Orleans! It seems just like yesterday that they were little and we were traveling in an UNAIR CONDITIONED truck to Nebraska. I think I'd go back to those times just to have them little again :) But it does me good to see them both doing good in life!

MAKE YOUR OWN YOGURT!
Yogurt is milk that has been fermented by special strains of beneficial bacteria.
To make yogurt with raw or pasteuized milk, begin by heating 1 quart milk to the boiling point(212 degrees F); this destroys any bacteria already present in the milk and provides a sterile medium for your yogurt culture. Allow the milk to cool to lukewarm(about 115 degrees F). To test, drop a little on your wrist; if the milk feels hot, allow it to cool some more. If using soy milk,powdered milk you don't have to heat it as much) just make sure it's warm(115 degrees)When it no longer feels hot, add about 3 tablespoons to 1/2 cup commerial yogurt or yogurt from the last batch you made or the amount of Lactobacillus acidophilus culture that you can buy at a healthfood store.Stir well with a whisk or wooden spoon, making sure the culture is thoroughly mixed into the milk. Pour the mixture though a strainer into whatever you're incubating your yogurt in to make sure there are no lumps. It must be smooth.
USING A YOGURT MAKER:
A yogurt maker consists of a constant temperature, electrically heated base, and a set of plastic or glass containers with lids. Most yogurt makers make 4-5 individual pints at a time. They are foolproof, inexpensive, and are available in most natural food, department or kitchen equipment stores.
Prepare your yogurt mixture and pour it into the containers in the yogurt maker. cover the yogurt maker with the cover that came with it or with a towel. Leave undisturbed for about 4 hours. At the end of this time, remove the lid from one container and gently tilt the glass. The yogurt should be about the consistency of heavy cream. If it's still thin, let it incubate longer and check again. When the yogurt thickens, remove gently so as not to jar it or it will separate and get lumpy. The longer the mixture incubates, the stronger and more sour the final result will be.
To use powdered milk instead of regular milk, using warm water to reconstitute it. stir in the yoguart culture, pour into containers, and incubate. There is no need to sterilize the powdered milk. You can also use soy milk or goats milk in the above recipe if you are a lacto-vegetarian or simply allergic to other types of milk. substitues 1 quart of soy milk per quart of milk.
Then refrigerate. Don't serve until thoroughly cooled. You may add fruit and stir for a great tasteing treat.
Making Yogurt in the Oven:
You'll need an accurate oven thermometer, because the gauges on most ovens don't keep ovens at the low temeratures right for yogurt making. In some gas ovens the pilot light alone is enough heat to maintain the right temp. make up a batch of milk and yogurt as described above, and pour the lukewarm mixture into your bowl, cover and set the bowl in the oven; heat slowly to 120 degrees F. Turn off oven and let it cool gradually to 90 degrees F. Try to maintain temperature between 90 and 105 degrees by reheating oven if necessary (after about 2-3 hours) until milk becomes the right consistency. Check frequently during the last 30 minutes. Chill immediately after the milk thickens. Be careful not to shake the warm yogurt. Testing showed that it took about 6 hours this way but the yogurt turned out nicely. However you have to stay close to the kitchen doing it this way. In this day and age it's hard to do that so I suggest the yogurt maker.
This seems like alot of work but once it's in the maker you can go about your business and you are assured that you are getting yogurt without preservitives and is especially good if you are lactos intolerent.
Until next time. God bless all who read this.