Yogurt

Here is something that is easy to make -- the bacteria do all of the real work!.    Expect the consistency to be a bit less firm than that of commercially produced yogurt.    They add things like pectin and carragenan to make it firmer.

Allow your active culture to warm to room temperature.

Over medium heat, warm the milk to about 180°F, stirring occassionally.    You don't want the milk to scald.    Transfer the milk to a clean plastic or glass container.

Allow the milk to cool to about 105°F.    Add the active yogurt culture and mix thoroughly.    Cover the container with a clean kitchen towel and set it in a warm place to incubate for 12 to 24 hours.    Cover the container and refrigerate.

Notes

1:    As long as it is not too old, unflavored plain yogurt works well for this.    Once
       you have made a batch, just use some of it as your active culture.    I use
       1 cup of culture to a half gallon of milk because I find that a large innoculum
       discourages contamination.    You can get away with a much smaller
       innoculum, as little as 1 Tablespoon.

2:    Cleanliness is important in all kitchen microbiology.    I clean the containers
       that I incubate and store yogurt in by washing them normally and allowing
       them to air dry.    After that, I soak them in cold water with a little bleach
       added for an hour, rinse them with hot water and allow them to air dry.    Do
       not use plastic containers that have lots of scratches.    The scratches permit
       bacteria to escape the sanitizing action of the bleach.

Variations

1:    The main way to vary this is in the fat content of the milk you use.    This
       recipe will work with everything from skim milk to homogenized milk mixed
       with a pint of cream.    In general, more fat in the milk results in a richer
       yogurt.