ruby2shoes

nycquilter: Good idea, we have a good freecycle community over here so may do that.
ptquilts: I like my yoghurt to be really tart so I leave it for 13 hours.

SewExtraSeams:For my starter culture, I buy a large tub of yoghurt with live culture from the local health food shop with no additives like thickeners or flavours in it and I freeze it in ice cube trays, approximately 1 tablespoon of yoghurt per cube. I simply pop 2 frozen cubes into a sterilised jar the night before I want to make a batch. I tip out any water/liquid from the thawed cubes before adding to my milk. This way, from a 500gm tub of yoghurt I can make 9 litres of my own yoghurt.

I use 1 litre of full cream milk, heat it up to 180F and hold it there for 10 minutes then cool it to 110F. Gently stir some of the cooled milk into approx 2 tablespoons/cubes of yoghurt with live culture, gradually adding more milk until it is thoroughly but gently mixed; pour this into the rest of your milk in the saucepan, gently stir and pour into 5 X 200ml jars that have been boiled for 10 minutes. I usually leave my jars sitting in a bit of hot water to keep them warm until I use them. You don't want the jars to be too hot though or they will kill the yoghurt bacteria when you pour the mixture in. I place the jars in the insulated bag thingy. Heat 2 wheat bags for 3 minutes at 70% depending on the power of your microwave (don't want them hot..just warm) and place them in with the jars snuggling them around nice and tight. Zip the bag shut, put on the woollen hat and leave untouched on my bench for 13 hours. Halfway through, so at about the 6 hour mark, or before I go to bed...or shopping...or whatever, I gently remove the wheat bags, reheat them and replace.You have to be very careful not to bump the jars when you are fiddling with the wheat bags as this will disturb the culturing process. I then pop them in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours to chill and set before eating. Sounds like a bit of a process I know but once you get into the swing of it it is quite a simple procedure.