Hi Kirtofski,

> I made yogurt years ago from commercial pasturized milk (which I boiled as
> "they" say to) and can't remember how long it is supposed to take to set.
>
> Anybody "processing" batches of raw milk into anything edible? I'd love to
> know the details of what you do.

We were dairy farmers for eight years, and had all the raw milk we
wanted (this was the first years of my children's life - some
twenty-five years ago!!), and I made yogurt, buttermilk, farmer's
cheese, the most delectable cream eclairs and fancy Viennese pastries,
cream-cheese and cheesecake, all that yummy stuff like cows were going
extinct. MMmmmmmm I loved all that stuff. In those days we didn't think
at all about the fact that it was raw - but we wouldn't have dreamt of
pasteurizing or boiling the milk because it didn't seem necessary since
we got it completely fresh immediately after milking.

Anyway - how I made yogurt was to stand it on the counter if it was
summertime and hot out, or in the oven like you're doing, with just the
heat of the pilot light. The thickness and consistency depended entirely
on the strain we used. Some people liked it thin and liquidy, almost
drinkable (and this form tasted a little more sour, as I remember it)
and some people (me, a great lover of fat) liked it super thick, about
the consistency and texture of sour cream. You'd have to get starter
culture from a batch like what you wanted. Same thing for buttermilk. If
I'm remembering right, the yogurt took a while - 3 days to a week I
think. The buttermilk was quicker - a couple of days.

Farmer's cheese I made by heating a pot of milk up just a little on the
stove, enough so that when I squeezed in some lemon juice the whole pot
would curdle (turning into curds n' whey, a la Little Miss Muffet), and
then I would tie a diaper (that was when I had two in diapers at the
same time, and the diapers were exactly like cheesecloth - maybe they
were cheeseclothe - don't know since I've never used real cheesecloth
only diapers) anyway I'd tie a diaper over the faucet on my kitchen
sink, pour the whole pot of curds n' whey into the diaper, and let it
hang and drain there overnight. The next morning there would be the most
yummiest creamiest cheese in the diaper. A lot of milk makes not a lot
of cheese in this way, so your two gallons will go quick.

By the way - my favorite raw goat's milk dairy farmer will ship you
awesome goat's yogurt - just awesome - soooooo creamy and yummy I
usually consume (this is embarassing) about two huge tubs in two days (a
tub is usually a week's supply for most of their customers). Melisa
sounds like she might be 'a girl after my own heart' as they say, when
it comes to a taste for fat and butterfat - and maybe she'd like to try
this yogurt. They ship everywhere else in the States - maybe they'd ship
to Hawaii, too. Also, they may be able to tell you where to get good
cultures (I know their yogurt and kefir cultures they import from
France).

Just as an aside - a little off the subject - since I began the
instincto way of figuring out what to eat, all my earlier wild lusts for
certain foods (mackerel, honey, cherry tomatoes) have not only
disappeared, I get SICK at even the thought of those foods now. all
except goat's yogurt - that I just simply cannot get enough of, still
now many months (a year?) later. I tried eating mackerel the other day,
and uuuccchhh I just couldn't - it just tasted super salty and fishy and
awful. And to think how I was almost _hallucinating_ about mackerel back
when I started this, it's really odd. Also, I haven't eaten a cherry
tomato in a year - can't stand the thought. And we have six frames of
honey just harvested, which everybody but me is gobbling like liquid
gold - to me it smells awful and looks nauseating. To me this whole
process has been very interesting, because before this instincto
"experiment" I would have just planned my meals from my head, not my
real appetite, and not paid much attention to these messages that my
body really does not want certain foods, and craves others.

Anyway - that was a VERY long answer to your short question about
yogurt, wasn't it? Hope it helps.

Lots of love,  Liza

[log in to unmask] (Liza May)