I make mine the way dothey4(3) makes hers. I have been doing this for at least 40 years, and it never fails. When my grandmother taught me, she said to bring the milk (usually at least 1/2 gallon) up to a soft boil, immediately remove it from the heat, and when you could circle the pot 10 times with your baby finger, it was done. That's when you would add some of the warm milk to about 1/2 C of yogurt to temper it, and when the mild was warm, you then stirred it in the pot. She had a blanket she used to wrap the lidded pot, and then put it into the oven, overnight. In the morning, drain the whey, and it's done. Note: the yogurt takes on the same sour taste as the starter you use, so be sure you like the brand you buy. Interesting note: when you cook with yogurt (entirely a different subject: fabulous soups using yogurt as the base, you only stir in one direction. I can't remember why, but it was something about the strands setting in one pattern. Anyway, it won't curdle if you follow that, and be careful not to bring it up to a rolling boil.

Yup, I saw those ones on Amazon...would have been great if they shipped to Canada and I couldn't find an actual store. Tally, eek...Ebay can be soooo hit'n'miss but I will absolutely have a look there if nothing else comes up. I would have thought that with the whole country heading the "natural" and "organic" route that it would be very easy to find one. Hmmmm...maybe I should become a distributor!! Thanks for the help.....Maybe someone will find a source. Perhaps I should offer a reward!!

grainlady, Re: your last post, I have tried several different started cultures. The cultures were much more of an issue when I was incubating regular yogurt. Some produced more whey than others. The required incubation time could vary dramatically also. I didn't like the taste of whey at all, and when I realized about the high carb content in regular yogurt, stopped trying to improve my homemade regular yogurt. I have found it much easier to make greek yogurt. Since the whey is drained, the resulting yogurt tastes better. The taste of whey is really repellent to me. The goal is to improve the protein to carb ratio of my yogurt. In theory, if I drained more whey, I could remove all the carbs without removing all the protein, and thus have a nearly infinite protein to carb ratio :) However, I have done the math and I don't think that's possible. If 85% of the weight of the yogurt was drained as whey, the resulting yogurt would have 256 calories per cup, 47.7g of protein and 18.24g of sugar. Ie. a 2.6:1 ratio of protein to carb. About the same as the store yogurt, yes, but also with 2x as many calories. My guess is that would be some inedible thick yogurt ! However, I just don't think it's possible to remove that much whey. There has to be some process through which more sugar is removed than just by straining the whey. That, or I'm using the wrong nutritional information for the liquid whey. Adding protein like gelatin would work, it would increase the protein : carb ratio, it but would also increase the calories to an amount much higher than the amount in store brand yogurt. Right now my home made yogurt has the same calories as store brand - only the protein : carb ratio is off.

You don't need a yogurt maker to make Yogourmet Kefir AT ALL, so that should take care of the yogurt maker delemma. Yogourmet Kefir Starter ferments milk at room temperature. Both my sister and I would hold back a 1/2-cup portion from a fresh batch to culture the next batch - and it would work about 3 times before we'd need a new package of the powdered Kefir Starter. Are you confusing Yogourmet Kefir Starter with Yogourmet Yogurt Starter? I sold and used both for years until I quit using them both after I got REAL kefir grains (which last forever). Another good option to use for a yogurt starter is Stonyfield Farm Yogurt. "It's the only U.S. yogurt brand with six live, active cultures, and the only U.S. brand with Lactobacillus reuteri culture." I used to be able to get it 2-hours away so I'd freeze it in 1-T. amounts in ice cube trays. Then I'd pop the yogurt cubes out of the trays and keep in the freezer until I needed a new starter. I'd thaw the amount I needed in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature just before making yogurt. What beats any of the powdered Yogourmet Yogurt or Kefir Starters all to heck is REAL kefir grains. Check the link below for more information. Why pay so much for something you can often get free (or the price of shipping) and never need to replenish them EVER again. Some advantages of using real kefir grains... (source: "KEFIR Rediscovered!" - by Klaus Kaufmann) -Milk used for making kefir does NOT have to be preheated like milk for making yogurt, and it is left at room temperature throughout the incubation. -You can use almost any kind of milk (cold out of the refrigerator). -The smaller curds make kefir are far more digestible than yogurt. -Kefir contains "right-turning" lactic acid, usually called L+ lactic acid. How turning left vs. turning right makes a HUGE difference not only on the highways, but in your own bodily pathways. -Best of all, the cost of making kefir is far below the cost of making yogurt. The REAL kefir (unlike the powdered Yogourmet version) never dies. Thus, kefir cultures do not have to be bought time and again. Kefir grains are "immortal." Yogurt cultures are merely like "humans," they have a birth, childhood and youth stage, an adult stage, and sinking-towards-death stage. I use kefir as a substitute for buttermilk, cream cheese, sourcream, and plain yogurt. Depending on how long I drain the curd will determine what I use it for. I also use the very important whey as a refreshing beverage, or if you shake the jar of kefir, the curds will quickly liquify and mix with the whey. We consume kefir every day! -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Dom's Kefir In-Site