Yogurt - Attempt #7 (I think)

After my (multiple) unsuccessful attempts at yogurt making, I finally gave up.  At $5 a gallon for organic milk, we decided it was cheaper to buy the yogurt, rather than throw away the attempts at homemade yogurt.

As a last-ditch effort, after hearing Dianne & Cathee rave about theirs, I asked for a yogurt-maker for Christmas.  Attempt #1 with the yogurt maker was also a disaster.  The recipe that came with the machine seemed strange, first you burn (um, I mean boil) the milk, then leave it at room-temperature until it gets to 120-degrees (which took over an hour, in an ice bath), then add the starter and cook for 8 hours.  I'll admit, that after years of working in the Camp Kitchen, I am a touch neurotic about food safety, but there's just something a little sketchy about taking milk, warming it up to the "danger zone" and then leaving it on your counter for 8 hours.  All that to say, the yogurt didn't look safe when it was done and I wasn't about to feed it to my baby, in utero or otherwise.

And since it took Keith three days of scrubbing to return the pan to it's original state, I had to promise not to use that recipe again.

But, attempt #7 seems to be the ticket!  I went back to my old recipe, went with Dannon for the starter (just a tip - Nancy's & those other Organic yogurts may claim to have "live & active cultures", but I'm not so sure anymore), mixed it in the blender, and crossed my fingers.   What do you know?  It smells like yogurt, it looks like yogurt, and it even tastes like yogurt.  Finally!