Yogurt and Kefir and Quark, oh my!

Well, I have decided to undertake making my own yogurt, kefir and quark. 

I received my yogurt maker on Monday.  So far it's been trial and error.  Mostly I need to be patient and let things incubate a little longer.

I ordered some kefir grains and I'm quite excited to see how that goes.  They should be here next Monday.  Kefir is supposed to be really good for getting your internal flora back on track and I need all the help I can get with that.  Since I had the flu back at Christmas things have just not been the same. 

Kefir contains Lactobacillus Caucasus, Acetobacter species, and Saccharomyces (yeast), all known for their ability to get through the lining of the digestive tract.  They colonize the intestinal lining, and "escort" the harmful intruders potentially residing there.   So as a result it should be easier for your body to ward off internal pathogens like intestinal parasites and E. coli. (taken from Home Dairy with Ashley English).

As for the quark, I think I will go back to my old way of just incubating butter milk and then straining it ( How to make quark cheese ).  I've got a new gadget that I'm absolutely loving.  No more strainer and cheesecloth, it's the Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker.  I found mine on Amazon.ca