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

Yogurt yum

I absolutely love Greek yogurt and quark but they are pricey and hard to find where I'm at here in the boonies : )  I get the Liberte Greek yogurt at Costco sinceI don't get there very often I ration it.  I get quark at Superstore.  I heard recently that President's Choice carries a line of Greek yogurt now too.  I'll have to make a trip to the city and go looking for it.  MAYBE...
I just purchased a Yolife yogurt maker, though I haven't received it yet.  I'm excited.  I have made quark in my oven but it doesn't always turn out so maybe the yogurt maker will heighten my chances of success.   I also bought a yogurt cheese maker to make the process easier (hopefully) instead of strainers and cheesecloth.  My dad says he used to make yogurt in the oven when we were kids; I have very vague recollections so it's probably not something that he did for the long haul.  I also remember him making bean sprouts, vaguely.  One health kick after another, no wonder I am like I am : )
I am getting a little bit paranoid about preservatives and sugar in the foods we buy from the store especially for my kids.  If I get them used to eating a certain way as small children it should help them later in life (I hope).  They eat my Greek yogurt when I do so I don't foresee any trouble switching completely to our own yogurt.  Now if only I had a cow...I really am kidding about that one.  A cow is a lot of work, they expect to be milked twice a day regardless of what is going on in your life.  My mom milked cows before and after school when she was a teenager.