Thermophilic Starter Culture
This simplest of cultures can generally be used for all recipes requiring a thermophilic starter. The taste of the final product will vary slightly from that of a true cheese culture.
List of Ingredients
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Start with 2 cups of FRESH milk. Heat it to 185 F (85 C) on the range top or in a microwave. Be careful not heat to high or the cream will separate.
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Let the 2 Cups of milk cool to at least 125 F (52 C) room temp.
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Add one heaping table spoon of FRESH yogurt (either homemade or store bought �live and active culture� type like Dannon plain).
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Mix the yogurt into the milk thoroughly with a fork or a whisk.
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Keep the mixture at 110 F (44 C) for 8-10 hours until a firm yogurt has set. This can be done by using a double boiler on a low setting or by placing the inoculated milk into a small CLEAN mason jar placed in a warm water bath. The bath can be kept warm by placing it on an electric range top at the lowest possible setting (so that �ON� light is just on). Monitor the temperature closely the first few times you do this and you will become a better judge of the temperature settings of your range top. This way with future cultures you can set the process up and not worry about it for 8-10 hours.
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Pour this culture into a full sized CLEAN ice cube tray and put into your FREEZER. As with all steps of cheesemaking, cleanliness is next to godliness.
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Once frozen, remove the cubes and put into a CLEAN sealed container or plastic freezer bags. It is a good idea to label the container to distinguish it from your mesophilic culture.
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The resulting ice cubes are each 1 oz of thermophilic starter.
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Add these cubes (thawed) to your recipes as required. The cubes will keep for about one month.
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To make more starter simply thaw one cube and use it as the fresh yogurt used in step 3Recipe
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