Cultured Cream Cheese

This is what I do when my batch of yogurt is nearly gone and I want to make a new batch.

1 or 2 cups of homemade yogurt
cheesecloth
large strainer
mixing bowl

Put the strainer over the edges of the mixing bowl so there is room under the strainer. Line the strainer with cheesecloth, folded two times (four layers of cheesecloth). Put the yogurt into the cheesecloth-lined strainer.

Find a pot lid that will cover the yogurt and fit inside, over, or around the strainer. Put the whole contraption into the refrigerator overnight. The whey will drain out of the yogurt into the mixing bowl.

You can save the whey for use in cooking or lacto-fermenting if you like, or just discard it. When the whey has stopped draining, what's left in the strainer is cream cheese! It should be firm enough that you can coax it out of the cheesecloth with a spatula, and it will hold its shape. Add a little sea salt if you like, or leave it sweet. Store it in a covered container. It will be good for up to a week.

Anna’s Bulgarian Yogurt

From the Weston A. Price website http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/yogurt.html:

I have had the great fortune of living close enough to a Bulgarian friend, Anna Pavlova, to get a container of yogurt every so often from her as a starter. If you don’t have a Bulgarian friend, a company in California sells a Bulgarian-style Yogurt Starter®. (See http://www.natren.com/ and look in their specialty items.) This wonderful product is a combination of 50 percent Streptococcus thermophilus and 50 percent Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Each bottle is decorated with the picture of a Bulgarian woman. 8 cups milk (I prefer whole raw milk)1/4 cup yogurt from a previous batch or 4 teaspoons of Natren yogurt starter as directed on the bottle2 glass quart jars with lids, sterilized

Over low heat, slowly bring the milk to at least 180°F, or until a ring of bubbles forms around the edge of the pan, but don’t boil.
Let cool until you can keep your finger in the milk while you count to 10.
Divide yogurt starter or reserved yogurt between two wide-mouth quart-size sterilized glass jars. Pour in about 1/4 cup milk and stir to incorporate the starter.
Fill the jars with the rest of the milk and screw on the lids.
Wrap the jars in a warm blanket and let sit overnight in a warm place or for at least eight hours.
Unwrap and place in the refrigerator. I know you will enjoy this creamy, healthy yogurt.