Making goat milk yogurt...

Regular blog readers know that I added a couple of dairy goats to our family this summer. I have been trying my hand at making yogurt. The recipe I have been using is ridiculously simple: take 1 quart of milk, warm from the goat. Add 2 tbs. of yogurt (such as Dannon) that has live active cultures. Stir well and keep at about 110 degrees for 8 or so hours until, voila! you have yogurt. The first batch I made on a very warm day. I put the jar on my very warm porch and when I got home from work the yogurt was done. It is a thinner, more watery texture than store bought yogurt (much of which has additives and fillers and things like gelatin in it,) but the flavor was really nice... mildly tangy and so good with fresh fruit. Yesterday I made a second batch, and this time I strained it through cheese cloth. The results were just as flavorful, but slightly thicker. I am tweaking my methods. Today my jar of milk is sitting in our food dehydrator, which I can easily set to 110 degrees. I am hoping this more uniform heat will help things firm up a bit more. If not, I may try a different recipe for the next batch. Excess milk goes to the piglets, who seemingly find it delectable. They make amazing slurpy noises when I pour it in their pans, and fight over it like... little pigs!