Enter the Yogourmet dairy incubator. I had first seen something like this in a Lehman's catalog (the ultimate in non-electric/Amish friendly tools for today's homesteader). It would likely be a much more cost-effective project in something smaller than an oven; and since it would hold whatever it was warming at 105-110, would probably induce good-growth rather than destroy it. I was intrigued, but at $70 +$16 shipping, I thought it a bit exorbitant for a well-constructed styrofoam warmer.
Yay for Amazon! I researched several models (all electric) before settling on this one. It finally arrived yesterday. Since I was fresh out of yogurt starter (all you need is a cup of plain yogurt), I determined to make mozzarella cheese. My husband bought me a super book about a year ago and has complained that I haven't made a single recipe to date.
Well, first of all, it turns out that I still didn't get to use my new toy because mozzarella doesn't require an incubation period. Secondly, it calls for an entire gallon of milk. Yikes! Not to be deterred, I decided to proceed but with only half a batch. *Oh won't my husband be so delighted when he comes home today?*
What did I end up with? Mozzarella crumbles. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the cheese to start to "stretch." It just crumbled over and over. Oh well, once again, I'm glad to know how to do it (should it come down to survival and I need to subsist on grass and powdered milk...) Speaking of powdered milk, there are several cheese recipes that say you can make cheese from reconstituted milk. Maybe for my next project...?
In the meantime, I just talked to my husband who didn't find it very cost effective or time-wise to take half-a-day making cheese from a half-gallon of milk. Well, at least he can't say that I've never used the book he got me, right? And - it is pretty tasty and more fun to use the crumbles instead of shredding a block of cheese. Perhaps I'll have to make something yummy for dinner with it to help his angst. :)
