Bejay writes: > Could I make a passable cheese from this? It actually tasted quite good. I think (but do not know) that 'passable' is probably the key word. Anyways, I think is worth trying. I expect will be like cottage cheese. Maybe not. My cultures are old and the mother grains grow in size with each feeding. Acidic, but at the same time they are sweet. Instructions for flavoring here under 'recipes': Yogourmet For sure wouldn't buy one of those cotton bags. Cheesecloth would work just as well. I see that the cheese starter does not have yeasts in it. Never tried it and still have 6 pkts of the starter & am willing to share 5 of them. Would really like to trade one for an acidophilus capsule as I'm not about to buy a whole jar of them. Going to buy some milk tomorrow and start one of the cheese starters. Still don't think heating the milk is necessary, but might do it. jt

Thanks, Denise. I knew I had heard about it somewhere else other then the hib forum. Lol... Golden Pond, the article link I posted above said that there was evidence that the micro channels and open areas of the stuff holds water and nutrients. Also there is some belief (study?) that these micro containers in the char contribute to the cellular activity of the beneficial microbes in the soils. The thing is... the stuff is used in all kinds of industry for filtering. It is benign and can even be eaten. It is an old remedy for poisonings. One should not over do it because is does absorb so much stuff that, ingested in large quantities, it will absorb your vitamins and minerals. This is no way is a suggestion that anyone should eat this. Do your own research, please. So, since it is widely accepted that good quality char is benign, I'm going to get a big bag, grind it smaller in my garden blender and spread it around and see what happens. Maybe it will hold the nutrients in place so that they are available to the plants rather then the usual experience of everything washing away through the sand and out into the gulf.

I don't know if I've ever tried returning a fresh (refrigerated) food item. Canned goods, dry goods, no problem but I can see that a store would not be allowed to take back produce, and anything that requires refrigeration even if still sealed. Didn't think of that, but how do they know it was kept refrigerated while you had it? Good point. Guess this means I'm stuck with the $25 ham I bought especially for my mom, even if she tells me she would have been fine with a ham steak while the rest of us eat the hickory-smoked ham I have in the freezer. And OP has got to make lots of sour cream pastries and freeze them? Can you freeze yogurt (aside from the frozen dessert, I mean)? This post was edited by ajsmama on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 16:51

Sometimes I get plain yogurt(a quart of non-fat or low-fat), put it in a strainer lined with a layer of cheesecloth, place the strainer over a bowl, cover the yogurt with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours. The liquid drains out of the yogurt into the bowl and you have regular yogurt that is more like the Greek yogurt - for a lot less money. I do like the Fage, but it is more expensive.