Hi Petra, you can either make your own yogurt, I'll post a couple of recipes for you, or you can use a yogurt maker. I don't know if you can buy one in Africa. I have one made by Cuisinart. For the ACV in the water, I add 1 Tbsp in their water dish everyday, or sometimes I don't measure anymore, I just pour a " glub" in. My guys have add this since they were 10 weeks old, so they don't know anything else and don't mind the taste or smell. You may find Bennie won't drink the water because he doesn't like the smell of the vinegar, if this happens, you can add it to his kibble. Just don't put in the kibble with the yogurt, as the vinegar will sour and curdle the yogurt. Add the yogurt to the morning kibble, and the ACV to the evening kibble. It's okay to put ACV and coconut oil or other oil like salmon oil together, so both these can be added to the evening kibble.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make Your Own Yogurt
Tuesday March 19, 2013 in RECIPES
Making your own yogurt is not only cheap, it guarantees you know what's going into your body. Give it a try!
Milk to Yogurt in 10 Easy Steps
Step One: To make yogurt, you need yogurt. This is considered live culture. You don't need a lot. Make sure your culture is made from only milk and active bacteria.
Step Two: Find a suitable container. Glass jars are nice and old yogurt containers work too. Make sure your container is super clean.
Step Three: Bring 4 cups of milk to a boil in the microwave or on the stove. If using the stove, keep an eye on the pot and stir regularly so it doesn't burn. Once your milk has boiled, remove it from the heat (or microwave).
Step Four: Let your milk cool on your counter to a lukewarm temperature. You should be able to hold a clean finger in it for twenty seconds. If you have a candy thermometer aim for 100 degrees F.
Step Five: Put 1 tablespoon of your live culture into your container. Slowly pour lukewarm milk into the container and gently stir. Seal your container (lightly) with the lid.
Step Six: Gently place your yogurt into an incubation contraption. You can line a loaf pan with tea towels and stand your container in it, then wrap it nicely with the towels. If you have a tea cozy that would work well too. The key here is to keep the temp of your yogurt as consistent as possible so it can set. Wrap it up nice a snug and don't jostle it too much!
Step Seven: Place your yogurt (gently!) in your oven and turn the oven light on. Again, this will help to keep the temp of your yogurt more consistent during the setting phase.
Step Eight: Be patient and let your yogurt incubate for at least four hours. The longer you leave it the tangier and more acidic it will become. You'll notice more whey (liquid) separate the longer it is left to set.
Step Nine: Remove your jar from the incubator (you'll be able to tell right away if your yogurt has set properly), seal the container tightly and put it into the fridge to cool.
Step 10: Enjoy! And, remember... you can now use the yogurt you made as live culture for your next homemade batch. Jazz up your homemade creation with fruit, honey, or eat it straight up!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yogurt. Who knew it was so easy to make at home? Not me. Every time I read a recipe for making yogurt it always required special equipment that I didnāt have. Until now. And you know what? It is so easy and yummy. And, so much cheaper (by at least half)! Plus you can make regular or Greek yogurt depending on what you fancy that week.
We go through a lot of yogurt. We enjoy it in fruit bottom yogurt, smoothies, muesli, cooking, baking, desserts, popsicles and parfaits. We especially love Greek yogurt, but itās so expensive and all they really do is drain out the whey for you. After trying this recipe, Iām converted. Itās so simple, Iām hoping you will be to.
All you do is heat up milk, let it cool a bit, stir in 2 teaspoons of prepared yogurt, tuck it into your oven for night and in the morning you wake up to homemade yogurt. See? Easy peasy. Get on this!
EASY HOMEMADE YOGURT (& GREEK YOGURT)
Greek yogurt is thicker and less tart then regular yogurt, and is made by simply straining out the whey. You can decide which way you like it.
Makes: 7 cups Reguar Yogurt | 4 cups Greek Yogurt
INGREDIENTS
2 quarts milk (your desired %)
2 teaspoons yogurt (with live cultures)
INSTRUCTIONS
Warm the milk in a medium-sized saucepan, stirring often, until the temperature reaches between 175-180ĀŗF. Allow milk to cool, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches between 100-115ĀŗF. Whisk in the yogurt and pour mixture into a large ceramic or glass bowl, or round casserole dish.
Starting with a cold oven, turn on the heat for one minute just to take the chill off. Cover the bowl of milk/yogurt with plastic wrap or a lid; wrap with a couple kitchen towels and place in the oven, with the oven light on (to keep it warm). Let inoculate for 8-12 hours or until thickened into yogurt. Stir and store in the fridge for regular unsweetened yogurt or strain out the whey for Greek yogurt.
To make Greek yogurt
Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth, a clean dish cloth, or coffee filters. Set this over a large bowl. Pour yogurt into the cloth-lined sieve. Allow to strain for about an hour or until the consistency you like (thatās the best part about homemade yogurt, you can make it how you like!). If you are not straining it immediately after you make it, or you will be leaving the house, you can put it in the fridge, it will take a little longer to drain but thatās no biggy. Once drained, pour into a storage container and whisk to smooth it out. Store, covered, in the fridge.
Will keep for at least one week in the fridge.
GOOD TO KNOW
If your homemade yogurt is fresh enough you can use it as the starter next time. To do this easily, without feeling like you constantly need to be making a fresh batch of yogurt, you can freeze a tablespoon of your fresh homemade yogurt to save as a starter so you can have it on hand to make it when it works best for you.
If you make Greek yogurt you can either discard the whey or put it to use with these smart ideas.
I already use coconut oil and yogurt when I have... but I buy greek yogurt, I will remember to get normal plain next time and I will have to make sure I always have at home. I bought ACV yesterday to use to rinse him in but since the bumps are gone I can use it to put in the water so long. How much ACV in the water?
and since he had a bad reaction to a tick bite last year the bumps might come from that... I think the solution to the problem is to get his immune system stronger, but since he's SO sensitive changing foods have been a nightmare
and we always end up going back to the original food. 
which I'm very thankful for of course. I've never had to treat him with antibiotics, the special shampoo has been enough, it's SUPER expensive but it's worth it not having to go to the vet and give him medicine
