The yogurt totally worked!
I let it cook for 10 hours, then Jim put it in the fridge this morning. Then, the big taste test: It tastes... Exactly. Like. Yogurt. Woa, it's magic!
Beth asked if it's worth it. I don't know if it's exactly "worth it." It takes a long time, and it doesn't really seem to be any better or worse than the store-bought stuff. And I didn't exactly create it myself, because to get the yogurt bacteria to start reproducing, you have to start with yogurt bacteria... which you get by using yogurt. So you have to start off with (store-bought) yogurt to create more yogurt.
And cost-wise, yogurt isn't that expensive- i'm not saving a ton of money by making it myself. And to make yogurt, you have to make it from milk. So, if you want 2 cups of yogurt, you have to buy 2 cups of milk. So it's kind of a break even deal.
Though, I guess now the new bacteria are *my* bacteria. So if I found a local farm to buy my milk from, at least I would have local yogurt that wasn't trucked from God knows where (OK, God & I do know where- our yogurt comes from Eugene, which is, like, 45 minutes away. Heh).
But, it was kinda fun. :-)
Also fun? We went downtown tonight for Salem's First Wednesday event. We had a good time! Jim & I went once when it started a couple of years ago, and it was pretty lame. But tonight there were a ton of people, and most of the shops & restaurants were open, and it was, like, a lively downtown. Go figure. :-) I'm glad the good people of Salem are catching on, even if it's only for one night per month!