making yogurt, another question

[Guest guest]

Ok, I just started my first batch of yogurt. I put one cup of yogurt to a

half gallon of raw milk, which I drank a 12 ounce glass out of, so roughly 1

3/4 quarts of milk.

I heated the milk up in a large saucepan. I was going to try to get it to

ninety degrees, but the themometer I was using wouldn't work in it for some

reason. I was using the themometer I use in my mouth because my meat

themometer doesn't go low enough. I put it under boiling water first, which

I also rinsed out my sauce pan with, to kill any germs.

Anyway, I heated up the milk till it was warm, keeping in mind if it burns to

the touch it is at enzyme-destruction point. The milk was distinctively

warmer than room temperature, which I think is considered to be around 70,

but I don't know how warm it is. I imagine if it was warm to the touch, not

lukewarm, it must be a good 80 or more, by my guess.

My question is, if I got the milk up to, say 80, but not 90, will that harm

my culture? Does heating it up to the right temperature just make things

more efficient, or will it not work if I didn't reach the right temp?

Thanks,

Chris