Place 8 cups of water in the pot. Place the lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil. Maintain a rolling boil for 10 to 15 minutes, removing any germs from the interior of the cooking pot. Empty the water from the pot.
Skim any cream off the top of the raw milk with a large spoon and discard it. Place the milk in the pot and turn the heat to medium low. Allow the milk to slowly warm to 68 degrees F and turn off the heat.
Place 2 cups of the warm milk and 1 cup of yogurt in a bowl and blend them thoroughly. Incorporate the mixture into the large pot. Replace the lid and allow the milk to sit for 12 to 18 hours, or overnight.
Turn the stove to medium heat under the pot of milk and allow it to warm to 86 degrees F. Turn the heat off and dissolve the rennet in 1/2 cup cold water. Stir the rennet mixture into the pot and cover for 1 hour.
Lift the lid off the pot and insert a clean finger about an inch into the mixture. Test the viscosity by lifting the finger up. The milk should be a sufficiently thick consistency to break evenly over the finger. If the mixture does not break, allow it to sit longer. Test with a finger every 15 to 30 minutes until the mixture breaks evenly.
Cut the curds into 1/2-inch sections by running a blade through the pot. Rotate the pot and angle the knife until the mixture is evenly broken into curds. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes and drain off any excess liquid.
Turn the stove to low heat under the pot. Stir the mixture continuously, allowing the temperature to remain at 95 degrees. Heat until the cheese curds have become moderately firm, or for about 10 minutes.
Line a colander with cheese cloth. Carefully pour the cheese curds into the colander, draining off the excess liquid. Pour the drained curds into a bowl and mix with the salt. Serve the salted curds immediately or keep them chilled until just before consumption.