I started making my own yogurt recently, and so far I've been buying a small cup of plain yogurt for a starter each time (and then eating the remainder of the cup). I'd like to save some of my own yogurt as a starter and skip having to buy it, but I hesitate because I'm worried that something could go wrong.
Currently, I try to use boiling water to sanitize equipment that will touch the milk prior to incubation, but I feel a little more comfortable starting with commercial yogurt because I know what's in it. Probably this isn't necessary. I've seen some people say not to even worry about safely because "people have been fermenting foods for thousands of years." But just because people did it in the past doesn't mean none of them ever got hurt. Because I'm intentionally keeping milk at a warm temp for hours to encourage bacterial growth, I want to be careful no unwanted bacteria gets in there.
Can anyone help me understand better what the actual level of risk is, and what steps can I take to prevent it when culturing with a previous batch? Also, will contamination with harmful bacteria always cause a bad smell/taste, or could it go unnoticed?
May 27, 2018 at 10:55AM
