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Been running into a problem with my homemade #yogurt lately, it's been getting weirdly goopy. Like if I pull up a spoonful, there'll be like a drip that wants to adhere to the spoon instead of falling, almost like there's gelatin in it (there's not).
Most of what I'm seeing online chalks it up to method. Not heating it enough, inconsistency in cooling, etc. But my method's been very consistent.
i suspect it's gotten infected with pediococcus, which I've had problems with in making ginger beer.
Basically pediococcus isn't harmful or anything, and really only affects consistency. Which seems to be what's happening here. It makes long saccharide chains that result in a very goopy, mucus-y consistency.
That's awful when you're making beer or natural soda, let me tell you. But not *so* bad with yogurt, since it's supposed to be creamy to some degree regardless. But it's not my ideal.
Gonna try picking up something to use as a fresh starter, and see if that makes a difference.
Kind of a shame if I need to break the chain, so to speak. I've been continuously working with the same strain for more than three years now, based on a starter from early 2020.
Turns out if you freeze some starter the day after you make it, while the culture is still pretty active, it doesn't "lose strength" the way it might if you use the tail end of a batch to start the next one. Something I always struggled with in the past. But if it's compromised, what can I do?