Sometimes when Lisa and I make yoghurt, something goes wrong and the result resembles ricotta: it's bland rather than tart, and it's more grainy in texture. What makes this happen? Is some bacterium other than 𝐿𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑖 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑠 taking over? If so, which one(s)?
And more importantly, why? It can happen even if we add enough of the correct culture. My current hypothesis is that it happens when we keep the pot too warm. I suppose I should do experiments.... but maybe someone knows already!
This ricotta stuff is not bad tasting, but it's not like yoghurt so right now Lisa is using it to make pancakes.
@johncarlosbaez Heating milk will cause it to form curds, so that sounds like what you're describing.
If you let it fully curdle up, you can add a bit of salt and then press it with a cheesecloth and you've essentially made fresh mozzarella.
@johncarlosbaez And according to Wikipedia, the fat content in the milk determines how easily it curdles:
