Yogurt for starter?

[kevster]

Well...the choizo is underway with Yakult, so fingers crossed.
Another question that now occurs...I am following Len Poli's instructions and he has an option to smoke the chorizo before drying. My question is, I was planning to spray the sausage with camembert mold...but will smoking prevent this from growing?
Thanks,
Kev

[grisell]

Probably. However, when I got a bad mould infection last year, smoking didn't stop it from growing. With camembert mould I don't know.

[kevster]

Probably. However, when I got a bad mould infection last year, smoking didn't stop it from growing. With camembert mould I don't know.

I guess the thing to do is give it a go then....can't see it doing any harm.
Kev

[Timdonesia]

So if you are using Yalkut, or Yogurt what is the ratio to use? Do you follow the recipe for the starter culture? Thanks for the info. Just trying to make Salami from a 3rd world country.

[wheels]

I don't know - you'd need enough to ensure a viable culture. Can you test pH?

Phil

[grisell]

Yoghurt has always worked for me. In my opinion, it should work even better in Indonesia, since the temperature is more favourable. But I can't guarantee it, of course.

[grisell]

A teaspoon of yoghurt in the filling will do the trick, I think.

[wheels]

Grisell

IIRC you used it regularly? Were any pH tests done?

Timdonesia

I'd be tempted to buy some yogurt and test it's viability by cultivating more yogurt from it. I'd then use it as per Grisell's advice. I'd test it post fermentation to confirm a satisfactory drop in pH using either a meter, strips, or litmus paper.

HTH

Phil

[Swing Swang]

See page 213 of Charcutier. salumiere. wurstmeister. By Francois Paul-Armand Vecchio.

6 different lactic acid bacteria are listed as being important in cultures (Lactobacillus and Pediococcus species) in addition to Kocuria and Staphylococcus species for colour and flavour. Then there ar Debaryomecces and Candida yeast species too. Commercial cultures are often a mix of two or more different microorganisms.

I once spoke to a maker in the Canaries who would only use one brand of Italian wine in his fermented sausages (and no cultures) and I generally use a fermented capsicum paste (and no cultures either) from one area of Portugal which I suspect is the source of the microorganism (and flavour) that I am after.

Bottom line is that the LAB in your chosen yoghurt might work for you, or they might not. A commercial culture does offer a certain guarantee of acidification/rapid fermentation but they are not the be all and end all. You just have to know what's going on if you decide to go off piste.

It's a bit like making cider - some of the best brews are made with naturally fermented 'wild' yeasts that knock the spots off commercial varieties, but natural fermentation also produces some of the nastiest and foul tasting drinks imaginable. Problem is that with badly cured meat you are more likely to kill yourself than with a bad batch of cider!

Just my thoughts

Philip