Third batch of yog.
Still using the store bought live yog as starter.
Left for 9 hours, then directly to fridge from incubator. Noticeably thicker and a little bit tart, perfect. for my taste.

Next batch will be using my home home made live yog as starter.

I lived in a village close to Dali, where there was an old lady going from house to house and selling milk every morning, and it tasted great. I don't think it was watered. But I will keep in mind what you wrote here, thank you.

Buying from an old lady in a village would be much safer than buying in the city. If the old lady is from the village, and serving locals, she is unlikely to ".... on her own doorstep', so to speak. Next best thing to knowing the farmer. In fact she may well be related to the farmer.

Just last month there was a case of a large rice noodle producer in Kunming who was found using water from a footspa place to make rice noodles. And I have seen them washing wild vegetables in urban water courses (black) before going to market. These people would not eat the stuff themselves.

Yep, there is a special blend of amorality in the yunnan han. howerver the people of Dali are not han. They are nice.

Hi, nice article! You can also try kefir, really easy to make and very healthy, mushrooms are available on taobao. When I lived in Shaanxi Province I was making three kinds of cheese, but for that, I think I need fresh milk, I`ll try to anyways, as I find life hard without my domestic products :) Sour cream is possible to get from yogurt, but for that you should use milk with 3% of fat, I guess, the taste is really nice. Is it possible to buy fresh goat milk here in Kunming?

Riana, how about writing an article about cheese making? :-)

I've also successfully made yogurt in a rice cooker. Heat the milk up to a boil, let cool to body temperature, add a few tablespoons of Sal's unflavored yogurt, cover rice cooker with a blanket to keep warm. Turn on rice cooker for five minutes a few hours later and another five minutes a few hours after that. Good yogurt within eight to 12 hours.

One of my students told me her mother has a bread machine that can be set to make yogurt. Not sure what the mechanism is, but if you have a small kitchen it could be ideal.

Not sure of the brand either, I am sure it will be on taobao.

I guess any surface that is slightly heated long enough to let the bacteria multiply could be used to make yogurt. Sauce pans can be used on low heat, thermos, the warm top of older refrigerators, an oven, or even under the nice Kunming sun.

I second what viajante said. An article about making cheese, especially cottage cheese, would be great!