This is the thread about cultures and ferments, in case you couldn't tell.
So I learned just today that there is such a thing as heirloom yogurt cultures, and that cultures propagated from store bought yogurt wither and die after a couple batches.
And yet, I have been perpetuating the same store boughten yogurt culture for about a year now, probably 20-odd batches so far.
Could it have picked up local cultures out of the air the way sourdough starter does? Or maybe I started it with a batch of local yogurt with unusually robust cultures? I don't remember what kind I used originally, but it is possible it was Noosa, which is kind of hipstery and also local. So maybe?
(I need a whole thread because I am doing this stuff a lot lately, and I don't really know how it works yet so much. Next I am making a new ginger bug. I had one years ago, but then I accidentally heated up the oven with it inside, and yes, I know that I am the real monster.)