On Sun, 28 Nov 2010 10:48:51 -0330, "Nientad" >
wrote:

>Hi folks,
>
>Long time lurker, infrequent poster.
>
>I've been making yogurt for a couple of years now, but this is the first
>time this has happened. Normally when I make a batch I let it work for
>about 18 hours and it comes out firm and tart, with very little whey. This
>time, I was making a second batch immediately after a first one (that came
>out as expected), so I used some of the freshly made yogurt to make another
>batch.
>
>When I looked at the yogurt maker the next morning (about 8 hours later),
>the yogurt had 'risen' over the tops of the containers, almost like bread
>would rise. The containers were also about 60% whey. Having a fairly
>strong digestive system and a healthy dose of curiosity, I tried the stuff
>and it was almost sweet with a consistency more like cottage cheese than
>yogurt. It hasn't killed me yet..... I posted a picture to
>alt.food.binaries of the way it looked in the morning.
>
>Has this ever happened to anyone else while making yogurt? Any idea what
>would cause it to rise and have so much whey?
>
>Thanks!
> di

I haven't seen anything like that. For me, in the batch I made
Saturday, they whey is slimy rather than watery - the yogurt tastes OK
though.

I more or less follow the instructions Dr. Fankhauser gives on his
cheese (and other stuff) site:

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/cheese.html

My one thought in general is that you're leaving it a really long time
to incubate. Fankhauser say to leave it for 3 hours. I find that
it's plenty tart after 6. Are you maintaining a temperature of about
122 F for the entire 18 hours?

- Mark