I realize this community is probably dead but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to shout into the void if it is.
I enjoyed making my own yogurt in the past but got annoyed with babysitting my makeshift incubator consisting of a cooler and an electric blanket and stopped. Recently I took up yogurt making again but this time with mesophilic cultures. Being able to just leave batch of yogurt in a warm spot in the kitchen until it is set is just so handy. I’m also looking forward to trying some different cultures. I’ve got filmjölk and a viili cultures in the freezer for when I want to change things from the kefir simulate culture I’ve currently got active.
With something like viili there will be a noticeable texture difference from what I’ve seen of people making it. Most places selling cultures will have some notes about what sets it apart (e.g. I see filmjolk called distinctively buttery on multiple sites). I don’t know how subtle those differences actually are until I get around to trying them and I imagine someone selling yogurt cultures for a living is probably more tuned into such things. I imagine plenty of people would just go, “It tastes like yogurt to me.”
Edit: I can say the kefir-like I’m making lately has more of a fresh milk taste compared to thermophilic yogurt I’m familiar with. Though that could easily be differences of preparation showing themselves rather than anything to do with the culture specifically.