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Original poster

Yoghurt Makers

29 replies

BadHair · 17/01/2004 16:08

Someone mentioned a yoghurt maker in a recent thread. I've found one at Lakeland - does anyone own this or anything similar, and are they any good? What's the yoghurt like, is it worth the faff of making it, and would you recommend it?

OP posts:

kmg1 · 17/01/2004 19:40

Hi BadHair - Suedonim is your woman for this! I bought one this week. Made yoghurt on Thursday night - dead simple, not a faff at all, and the yoghurt was scrummy. BUT made some today, and it didn't work ... I don't know why, but will put it on again tonight to try again.

I can't get your link to work - my connection seems a bit dodgy tonight. Are you talking about the bulk yoghurt maker or the EasiYo? I don't know anything about EasiYo.

The link to the previous discussion is here

PS The yoghurt flavourings from Lakeland recommended by Suedonim on that thread are yummy.

suedonim · 17/01/2004 20:37

I wonder why your second lot didn't 'take' Kmg? That's odd. I think I'll buy the fl;avourings now you've tried them.

Badhair, I think it's definitely worth making your own yoghurt, it really isn't a faff at all.

SofiaAmes · 17/01/2004 22:49

Could you have accidently killed your culture. The bacteria need to be alive to make the yogurt. If you heat them up too much or get them too cold, they die.

lyndsey66 · 17/01/2004 23:15

What is the benefit of making yoghurt as apposed to buying?
Only I am a gadget queen and need to justify to my dh why a yoghurt maker is 1. worth the money 2. worth taking up space in my tiny kitchen!
thanksx

suedonim · 18/01/2004 01:04

Lyndsey, two advantages are that it's much cheaper than shop-bought and you control the ingredients. You need a machine!

hmb · 18/01/2004 01:11

Why get a yoghurt maker? Out of interest, what are the advantages over making it in a thermos flask?

Original poster

BadHair · 18/01/2004 12:58

kmg1, the one I saw was the bulk one, not the easiyo. What sort of texture yoghurt does it make - is it runny or thick?
And how easy is it to clean afterwards? Don't have a dishwasher and I really hate scrubbing lots of bits of plastic and machinery.
Sorry for all the questions, but I think I really want to buy one and I need to justify gadget expenditure to dp.

OP posts:

suedonim · 18/01/2004 13:14

I'm very good at breaking the innards of vacuum flasks, hmb! It's many years since I used one for yoghurt but I think you have to heat the milk up to a fairly precise temperature first otherwise it won't work. That was a problem for me, istr.

Badhair, the yoghurt is runnier than commercial stuff but you can strain it to thicken or I think you can add milk powder at the start. The only washing up is of the container which is plastic and takes about two seconds.

Original poster

BadHair · 18/01/2004 13:27

Thank you for this - I'm now convinced! I live near a Lakeland shop so I'm going to sneak off and get one in the week. Will tell dp I got it off ebay for a fiver or something like that, he'll never know.
I'm getting all excited and I want yoghurt NOW!

OP posts:

hmb · 18/01/2004 14:24

Oops, re the temperature thing. I set some year 11 biology students the homework of making yoghurt (it is on the sylabus!). The method I found said that you have to warm it to just about body temo, ie stick your finger in it and it should feel a little bit warm. Then add the culture and put in the airing cupboard/into a thermos and leave for 6 hours. I cribbed the method off the internet, and didn't check it out myself first!!!

Help Yoghurt makers help me!! Will this method work???????

Help, youghur makers help me,

suedonim · 18/01/2004 14:48

Yeah, it should work, hmb. Would you need to put it in the airing cupboard, though? I thought the point of the thermos was that it maintained the temp without extra heat...but as I say, it's hundreds of years since I made it that way.

suedonim · 18/01/2004 14:49

Uh-oh, just read your post again and it says use the airing cupbord OR thermos, not both. Doh!

hmb · 18/01/2004 14:58

Phew! I was worried there for a moment. They all thought I was a bit mad asking them to do it anyway and if it didn't work I would catch a lot of flack from them!

We are encouraged to make yogurt but as you know it takes at least 6 hours, so we can't realy do it in school. And if they make it in the lab we have to throw it away, which seems such a shame.

Soem will not bother, but I did give them a work sheet to catch them out......

Thanks again!

kmg1 · 18/01/2004 15:54

Go for it BadHair! It's not a faff, it's cheap, the 'machinery' is pretty basic, easy-peasy to wash, and it's not at all bulky either.

My boys don't drink milk, but do drink bought 'drinking yoghurt'. The plan ... and it's working so far ... is for them to drink homemade yoghurt blended with pureed fresh fruit, or fruit juice. It's much cheaper than 'drinking yoghurt', and I can control the ingredients.

Original poster

BadHair · 18/01/2004 16:52

Oo I like the sound of the drinking yoghurt. Does the yog maker come with a recipe book?

OP posts:

kmg1 · 18/01/2004 19:01

Nope, it doesn't come with a recipe book - there are a couple of ideas at the back, that's all. I ordered the Easiyo recipe book from Lakeland, but to be honest there aren't a lot of real ideas in it.

I've just bought some different pure fruit juices from Tescos, and we're experimenting with those, and also fresh fruit. Also the Lakeland Easiyo flavourings are great.

I made a drinking yoghurt today with kiwi fruit juice ... the kids wouldn't drink it - well it was bright green! But actually tasted yummy

PS I envy you living near a Lakeland shop ... actually, no I don't - my bank balance would suffer too much

udar · 19/01/2004 15:27

We have an easi-yo yoghurt maker. Really easy to make, never had it fail. Also in lakeland site. Basically it is two containers, you mix the easi-yo mix with cold water in the tupperware type container that comes with, shake it up then pour boiling water inside the insulator container up to the given mark and put the tuppperware container inside. If you make it at night you have yoghurt in the morning. No small parts to clean or anything.

champs · 19/01/2004 16:48

OMG!!! you all read my mind, I want to buy Easiyo, I actually came to the products category to ask about it and there was the thread!!!
I have had my eye on the electric ice cream maker which has the frezer bit on it but at over £200 I cant justify it. So I decided upon the yogurt one.... We eat much more yog than ice cream and I have seen ice cream mixes for the easiyo!!
I think I will go for it.
BTW, DO you think the easiyo is extravagant?
Should I Buy the boring electric one and make own flavors or go with easiyo and just use their mixes? I think money wise easiyo will work out more expensive as you have to buy the mixes.
Or can you use homemade yougurt recipie in the easiyo?

udar · 19/01/2004 17:17

The powder works out at about £1.20ish per litre of yoghurt doesn't it?
I would have thought that all the ingredients needed to make a yoghurt up from scratch would add up to about that much.
When I was looking at the buying of it one of the major things was size, ease and therefore the likelihood of continuing to use it and it not ending up in the back of the pantry.

suedonim · 19/01/2004 19:03

Yoghurt from UHT costs less than that. You just need a litre of milk and a small commercial yoghurt for the starter for your first batch. Thereafter, it's just the cost of the milk. Hth.

champs · 19/01/2004 19:44

sue-- how do you continue to make yog?

suedonim · 19/01/2004 20:05

You use a couple of tablespoons of youhurt from the previous batch when you want to start your next lot, Champs.

Oakmaiden · 20/01/2004 09:41

Can I ask a really basic question, that has probably been covered? If I were to buy the bulk yogurt maker that is lnked in the first posting on this thread - are there any ingredients other than milk and a starter culture that you need? Does it taste nice just mixed with pureed fruit? How long does it take to make?

Thank you!

suedonim · 20/01/2004 13:13

Just the milk and a pot of shop yoghurt is all you need, Oakmaiden. It takes about 10 hrs (I think, can't quite recall!) and I make mine overnight. Exact timings aren't crucial. And yes, it would taste wonderful with fruit puree.

kmg1 · 20/01/2004 14:26

You should definitely get commission Sue

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