Homemade yoghurt economics

sonnythecat

I went through a phase of making homemade yoghurt. Then I sort of drifted away from it...you know how it is!

I used to always drain it so it went creamy and Greek. This meant I seemed to use a lot of milk to make a relatively small amount of yoghurt. Sometimes I'd stir in fruit or even make fruit compote to go alongside. But fruit costs.

My question is - in terms of price, do you think its worth making your own yoghurt?

blueberrypie

Absolutely. I have the electric yogurt-maker from Lakeland (not the Easiyo) and I used UHT milk. I costed things out when I first bought it and can't remember exactly what the figures were now, but it was something like 52p for a litre of yogurt. That's a *lot* less than a litre of yogurt would cost from the supermarket.

And if you're adding fruit to your own yogurt, you can be sure you're getting actual fruit, rather than just flavouring.

Lou76

As I've just posted on another thread, I like those expensive yoghurt drinks and making my own has definitely saved me a fortune.

If you blitz the yoghurt up in the blender with the fruit (frozen works just as well) then it makes it nice and runny and the perfect drink consistiency.

jimjams_mommy

i saw a maker for £8.99 the other day nearly got one, the lady who was selling it said it made a pint i think and it lasted two week in he fridge, just added water to the mix and put in a pot of boiling water.Is it any good? the mix were £2.29 a packet wasn't sure getting it.

blueberrypie

I prefer the electric yogurt-maker to the Easiyo ones (or similar) which use the packets. You *can* use ordinary milk with a starter for the Easiyo, but it does seem like a lot of faffing about compared to the simplicity of the electric kind (where you throw a couple of tablespoons of the last batch of yogurt, or some you previously froze, or some new live yogurt you've bought - whatever's there) into the pot, add some UHT milk (or scalded ordinary milk) and switch it on.

And although the electric one costs slightly more to start with, and uses a little (tiny) bit of electricity, it still works out cheaper than using the packets (or even boiling the kettle to heat the Easiyo flask).

Lou76

jimjams_mommy wrote: »

i saw a maker for £8.99 the other day nearly got one, the lady who was selling it said it made a pint i think and it lasted two week in he fridge, just added water to the mix and put in a pot of boiling water.Is it any good? the mix were £2.29 a packet wasn't sure getting it.

Jimjams, do you have a slow cooker? If so, you can make yoghurt in it, and it'd work out a lot cheaper than buying packets of the mix.

I found out how to make yoghurt in my slow cooker here: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

I had never made yoghurt before, by any method, and this worked perfect for me first time. I couldn't believe it when I wakened up to a [STRIKE]big[/STRIKE] massive pot of yoghurt in the morning. :rotfl:

If you haven't already got a slow cooker, it might be worth paying the £8.99 towards one, and at least that way, you'll be buying a multi-functional appliance that can be used, daily if required, for a lot more than 1 thing.

ETA: Slow cookers seem to be one of those items that people buy, use once, then throw in the back of a cupboard gather dust. Might be worth asking on your local freecycle if anyone has one they want rid of. I got mine from my Mum's friend who bought it, used it once... etc etc. lol

Sunnyday

I also have the lakeland electric yogurt maker.

I use uht milk to make mine and leave it longer to make it thicker.

Half gets used as yogurt and the other half i use to make soft cheese which i mix with chives from the garden and garlic granules, its a firm fave in our house and is lovely on toast or crackers.

I make at least one batch per week sometimes two and only three when DH won`t keep his hands off it and it disappears quickly

Works out far cheaper than the supermarket for both.

SD

adelight

I can't thank lou76 enough Excellent link with another excellent link on it which tells how to make soy yogurt! I love yogurt but have been largely without for years as soy yogurt is so expensive

angeltreats

I also have the Lakeland electric yoghurt maker and I really like it. We don't eat an awful lot of yoghurt but I use it a lot for cooking, in things like curries and soda bread (it works out a LOT less expensive than buying buttermilk and does the same job).

It's a gadget that I bought on impulse not knowing whether I'd bother to use it or not, but as it turned out I find it so useful that it gets used all the time and has definitely paid for itself.

Lou76

adelight wrote: »

I can't thank lou76 enough Excellent link with another excellent link on it which tells how to make soy yogurt! I love yogurt but have been largely without for years as soy yogurt is so expensive

Glad I could be of help - even if I didn't realise it. :rotfl:

jimjams_mommy

i have a slowcooker so will have a look at the link you put up. making yogurt in a slowcooker well you earn something new everyday! lol