Does anyone use a Rachel Allen yogurt maker?

sb44

sb44 wrote: »

I have reverted back to the slow cooker method for now until the weather gets really cold.

Plus, because I drain the yogurt so that I can stand a spoon up in it thickness , I get fed up of washing 6 yog jars at once. Lazy I know.

It is far quicker to wash the s/c dish.



When the really cold weather sets in, if you don't leave your heating on all night, it is a bit too cold for the yog in the s/c to set properly, that was my reason for buying the yogurt maker.

Eenymeeny

Thanks to a lot of help from sb44 in this thread I've perfected my own method which you might like to take a look at:
My Version:
Boil some water in kettle, about a litre.
Turn the slocooker onto high, filling with boiling water as soon as kettle has boiled. (Add a cup of water if you like, shouldn't really use the pot on and empty!)
Pour 1 litre UHT milk into a bowl add 2 tablespoons of dried milk. Mix well.
Heat for 3 mins in microwave. Supposed to be between 37 and 40 degrees, mine was 38 degrees.
(If you can hold a very clean finger in to the count of 10 it should be ok!)
Carefully add 2 tablespoons of live yoghurt (which should be at room temperature) Mix well.
Turn off Slocooker. Empty and dry sloccoker pot.
Pour mix into pot, add lid and cover top and sides with a thick towel tucked well in to keep it warm.
Leave it for 8 hours.
Pot should be cold enough to put straight into fridge. I left it in there for 2 hours. Result, fab creamy mild yoghurt.
If you want to make it more like Greek yoghurt strain through a colander and jcloth or man's clean hankie for an hour. I found that half an hour was enough as just wanted to remove initial 'wetness'
Whey can be used as a drink or in baking.
Edit: the last few batches have been thick enough to use without straining, no whey in the bottom at all!
I use Lidl's Greek yoghurt as a starter which comes in 1000g tubs giving me a container to keep the made yoghurt ready in the fridge.
I also bought a basic small slocooker. (Wilkinson's, 1.5 litre, £10 at the moment) which fits into the fridge nicely, I just transfer it into a tub after the initial couple of hours. Easy to wash and move about too, I find the large slocooker a bit heavy.
I'm working on a slocooker cosy at the moment so that I can use it through the winter but another idea is to make it during the day when the house is warmer? I'm thinking then that the yogurt will be cooled and ready for breakfast in the morning... (I have experimented with giving it a couple of minutes switched on in the middle of the 8 hours but I did forget once and it was my only failure, so fine if you have a better memory than me!)
HTH

village_saver

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Thanks to a lot of help from sb44 in this thread I've perfected my own method which you might like to take a look at:
My Version:
Boil some water in kettle, about a litre.
Turn the slocooker onto high, filling with boiling water as soon as kettle has boiled. (Add a cup of water if you like, shouldn't really use the pot on and empty!)
Pour 1 litre UHT milk into a bowl add 2 tablespoons of dried milk. Mix well.
Heat for 3 mins in microwave. Supposed to be between 37 and 40 degrees, mine was 38 degrees.
(If you can hold a very clean finger in to the count of 10 it should be ok!)
Carefully add 2 tablespoons of live yoghurt (which should be at room temperature) Mix well.
Turn off Slocooker. Empty and dry sloccoker pot.
Pour mix into pot, add lid and cover top and sides with a thick towel tucked well in to keep it warm.
Leave it for 8 hours.
Pot should be cold enough to put straight into fridge. I left it in there for 2 hours. Result, fab creamy mild yoghurt.
If you want to make it more like Greek yoghurt strain through a colander and jcloth or man's clean hankie for an hour. I found that half an hour was enough as just wanted to remove initial 'wetness'
Whey can be used as a drink or in baking.
Edit: the last few batches have been thick enough to use without straining, no whey in the bottom at all!
I use Lidl's Greek yoghurt as a starter which comes in 1000g tubs giving me a container to keep the made yoghurt ready in the fridge.
I also bought a basic small slocooker. (Wilkinson's, 1.5 litre, £10 at the moment) which fits into the fridge nicely, I just transfer it into a tub after the initial couple of hours. Easy to wash and move about too, I find the large slocooker a bit heavy.
I'm working on a slocooker cosy at the moment so that I can use it through the winter but another idea is to make it during the day when the house is warmer? I'm thinking then that the yogurt will be cooled and ready for breakfast in the morning... (I have experimented with giving it a couple of minutes switched on in the middle of the 8 hours but I did forget once and it was my only failure, so fine if you have a better memory than me!)
HTH

Thanks for this -will be trying it as soon as I find where I put the slowcooker! I bought it in the summer in Wilkos for £5

Eenymeeny

Glad to be of help, and well done on your bargain. You'll find it useful for lots of other recipes too!