easiyo yogurt maker any good? or make your own? (merged)

Primrose

I can't help apart from commenting that an Indian friend gave me a batch of her home made yoghurt that originated from some yogurt bought in an Asian grocery shop over here and it was lovely and thick It wasn't one of the well known supermarket brands. Maybe if you have such an Asian store near you, you may find a local ethnic company producing yoghurt which has a magic ingredient and may be worth trying. Sadly it got used up and I was no longer able to save a batch for another starter but it was far superior to any commercial variety I have bought.

Ken68

Took a while to get mine right. I sterilise the jars for two minutes in the microwave. Warm up the milk, made from powder, for two minutes, add the starter and whisk with a hand blender, then pour into jars and set timer for 8 hours. Though not an Easiyo
Comes out yogurt firm, spoon able ,not too wet.
Might try as starter the greek stuff.

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine

mmmsnow wrote: »

I've not been trying for four years (more like four weeks!) but I've had the same problem. I've used UHT and milk powder as well as a generous amount of starter yoghurt and then left it for 12 hours and it's still not thick!

I really don't want to buy the packets but I got the Easiyo to make both Greek-style and pouring yogurt (I use the latter a lot in cooking).

I'm looking forward to reading any tips for getting it to thicken up

If your 'yoghurt' still hasn't set at all after 12 hours, it may still be fine. Don't chuck your mix away, thinking it hasn't worked - often, the bacteria just need more time and heat to do their thing and multiply, making yoghurt in the process!

Here are my steps for getting a set yoghurt, when, after 12 hours, it looks like it has failed and is just warm milk:

• Just shake the milk mixture up in it's container (don't open it)
• Refill the easiyo flask with boiling hot water up to the top of the baffle
• Pop the container back in the flask
• Wrap the flask up in a towel / blanket, to maintain the heat
• Leave it for another 6-8 hours.
  
  I've been making organic probiotic whole milk yoghurt using probiotic capsules from a health food store as my starter culture, and when my first attempt ended up looking like warm milk after leaving it for 12 hours, I decided to do the steps above to see if I could salvage it. It worked, and has worked every other time I've had a slow-growing yoghurt batch.
  
  Give it a try next time!

skeeter93

I've been having problems with my homemade yoghurt, and my last batch worked well after wrapping the flask in a towel and then a blanket. I was dubious, but it worked. It was still really warm inside when I emptied it. On other occasions I have added more hot water and left for longer, but one time I left it too long and it blew out the container...

boredjellybean

Hiya - can I use left over easyo as my starter for the next batch - so I'd use easyo, uht, milk powder ???? if so does anyone have any tips/measurements

pol098

I looked into EasyYo in detail a few years ago, to see if it was worthwhile in Britain. I was in Australia (where I think EasyYo originated) with an enthusiastic user, who regularly made quite good yoghurt. Americans also staying liked it, and bought a set and several lots of powder.

On my return to England I looked into prices. I don't remember what I found then, but was given a set for Christmas 2014, and rechecked prices: enough mix for 5 litres costs about £12 (I don't know about postage, discount prices, etc., not interested even if I can make a small saving). Both in Australia and the US, prices of yoghurt, and milk, are much higher than the UK, so EasyYo does make sense. Here I pay £2 for 1kg of Marks and Spencer plain Greek-style full-fat yoghurt (a specific example, there are lots of other good makes. I prefer full-fat); that is close to 1l by volume. So EasyYo is more expensive than buying it ready-made. Obviously, flavourings can be added to plain yoghurt (I use fresh fruit pieces - pineapple, peach, pear, berries, cherries, frozen if out of season - chopped nuts, sometimes a little sugar-free squash, sometimes instant coffee). Or you can buy lots of pre-flavoured and sweetened yoghurts.

[Before you could buy yoghurt, my grandmother used to make it from left-over (or not) milk in a pot in a warm place; it's not difficult so long as you keep a culture.]

Obviously you have to decide on your own flavourings, fat content (high is nice), sugar content (I don't add sugar or honey), perceived posh makes vs supermarket's own, etc.

But my personal analysis is that I like and eat yoghurt, but EasyYo requires space, makes work, and costs more in the UK, for no compensating advantage.

Ken68

My yogurt costs about 5pence per pot where 6pots equal a litre.
Bought the yogurt maker from Lidl years ago, not expensive. Called Biffinet. Start the next batch from the old, though occasionally buy plain natural from the supermarket to refresh.
Use powdered milk from either Tesco or Sainsbury same price £1.15 for 400g makes 4 litres.

pol098

My yogurt costs about 5pence per pot where 6pots equal a litre.

That's interesting, and makes financial sense. I think I'll stick with the Greek yoghurt, which I like and isn't too expensive, but I'll certainly take a note of this and maybe try it. The cheap powdered milk all seems to be skimmed, a quick search finds full-fat costs several times as much. Maybe I'll try it in an earthenware bowl in a warm place (traditional way). I hadn't thought of using plain powdered milk. Ready-made low-fat comparison: Sainsbury's Basics plain yoghurt, about 50p/500g (~1/2 l).

Ken68

Got it down to a fine art now. Sterilise the pots in the microwave, 2 mins, warm the milk same time, add the starter, stir well and pour into pots. 8hrs, then fridge.

pol098

Ken68 wrote: »

Got it down to a fine art now...

Thanks. I came to this thread from a search, thinking it was all about the EasyYo system, hence my recent contribution. I've read a few pages of early postings, and find it's all about making yoghurt, in general without benefit of the full EasyYo system (e.g., use container, but without buying packs); very interesting; and my previous contribution is fairly pointless, though correct.

Without having read all the thread, there's one nit-picking point that seems wrong. (The Wikipedia (WP) article on yoghurt is well worth reading, got it from there.) It's said throughout the part of the thread I've read that if milk that isn't sterilised is used, the yoghurt doesn't turn out properly (true) and that this is due to bacteria in the milk interfering with the desired lactobacillus and streptococcus. This reason doesn't actually make sense; we're speaking of pasteurised milk, which should be pretty bug-free (and one could try micro-filtered milk like Cravendale, with I'd guess the same problem). The WP article says that the heating (to about 80C, more than pasteurisation temperature) denatures the milk proteins, making them more suitable for yoghurt. Also details about the why and how of filtering, etc., that in some places they boil the milk on purpose to make it curdle, for a texture that these makers prefer, etc. etc. I'm not trying to summarise WP, just to reference it. A complex business, home microbiology.