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

maryb

I have a copy of the Tightwad Gazette and in that Amy Dacyczyn says she freezes her leftover starter yogurt in ice cube trays which works very well. then she uses the first made batch to chain the next several batches, just saving a couple of spoonfuls each time. That way one starter lasts practically for ever as you only need to use one or at most two cubes when the batch you have been chaining won't set anymore.

I have tried lots of ways to make yogurt with a wide necked flask and it never worked for me whatever milk I used and however scientifically i measured the temperature. I now have the Lakeland bulk yogurt maker which is brilliant - even using semi skimmed milk it's foolproof. I looked at the Eesiyo but this woked out cheaper because you use an ordinary starter. I'm really pleased with it

trippy

I have read through all these posts and have treated myself to an Easiyo maker. We have 2 children who get through 2 yoghurts each a day so hopefully it should work out cost effective and we can smuggle even more fruit into them by mixing in purees!

I tried it last night and was diappointed this morning to find my "yoghurt" exactly as I left it last night. It smells of yoghurt but still has the same consistency as milk.

I thought I'd let you know exactly what I did and maybe someone could let me know where I went wrong. The trouble with not using the easiyo mixes is that there's no 'official' line on how to do it without.

I warmed 1 litre whole UHT milk in the microwave until it was warm and I could hold my finger in for 10/15 seconds without yelping.
I mixed in a tbsp of skimmed milk powder and added a couple of tbsp of low fat natural bio yoghurt from Aldi and shook it so it was well mixed.
I filled the flask with boiling water to the top of the dodah inside. This meant the flask was sitting in the water when I put it in. (This was the bit I wasn't sure about.)
I did all this at 8pm last night and 12 hours later, it's still the same. Not curdled or horrible smelling. Just exactly the same!

I hope someone will be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks!

apprentice_tycoon

I don't have an Easiyo maker, I just use the Lakeland bulk machine or flasks so I'm not sure about the heating arrangements of yours.
My guess is that you have too much starter yogurt, I only use around 2 teaspoons and I'm not sure about shaking it (I think you have to do it with the powder, because it's powder) I just give mine a good stir. Those are the only points of difference between yours and mine

Ted_Hutchinson

I'm in the same position as A-T as I don't use an easyyo but I do use two tablespoons of starter for a litre of UHT so I don't think the problem will be too much starter.
I put the UHT in a jug, whisk in 2 tbs milk powder, microwave 3 mins then whisk in starter then straight into my prewarmed jars.
So to use the easiyog I think maybe you need to get that hot first so there is no time wasted after the starter is added to the warm milk.
I haven't used Asda Bio as a starter but can't see any reason why it wouldn't work but I do find some are better than others (I didn't get on well with set yoghurts as starters) but I 'm finding Lidl's probiotic is still going a treat.
So my bet is either you shook too vigorously or the temperature dropped too much between the finger dipping and the time the yog went into the easiyo.
Edit: My microwave is 1000w so may be quicker than some others. I also think a thermometer makes life much easier. The yoghurt measuring spoon I use has one built in the handle but If you can't find one of those this would do.
[font=arial, helvetica]buy[/font] [font=arial, helvetica]BRANNAN 21/489/2 Yoghurt Making Thermometer 150mm[/font] [font=arial, helvetica]Thu 4/8[/font][font=arial, helvetica] [/font] [font=arial, helvetica]£ 4.12[/font]

trippy

I guess the thing I really need to check then is where to fill the boiling water up to in the flask. The instructions say "Pour boiling water to the line JUST at the top of the baffle (no further)." This to me means the flask is standing in hot water which surely heats the yoghurt mixture up? It makes more sense to me to have the boiling water below the flask to keep the ambient temp constant.

Does anyone actually use the Easiyo? I am keen to find out where to fill it up to.

Badgergal

I have an Easiyo but I am not buying the sachets any more, I want to learn how to do it with a starter instead. I would also be interested to learn of anyone making yoghurt in an Easiyo without the sachets.

I'm not sure about how far up to pour the water when you're not using the sachets...you could be right that it is better to have the water below the pot instead...

Ted_Hutchinson

Badgergal wrote:

I have an Easiyo but I am not buying the sachets any more, I want to learn how to do it with a starter instead. I would also be interested to learn of anyone making yoghurt in an Easiyo without the sachets.

I'm not sure about how far up to pour the water when you're not using the sachets...you could be right that it is better to have the water below the pot instead...

Using a bio/probiotic natural unset yoghurt as a starter is simple, A-T gets away with just 2 tsps while I've been using 2 tbls. When the milk is the correct temperature (41-43c...106-109f) whisk it in and off you go. I use a hand balloon whisk but you could just stir it. If you put the activator in the easiyo and started with a few tablespoons of the hot milk and whisked that you would be able to see it was blended in before you slowly added the rest of the hot milk and stirred it well. It doesn't need too vigorous treatment such as whizzing in the processor/liquidiser which is why the previous poster may have had trouble.

Although I haven't got an easiyo I really think whether the hot water is above or below the line is a distraction. The container does need to be warm when the starter/milk go in or it will chill them down too much. Having sufficient hot water round the yog is just to keep it at an even temperature while it's yogging and half a pint either way isn't going to make that much difference if it was too cool to start with. But I'll leave this to the easiyo experts.

apprentice_tycoon

Ted has had me doubting my '2 teaspoons for starter' claim so I've just made a fresh batch to see if I'm delusional.
I used the 2 teapoons as I normally do but as our yogurt is strained it's really thick so a teapoon is a really a heaped teaspoon, so maybe with a more fluid bought yogurt a couple of teaspoons isn't enough

Whitefiver

Badgergal wrote:

I have an Easiyo but I am not buying the sachets any more, I want to learn how to do it with a starter instead. I would also be interested to learn of anyone making yoghurt in an Easiyo without the sachets.

I'm not sure about how far up to pour the water when you're not using the sachets...you could be right that it is better to have the water below the pot instead...

Hi,

Sorry, I have been away for a couple of days, and missed all the fun. You are quite correct in that you have to put enough boiling water into the easiyo to *just* cover the red baffle (not the platform, the top of the baffle). This does mean that the jar is standing in boiling water, but it *does* work.

I started off with a sachet, but ever since then, I have been using about a tablespoonful of yogurt with uht milk straight out of the pack very successfully - both with and without extra milk powder. I never add sugar by the way.

The person who failed with a shop bought starter - all I can suggest was that the yogurt you bought had been pasteurised. I would invest £1.50 in a sachet, or buy a plain yogurt clearly marked as "live" as a starter. Please don't give up, the yogurt from an easiyo is lovely with either method, and fulfils my wish (as I originally posted) for a *foolproof* method. If I can do it......

Regards all,

White.

Numptie

So, apart from Lakeland is there anywhere else you can buy a yoghurt maker from. Any bargains out there?