Brought to you by Nuffnang and Easi Yo.  Making Yoghurt at Home. I test Easi Yo

I was playing around with the thought of Making Yoghurt at Home a couple of weeks ago, when out of the blue I was offered a yoghurt maker to test. That’s a happy coincidence, wouldn’t you say?.

Yoghurt is a staple in many houses in fact Australians eat up to 8.5 kg of yoghurt each a year, and I can vouch for going through nearly a kilo of the stuff myself a week. I like plain unsweetened yoghurt. I figure that most people who buy a yoghurt maker are more likely to want to make their own yoghurt from scratch so that they know exactly what goes into the making of it.

This Easi Yo yoghurt maker offers packets of yoghurt mix ready to be used. The beauty of these of course, is that you can keep a stash of them in the cupboard and whip up a batch of yoghurt any time you like. They come in all kinds of flavours like Greek Yoghurt, Passionfruit, Strawberry, Blueberry and even Greek Yoghurt with Coconut bits. They don’t look coloured and they taste a lot less sweet than supermarket yoghurt.

So whats it like?

I wont tell you that the first couple of batches were smooth sailing, because they weren’t . The third one was the gold.  I cracked it. This needed to happen or I would have given up. I don’t have time for a piece of equipment I have to nurture.

So, on my third attempt I got a pot of perfect yoghurt and then on the 4 and 5th attempt too. That means the Easi Yo can stay, in fact I am thrilled with it. It is suddenly like owning a chicken or harvesting from the backyard veggie patch, there is a sense of freedom in making your own yoghurt. Now, all I need to do is use up the 4 kilo I have here before I can make some more.

Some good tips….

You can stick with the sachets of pre mixed flavoured yoghurt that contain no artificial flavours or colours and are gluten free, or if you prefer you can make your own.

• Make sure that the boiling water you use comes to the top of the “baffle” or the plastic insert the yoghurt jar sits on. The first couple of attempts I made I realize now the yoghurt wasn’t warm enough for the culture to work. I didn’t fill it enough.
• Conversely don’t get all weird and fill it too much. This could overheat the yoghurt and it may set with an unpleasant curdled texture
• Don’t keep opening the container. Each time you do you will let out warmth.
• You will get a thicker creamier yoghurt using powdered milk. A bag of powdered milk will set you back about $6.99.   You need to use 150 gm  of powder ( 5 1/4 oz,  3/4 cup), add water (or milk) and 3 Tablespoons very fresh plain yoghurt or 3 Tablespoons from one of the sachets you buy, to make your 1 kg batch
• If you wait till the end of your pot of yoghurt to use it to make the next one, the bacteria may not be young enough ( that is sage advise for life itself) or may not set as much as you would like.
• Start new and fresh after about 4 batches as the culture needs to be renewed.
• Keep a few bags of ready made in the cupboard for starting off a pot of yoghurt in a pinch.
• Using 3 tablespoons of a pre-made yoghurt packet won’t flavour your yoghurt much at all but provides a great set with powdered milk.
• You will find your groove pretty quickly, it’s all about the temperature

Smoked Salmon with herbs and Yoghurt cheese

Stir together left over Brownies

Iced Raspberry Pops