Yogurt maker

[Gataloca]

Hi,

I actually checked easiyo today, price for the maker is okay, but my concern is where to get the flavors/yogurt esp if i'm not in hk anymore. Can i use whatever milk?

Actually making yogurt is very easy, and what really a yogurt maker does, is to keep the temperature warm, so that the lactobacillus would reproduce, turning the milk into yogurt.

You can do the same with milk. Just boil the milk, so that undesired bacteria would be killed. Let it cool down a little bit, till it is warm, and add some tablespoon of regular yogurt in it (make sure the milk is warm, and not hot.. you don't want to kill the bacteria from the yogurt). Let it rest in your yogurt maker, and in few hours, it should be done.

I tried that long long time ago... as I didn't have a yogurt maker, I just let the milk rest in a warm location (like inside the oven, or on top of the fridge)

 

[loupou]

Making yoghurt

I make yoghurt w/ powdered milk - much cheaper than using UHT or "fresh"

I'll fill up the Easi-yo 1 liter plastic container w/ ~ 750 mls of warm water.

Pour that into a bowl.
Put in ~ 2 cups of powdered milk & stir or whisk vigorously.

Take between 1/4 and 1/2 cup starter (can be previous batch's) & put in a small bowl.

Take some of the re-constituted milk and add to started and stir, to make runny. This helps the starter disperse evenly.

Add it all back into the big bowl. Stir or whisk vigorously.

Fill the thermal container w/ boiling water up to the start of the red thingy (the hot water should not actually touch the 1 liter plastic jar).

Wait 6-12 hours, less time in high summer.

Make sure that the powdered milk is plain powdered milk, not any type of "formula". Otherwise you will get strange results.

Good luck!

 

[freddiebiscuit]

I would really like to try making yogurt this way! Can the starter be any kind of plain yogurt or is it something special that needs to be purchased? What kind of powdered milk do you use and where do you buy it?

 

[Gataloca]

The starter can be any kind of plain yogurt or, as loupou said, from your previous batch.

This sounds like a good idea. I never tried using powdered milk... I guess it would be much more cheaper, and the resulted yogurt would be thicker than when done using fresh milk.

 

[firsttimemom]

Hi Loupou,

thanks for your tip.

You mean you bought an easiyo thermos but never buys their powdered yogurt? i'm thinking if i can do that.

I really need to buy a maker or thermos for yogurt as i don't know where to put it.

thanks!

 

[loupou]

Hi all,

Any yoghurt w/ active bacteria can be used as a starter.

If I've no yoghurt of my own (s.o. ate it up w/out leaving enough for starter) or if my own is getting a little bit too sharp (it sometimes gets that way after several generations) I buy a carton of the Dairy Farm plain yoghurt. I buy the "youngest" I can (w/ the expiry date furthest in the future).

As for powdered milk, I get what's cheap and available. I've used Nestle powdered, I've used Klim, I've used Anchor. The most important thing is to...

1) Make sure it's milk only

2) Make sure the water you mix it up w/ is not too hot (can kill the bacteria, or make an inhospitable environment).

3) Note what you do - dif milks sometimes make thinner or thicker youghurt, so if you switch from one type to another because of cost of availability, you may notice you want to add or subtract.

4) The proportions I gave above make quite a thick yoghurt. If you want a thinner yoghurt, then you'd need to use a bit less.

Gataloca - yes exactly. If you make it w/ powdered milk you can make it thicker and it's cheaper than w/ "fresh" milk.

Crystal88
- Very rarely do I buy the Easiyo packets. I don't find them good value for money & the flavored ones have quite a bit of sugar.

I have bought them in the past when they were on sale and I wanted to give them a try.

We keep the thermos part of the Easiyo under our kitchen sink when we're not using it.

 

[firsttimemom]

Hi Gataloca and loupou,

For fresh milk, do i really need to boil the milk and cool it down? my friend just warm it a little in a microwave (with a thermometer so she's sure it's just warm) then do the next step or adding the yogurt, etc......

Thanks!

 

[Koan]

You need to heat it initially to 82-85'C, but don't boil it. It's kind of like sterilising the milk, it kills of the bacteria you don't want in the yoghurt.

Then cool it slowly to 45'C before adding the yoghurt. If you cool it faster (for example by putting the pot in a tub of cool water) then you need to stir the milk constantly.

 

[firsttimemom]

thanks koan, my indian friend also says boil it then cool it down....maybe it all depends on what type of milk you use, if it's UHT, then no need to boil as it has no more bacteria? if fresh milk you boil it? Just confuse on this area.

It means i also need to buy a thermometer to know the temperature?

 

[shuchisingh]

hi,

yes ... you dont need to boil pasteurisd milk. boiling milk and making yoghurt (curd) is something we have ALWAYS been doing in India hence the advise. I also boil my milk but it's more out of a lifelong habit than anything else - there's really no value add

just warm milk (not too hot more like drinkable lukewarm) and add a little (1 tb sp) plain yoghurt; stir it and leave it overnight. it would be ready by the morning. full cream and fresh is better. you dont need fancy devices etc - we make yoghurt all the time.

but yes in winters, a youghurt maker would be helpful in keeping the milk warm. in this weather there would be no problem. at the end of the day it's trial and error - you'll figure out what works best (temperatures, weather, kind of milk, amount of yoghurt) in no time.