[makedoandmend]

I wonder if anyone has tried making yoghurt using an easiyo 'incubator' without the easiyo sachets?

I've been doing the UHT milk with Marvel added, recipe but am still getting pouring yoghurt??? My last batch was in the incubator for 48 hours and I beat it with a balloon whisk, but still can't get it to set.

I'm using Onken 'set' live yoghurt as my starter, thinking that if I start with 'set' yoghurt I might end up with 'set' yoghurt. (also it was cheaper than Yeo Valley)

Despite it being runny it is very tasty and easy to flavour with any fruit or have savoury -tzatziki last week with our lamb souvlakia. We don't buy now - cheaper with a lot less packaging and no faff at all really.

Any advice or 'recipe' tricks to get my yoghurt to set (naturally) would be most welcome.

Regards

[makedoandmend]

Folks,

Further to my last post on this subject I have done plenty of experimenting and have come up with a recipe that seems to work, without buying sachets.

I'm using 1 litre UHT milk in cartons - the last lot I got from Netto on a special for 39p/L, but B&M also keep it, Tesco's Whole UHT milk seems cost effective too.

3 heaped desertspoons of dried milk - Aldi do Alcafe 340g for £1.69, but I'm looking at a catering pack for better VFM.

100g of Morrisons own Greek yoghurt (tubs of 500g) I divide this into 100g lots in zip lock bags and freeze it. Ive tried Yeo Valley and Onken set yoghurt but still got pouring yoghurt with those.

I pour most of the UHT milk into the easiyo jug and warm it in the microwave. I add the dried milk and keep it warm until the yoghurt has defrosted. I'm using a bowl with warm water - a la bain Marie - to defrost it.

Don't be tempted to shake the easiyo jug as I did to mix the powdered milk because it froths terribly and sprays out of the lid - mix or whisk.

Add the yoghurt to the warmed milk and top up with UHT.

Fill the easiyo incubator with boiling water and stick the jug in.

I've been aiming to get the jug to ~43 degrees C - before putting it in the incubator as the internet articles suggest, so that's just a bit more than a baby's bottle.

So far I've had great success, there's only two of us but we're going through 2kg a week of home made yoghurt now! Fruit picking is upon us and we're flavouring with whatever we have to hand.

I also found a recipe to make a sourdough sort of bread using yoghurt and it produces very light buns without the sweetness so it's great for savoury stuff - they make a great low fat substitute for a dumpling too.

I got my Easiyo from a company called Charlies Direct (online) for £7.75 + carriage (£11.70 in total) - cheapest anywhere with next day delivery, and extra jugs on e-bay.

[compostqueen]

To get it thick you can strain it either using a plastic sieve or cotton cloth over a bowl in the fridge. If you leave it overnight it ends up really thick. It you want it less solid you just leave it for say four hours. You can use the liquid as a hair rinse 

The thick yogurt you end up with is called "cheese" and you can use it for dips etc. Lovely jubbly 

[cheshirecheese]

'Scuse my ignorance, but does this produce a 'live' yoghurt?   
I'm presuming if the yoghurt you add (such as the Greek one you use) is probiotic, this produces a live yoghurt as the end result?  I must admit I've never fancied using the sachets - it just seems wrong somehow when you're attempting to make something natural, but I really like the idea of adding your own fruit.  I love natural yoghurt, but my husband prefers fruit, so it sounds the perfect solution!

[tosca100]

I use an electric yoghurt maker (Lakeland) and use yeo valley for the first batch and from then on you can keep a little back to use as a starter. I use uht full fat milk with dried milk, no need to heat anything. It's ready in 8 hours. In my original instructions(which I can't find to verify) I'm sure it said to mix as little as possible when you put the starter in. I have tried using semi milk but it is definitely not as firm and needs straining to use for tzatziki. I like a thicker yoghurt as we have it with stewed fruit a lot.

[makedoandmend]

I read somewhere that (in the USA at least) Yoghurt must be 'live' to be called yoghurt - seems logical. However, probably under EU regs, some yoghurt is re-pasteurised after it becomes yoghurt, I presume to extend shelf life, and therefore isn't much use as yoghurt.

The health benefits comes from FRESH yoghurt the levels of bugs reduce very rapidly after the tub is removed from the incubator, re-pasteurisation somewhat defeats the object.

Whilst the sachets mean you get 'fresh' yoghurt, there was no real cost saving.

The Morrisons Greek yoghurt is pro-biotic, so yes you end up with more live yoghurt (if it wasn't you'd probably end up with a very smelly tub of sour milk). Labelling does vary somewhat, so unless it says probiotic, or lists the bacteria present I have assumed it's been re-pasteurised. If you want, you can grow your own Actimel or similar using the same method.

I looked at buying freeze dried culture but this worked out more costly than using pro-biotic yoghurt as a starter.

My next experiment is to try and make frozen yoghurt - my previous attempts with ice cream have been disappointing.

I used a Rosemary Conley ice cream maker, so any hints for success with this model would be much appreciated.