Help me make it through the night (Easiyo Yoghurt Maker)

Member Name: grannygarden

Product:	Easiyo Yoghurt Maker
Date:	25/10/05 (4011 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can make yoghurt in your own home

Disadvantages: The wait for the finished product

Originating from New Zealand where apparently half the homes in the entire country now have one of these babies, we are now lucky enough to be able to get our hands on it too and we owe our thanks to a gentleman called Len Light (just as well his first name wasn't Sun or Moon) who invented this and started production in the garage of his New Zealand home.

I must admit to being quite keen on the odd yoghurt or three and have been buying quite a lot of the stuff of late in the hopes of becoming more healthy. As I've been consuming so much I considered some sort of means of producing them at home. A few friends in years gone by have had yoghurt makers which seemed to take over the entire worktop space and produced thin and runny apology for yoghurt so I thought further investigation might lead me to something with more appetizing results.

As luck would have it, one day I manage to have control of the tv remote and indulged in a spot of surfing and came across a demo for the Easiyo yoghurt maker and it looked so simple to make and the results so tempting that I made it my mission in life to become the proud owner of one myself. They also pointed out that the stuff that you buy on supermarket shelves could have been made months ago and even though the sell by date convinces you that it's fine to eat, most of the good bacteria of which so much is raved about lately, has died before you even get it passed your lips. Apparently for the lactic bacteria to be live and vigorous (their description, not mine) the yoghurt has to be completely fresh. The lifespan of these cultures is limited to days before they begin to die.

I also learned that to enjoy good health we need lactic bacteria cultures in our digestive tracks and there was even a comparison between the way we eat and cows, who cannot digest grass without bacteria in their stomach. So if you feel the need to go and chew on your lawn, just make sure you have a tub of yoghurt first and there should be no problem.

For those with lactose intolerance which means they haven't got enough lactase enzymes essential for the digestion of lactose, Len tells us that they can usually eat yoghurt without any discomfort and it has the ability to change the chemistry of the milk, making the presence of these enzymes unnecessary. I'm no expert myself so you can either take Len's word for it or make further investigations yourself if you are in any doubt.

So how does the Easiyo manage to help us produce delicious yoghurt every time, you may wonder.

I must admit that it is so remarkably easy and foolproof that I even let our small person take charge of the initial stage in its making.

First of all if you buy a starter pack, you will get a yoghurt maker, sachets of yoghurt base and a one litre plastic jar in which you mix the two ingredients - quite simple, water and yoghurt base. You half fill the mixing jar with fresh water, must be either bottled or home filtered to get the purest yoghurt and then add the base of your choice, put the lid on and do some vigorous shaking. Numerous routines can be undertaken during the shaking, and you can even do a little dance to accompany it if you feel moved to do so.

About 20 seconds should do it and it should then be nicely mixed after which you top the jar up to the litre mark with water. Most of the pack mixes advise that you can add sugar at this point but I never do as I prefer my yoghurt so sour that it makes my lips shrivel, but this is just a matter of personal taste really.

Next you fill the yoghurt maker which is to all intents and purposes, a big plastic flask, to the mark indicated on the inside of it with boiling water, sit your jar of mixture inside, screw the lid down and go away and ignore it. It recommends 5 to 6 hours but I usually make mine at night and get up to fresh yoghurt the following morning. I don't let small person anywhere near at the boiling water stage so make sure all junior family members stand well back at this point.

There are countless different types of base available to buy in this country and even more varieties if you look on the easiyo website - www.easiyo.co.nz - but I suppose having it shipped from New Zealand wouldn't be very cost effective. To name but a few you can get Natural, Reduced Fat, Greek, Bio-Life, Organic, Slimmers and Custard based along with several different sweet, fruit flavoured bases. These range in price from approximately £7.95 for six sachets to £9.95 for six depending on where you buy them from and each sachet makes one litre of yoghurt. I'm not too hot on maths so I'm not going to compare prices with ready made, supermarket yoghurt, but I'm sure it must work out cheaper to make your own and even if it isn't they taste so much nicer. The yoghurt is a good consistency, doesn't drip off the spoon the minute you lift it up to your mouth and tastes so good that you have to forcibly stop yourself from digging in for more and more.

I've tried most varieties now, since I've become a yoghurt addict and the only sort I'm not too impressed with is the custard type. This one seemed a bit slimy and not as delish as the others, but I suppose it's down to personal taste really.

After much searching I found the cheapest starter kit I could find was from the IdealWorld Shopping Channel, much to my surprise and mine cost £13.99 plus p & p. For this I got a yoghurt maker, a mixing jar, 6 sachets of mix, a recipe book and a fruit squirt which is concentrated fruit (strawberry in my case) puree which you can add to plain yoghourt to give it a fruity flavor. A similar starter kit in Lakeland Limited is £19.95 but mine might have been on special offer when I got it and they may have upped the price since in line with Lakeland.

The fat content of the various types is as follows:

Greek 4.4%
Natural 3.7%
Sweet Flavoured 3.7%
Reduced Fat 1.5%
Slimmers 0.2%
Low Fat Flavoured 0.8%
BioLife 1.8%

Even the Slimmers one tastes very pleasant so not everything that is good for you does taste bad after all.

I was most surprised to find that the yoghurt maker comes complete with a 12 month guarantee and if any defect is found due to faulty workmanship during this time it will be replaced. I can't really see that there is much that could possibly go wrong with it but it's comforting to know it's guaranteed.

In conclusion, for anyone who likes yoghurt this is highly recommended, and even those who didn't previously, might just change their mind after they've tasted the results produced by using the Easiyo.

Summary: Easy to make and delicious results