Make Your Own Yogurt with EasiYo Yogurt Maker - it's Really Easy (Easiyo Yoghurt Maker)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Easiyo Yoghurt Maker
Date:	14/09/08 (297 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lasts for up to 2 weeks, easy to make, cost effective and healthy.

Disadvantages: May not be to everyone's taste as it doesn't taste like shop bought yogurt.

I purchased my EasiYo yogurt maker over 10 years ago in New Zealand. They've been using these in Australia and New Zealand for ages. In fact, I believe they were invented in New Zealand.

Anyway, I was living there for a while (in New Zealand) and couldn't help but notice lots of people using these yogurt makers. Additionally, large acreage of the all the supermarket shelves were given over to all the paraphernalia that goes with them. This included all the yogurt bases, ice cream mixes, fruit sauces to mix in with the yogurt, small lunch taker pots as well as the yogurt makers themselves.

So I bought one for myself and brought it back to England, complete with a large supply of my favourite yogurt mixes. Then, the inevitable happened, I used up my yogurt mixes and that was that. No one had ever heard of EasiYo over here so I consigned my yogurt maker to the dark recesses of the kitchen cupboard.

But, it would be brought back to good use again from time to time. Each Christmas or birthday, I'd receive a fresh supply from well meaning New Zealand relatives. OK, I did like the stuff, but it doesn't make for a particularly exciting present!

When I first brought my EasiYo maker over here, I thought it was a fantastic idea. Yogurts are extremely popular in this country and it's such a money saver and so easy to use, I couldn't understand why such a thing wasn't available here. At one time I even had visions of importing them myself and selling them down at my local market. I wish I had now because other suppliers have got in on the act now. Oh well.

Now, onto the yogurt maker. It's basically an insulated container, made from sturdy white plastic and stands 30cm tall and 14cm wide. Inside is a removable 'baffle' with a hole in the middle. You don't actually need to take this out though. You just pour in boiling water through the hole which causes it to rise. The lid of the yogurt maker just fits snugly onto the top, not screwed on, but it keeps the water from coming out and retains the heat inside. Then there is the clear plastic yogurt container in which you prepare your yogurt mix. It has handy measurements in millilitres down the side and a red plastic screw on lid.

The yogurt containers are safe to use in a dishwasher but the EasiYo yogurt maker just needs to be wiped clean.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I purchased my EasiYo yogurt maker over 10 years ago and it's still going strong. Not that there are any moving parts to go wrong, but it's sturdy and well made.

~~ How To Use It ~~

Making your yogurt is very straightforward. You just open up a packet of yogurt mix, which is a sort of finely, granulated powder, like powdered milk. You half fill the plastic yogurt container with cold water (your usual drinking water) then tip in the yogurt mix. Put the lid on and give it good shake. Then you top it up with more cold water until it reaches the 1 litre mark and give it another shake. You can add sugar or sweetener at this stage if you like.

Then you pour boiling water into the EasiYo maker up to the top of the baffle inside and place the yogurt container on top of it. Push down the container and the water will rise up around the outside. Top up with boiling water until it is nearly level or above the yogurt in the container. Pop on the lid and leave it for about 8 hours or overnight. You can even leave it for up to 24 hours if you forget about it.

The instructions recommend you leave it longer if the room temperature is quite cold or if you've used particularly cold water. I've always followed the instructions however, I haven't always had success. I'd say, about 5% of the time my yogurt hasn't set and I've had to tip the lot down the sink. The other 95% of the time though, it's worked perfectly.

It's really useful in that you can make a whole litre and it keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge which none of the shop bought yogurts do once opened.

It is a very economical way to eat yogurt if you get through a lot, particularly in these credit crunching times!

~~ Products and Flavours ~~

The range of products and flavours is growing quite fast. All the yogurts contain 'live, lactic cultures' and come in slimmer, reduced-fat, Greek, Bio, prebiotic, probiotic and organic varieties with flavours including strawberry, banana, caramel, honey, vanilla, raspberry, cherry, mango, lemon and natural. There are also custard, dessert, ice cream and drinking yogurt mixes available. You can buy fruit flavoured squirts which consist of a tube of fruit sauce that you mix with your yogurt. These come in passion fruit, strawberry, raspberry and berry.

This yogurt doesn't taste like your regular shop bought yogurt and might take some getting used to. I usually use this yogurt when I'm mixing it with fruit, say, or to make a smoothie which my kids love.

I tend to stick with the plain or vanilla flavoured yogurts. Personally, I find the flavoured yogurts a bit bland for my taste. For instance, the strawberry yogurt is flavoured with strawberry rather than with real strawberries. You can, of course, add your own fruit. I think this is why they provide the fruit sauces, but I find them too sugary.

~~ Where To Purchase ~~

They are becoming available more widely nowadays. The best places to purchase the yogurt maker and mixes are online. Try the following sites:

www.lakeland.co.uk; www.yoghurtdirect.co.uk ; www.juliangraves.co.uk; www.lawson.co.uk; www.qvcuk.co.uk

~~ Cost ~~

The cost of the yogurt maker is £13.99 from Lakeland. This includes the maker and yogurt container. One of their offers is the yogurt maker for £18.99 that also includes a packet of yogurt mix, a fruit squirt and a recipe booklet.

Yogurt mixes cost around £2.59 which makes 1 litre of fresh yogurt. If you're buying more than one packet, many of the suppliers sell the mixes in boxes which works out quite a bit cheaper.

~~ Typical Ingredients ~~

Ingredients for the bio reduced fat variety of yogurt mixes: pasteurised milk solids* (98%), from free range cows, dietary fibre (oligosaccharides), live lactic cultures (L.bulgaricus, S.thermophilus, bifidobacteria L.casei) * Contains natural lecithin.

Ingredients for the bio strawberry pro-biotic yogurt mix: pasteurised whole & skimmed milk solids* (61%) from free range cows, sugar, strawberry flavouring, live lactic cultures (l.bulgaricus, s.thermophilus, l.acidophilus, bifidobacteria), natural colour (beetroot red). *contains natural lecithin derived from soybean.

Nutritional Information per 100g:

For the Natural, unsweetened plain yogurt

Energy 290kJ, 69kCal, Protein 3.8g, Fat, total 3.7g, saturated 2.2g, Carbohydrate, total 5.2g, sugars: lactose reduced 40% 3.2g; galactose 2g, Sodium 62mg, Calcium 137mg

For the Greek plain yogurt:

Energy 353kJ, 84kCal, Protein 4.6g, Fat, total 4.5g, saturated 2.7g, Carbohydrate, total 6.5g, sugars: lactose reduced 40% 3.9g; galactose 2.6g, Sodium 76mg, Calcium 169mg.

For the Slimmers plain yogurt:

Energy 98kcal, 49kcal, Protein 5g, Fat, total 0.2g saturated 0.1g, Carbohydrate, total 7.4g, Sugars: 7.4g Fibre 0g, Sodium 33mg, Calcium 174mg.

Summary: If you eat a lot of yogurt, this can save you money and it lasts 2 weeks.