Last updated on February 27th, 2024 at 08:23 pm
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Making Yogurt | Using Fresh Milk | Using Powdered Milk | Using UHT Milk | Flavouring | Find out about Norwex/Join my VIP community
Making yoghurt from scratch is actually far easier than most people realise. The trickiest part is figuring out how to keep your yoghurt at an even temperature (of around 40 degrees Celsius) while it is forming.
And that’s where the Easiyo comes into it’s own.
Now, the Easiyo Yogurt Maker is sold with the assumption that you will buy the Easiyo sachets to make your yoghurt with, not make it from scratch, but there is absolutely no reason you need to do it that way.
What I tend to do is to keep a couple of their flavoured sachets in the cupboard for special treats (for flavours that I haven’t figured out how to make myself), or for when I run out of yoghurt for my starter or have no milk (or milk powder) to spare.
The rest of the time I make my yoghurt from scratch, using one of the following methods (usually variation 2, in fact). My kids go through a lot of yoghurt, so making it from scratch saves me a lot of money, plus I like being in control of exactly what goes into it. (Note: I’ve now added a Making Yoghurt at Home FAQ & Troubleshooting guide.)
Making yoghurt from scratch using fresh milk
- Heat 1 litre of milk almost (but not quite) to boiling – look for the point when it is just slightly frothy on top but not yet foaming up (or use a milk thermometer if you have one). Organic milk is of course best, but not essential, and you can use anything from fat free milk to full cream (4%) milk. Heating the milk changes the protein to make it more conducive to making yoghurt with. It also kills off any bacteria that is growing in the milk and might compete with the yoghurt starter culture.
Cool the milk in the fridge until it is completely cold. Note, this is different to other methods of making yoghurt from scratch.* I tend to heat the milk before bed and leave it in the fridge overnight.- When the milk is completely cold, pour half of it into an Easiyo 1 litre container and add 1/2 cup of milk powder. This is not essential, but makes for a thicker yoghurt. Put the lid on tightly. Shake until mixed, the same way you would using an Easiyo sachet.
- Take about half a cup of the milk and mix it with 2-3 tbsp of yoghurt, until they are well blended. Make sure the yoghurt is not too old, as your starter bacteria may have died. Tip: If you don’t have any yoghurt left, you can use 2-3 tablespoons of any Easiyo packet as your yoghurt starter. I keep a packet in the cupboard for this purpose, and just keep it in a glass jar once it’s open. If you use a flavoured packet you will get a very mild flavour through your yoghurt.
- Add this mix and the rest of the milk to the yoghurt container and shake some more to mix thoroughly.
- Fill the Easiyo with boiling water, up to the top of the red baffle, just as for the usual Easiyo instructions.
- Put the container of milk into the Easiyo and leave for about 10 hours, depending how tangy and how well set you like your yoghurt (the longer you leave it the tangier and better set it gets). Then take it out and put it in the fridge to finish setting, for 6 hours (this will stop the culturing process).
Variations
1. Making yoghurt from scratch using powdered milk
This is basically the same as above, except without steps 1 & 2, and instead of 1/2 cup of milk powder, I use 1&1/3 to 1&1/2 cups of milk powder, 1 litre of cold water from the tap.
This is much quicker and also doesn’t involve me having to buy yet another litre of milk every two days (my family goes through a LOT of milk already!), but I can understand that food purists might prefer to use fresh milk.
2. Making yoghurt from scratch using UHT milk
In response to questions in the comments, I have now tried making yoghurt using UHT milk, and I have to confess, this is now my favourite option. It is exactly the same as option 1, without the heating and cooling of the milk, and works perfectly.
You can easily keep a litre or two of UHT milk in the cupboard, without having to clutter up your fridge. It’s probably not as economical as using powdered milk, but still far cheaper than buying ready made yoghurt or Easiyo sachets. And you can buy organic UHT milk at Aldi in Australia (usually). I know you can get organic powdered milk, but I haven’t sourced any yet.
Flavouring your Yoghurt
There are different ways of flavouring your yoghurt, which can be done either before setting or afterwards, when serving. One common method is to stir in some jam or some fresh fruit when serving. Unfortunately, half of my family won’t eat yoghurt this way, having gotten too use to the store bought extra sweet stuff. So for them, I sweeten before setting. The two preferred flavours I’ve made this way are lemon (which I love) and vanilla.
For either one of these you just added 2 tablespoons of sugar or honey and 1 teaspoon of vanilla or lemon essence. When I make the yoghurt with milk I stir in the sugar or honey when the milk is hot so as to dissolve it effectively. If I’m using water and milk powder I just heat up a couple of tablespoons of water and dissolve the sugar in that, before mixing in the milk powder and yoghurt. The essence can be added at the same time.
Experiment with the amount of sweetener you like to use. Two tablespoons is much less sweet than store bought yoghurt usually is, but still sweeter than some people like. Honey gives a quite different flavour compared to sugar. Do not use Xylitol, which seems to inhibit the bacteria from growing. I believe Stevia is the same. You can use them afterwards if you like.
You can also use a few tablespoons of one of the Easiyo sachets as your starter culture, to create a very mild flavour, or more for a stronger, sweeter flavour.
When adding berries or other fruit it is better to add it when serving, as the fruit will just sink to the bottom of the milk before the yoghurt sets (and could curdle your milk, depending on the fruit).
More questions? See my Yogurt FAQ and Troubleshooting page.
*Updated to add: The reason for cooling the milk all the way to cold is to ensure the heat from the boiling water is not enough to kill off the starter culture. However, my mother has reported only cooling to 40°C (which is the usual practice for making yogurt at home) with no issues. This will make the setting time a little less, too.
Updated (again) to add: I’ve changed the instructions for making the powdered milk version from one and a quarter, to one and a third or one and a half cups of milk powder, because – in response to a comment below – I’ve started using more milk powder and found I prefer the consistency. I’ve also changed the instructions from 1-2 tbsp, to 2-3 tbsp of starter, because this seems to give a more consistent result, presumably because of the life cycle of the starter bacteria: if the yoghurt is a bit old, there won’t be as much left. On the other hand, two much culture doesn’t work – there’s too much competition for the “food” (milk sugars), so that it’s all gone before the yoghurt sets. So don’t overdo it.
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Hi there. Have you tried usng UHT milk at all? I imagine you wouldn’t need to heat it (as it is ultra heat treated already) and so would follow the dried milk steps rather than fresh milk steps. What starter yoghurt have you found works best? Any particular brands or strains? thanks Trudy.
Hi Trudy, thanks for your comment.
I haven’t tried UHT, but I have heard that you can use it without heating, yes. I haven’t really got a prefered starter. I tend to use whatever is left from last time, but when I do buy yoghurt I do try to choose brands with different bacteria in it each time, to get a variety. If I forget to save some before I make my next batch I just use a little of the Easiyo plain yoghurt sachet, which I have in a jar in the fridge. I’m not sure how long it will last, but it has still seemed okay after a month or two being open (but refridgerated) so far.
Kirsten
Hi,
I’m dying to make some coconut yogurt. Would you say it should be made the same method as UHT milk?
cheers
Tamara
I have just made my first batch of yoghurt using the Easiyo and UHT milk. I added two tablespoons of milk powder and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. The result after 12 hours was perfect and much better than I was expecting. The vanilla flavour seems to have disappeared although I don’t know how it would have tasted without it. I have noticed that UHT milk with varying flavours is now available in our local supermarket (Waitose UK) so I thought I might try that next.
Many thanks for the helpful advice on this site. I was expecting to be disappointed with my first effort and instead it is quite the opposite.
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad it worked so well your first time 🙂
Just wondering if you can explain to me the reason that you heat the milk. I use pasteurised/ homogenised semi skim and the recipe works using cold milk – very yummy. Is there a health risk factor that I’m missing? Would love to know.
Hi Kirsten,
Thanks for a great and very timely article – I have just bought an Easiyo and want to avoid having to buy the sachets.
I eat the plain unsweetened youghurt but my husband and children, like yours, have become too used to the sweetness of store bought yoghurt so I am experimenting with quantities of sugar and flavours.
Do you know whether there is any reason why you can’t make just 500mL at a time? Just while I am experimenting with flavours etc?
Thanks again. Emma
Hi Emma,
thanks for your comment. I don’t see why you couldn’t make 500ml, the only issue would be whether it would be too hot for the starter culture. Maybe experiment with putting a little less boiling water in?
If you do, I’d love to hear how your experiement goes. It’s something I’ve considered, but haven’t tried yet.
Kirsten
hi guys
I’ve just made some yogurt and put it in my easiyo
got to wait
I’ve just made 300 mls to test some old yogurt
see how it turns out
Hi Kirsten.
Just made a batch of easiyo from sachet, one of the Two that came with the maker. My first attempt and came out fantastic, now going to try it with dried coconut milk bought from a local asian Supermarket. I use the milk to add to curries or make rieter adding some mint and chilli. If it works (should do) not only will it compliment fruit but also compliment curries even more. Will let you know how it goes. (Unless you try it as well).
Lol, what a fail. The reason yoghurt works is the lactose which is consumed by the bacteria in your starter culture when it multiplies. No lactose, no yoghurt. As coconut is a seed and not milk, it doesn’t contain lactose. So, I suppose it was a good idea, but yeah. Fail.
Hi , so how do I start the Yoghurt process without buying The starter powder i was just given a EasyYo
Hi Heather,
You can also use a couple of tablespoons of a fairly fresh natural yoghurt from the store.
Hope that helps
Kirsten
My recipe is 1 1/3 cup full cream milk powder, 3 tablespoons easiyo sachet, and 3 tablespoons sugar (if unsweetened sachet powder).
I do not store the opened sachet in the fridge, in a sealed container in the cupboard is fine. 🙂
That must be quite a bit creamier than my recipe Rachel – I need to make a batch of yoghurt tonight, so I’m going to try that recipe.
Hi Kirsten,
Thanks!! My son bought one of these, and we’ve been using it for a few months. Now I can make “real” yoghurt instead of “packet” yoghurt.
Excellent Greg, glad to be of help!
I can report that I tried Rachel’s recipe (above) using 3 tbsp of a sweetened Easiyo sachet and no extra sugar… my son and husband didn’t like it 🙁 but my daughter and I did. I think maybe with just a little extra sugar they would have liked it okay though.
I see more experimentation ahead 🙂
I tried this recipe but it made thin drinking yoghurt…does it matter that I used instant milk powder as opposed to powder that is processed differently?
Thanks very much for your article- I just bought the Easiyo and googled to find a real-milk recipe! I’m going to use A2 milk.
That’s great Bellgirl, A2 milk also made into yoghurt has got to be able the most digestible option around for most people I would guess. I wonder if using A2 makes any difference to how the yoghurt turns out? Let us know if you notice anything, won’t you?
I’ve been using your recipe for a few weeks now Kirsten, but seem unable to consistently make thick yoghurt, rather than thick drinking yoghurt (if that makes sense). Any tips? I’m using UHT full cream, 1 tsp sugar (sweet enough!) and two cubes of biodynamic A2 Jalna yoghurt (I’m in Australia). I froze a kilo of it into ice cube trays and just defrost in the milk on the bench for an hour before putting the rest in. It was the same before I started the freezing thing so I know it’s not that 🙁
Hi Sue,
I haven’t actually tried UHT milk, but I’ve read other people having success with it, so it shouldn’t be that. The two things I could suggest are try using another cube or two of the Jalna yoghurt – did you freeze a jar close to the beginning of it’s shelf life or the end? Because the friendly bacteria we need to make the yoghurt for us do have a limited life span. The other question is, is your water staying warm long enough? I’ve heard of people checking it after some time – maybe 6-8 hours, and carefully replacing some of the water with a fresh batch of hot water.
Also, make sure the starter yogurt is well mixed in – if you are putting it in frozen, this could be an issue. Try mixing it in with half a cup or so of the milk to make sure it is not getting stuck in a lump at the bottom of your yogurt jar. If you are finding the yoghurt is thicker at the bottom than the top, this could be what’s happening.
Let me know how it goes!
Hello,
Just wanted to to know if anyone has used UHT with good results.
Have just dusted off my Easiyo from the back of the cupboard and would like to make my own yogurt from scratch!!
Thanks.
Hi Kerry,
I haven’t used it, but a commenter on on a post from Christine’s blog Slow Living Essentials reports having used it to good effect.
Cheers
Kirsten
I have been using UHT milk for a while now, with good results. I’d still add 1/4-1/3 cup of powered milk as well, to thicken it up.
Hi Sue, is your yoghurt comming out very tangy compared to store bought ? I would suggest the freezing of yoghurt you use as starter culture is to blame, as freezing most often kills live bacteria.
We tried making this last night (I only found your website today, I was going off another website which didn’t have an easiyo container spec’d). We cooled the milk down to 40°C, and then put it in the easiyo container with water at about 50°C (we didn’t want to put in boiling water, as we didn’t want to risk killing all the good bacteria). Woke up this morning with nice yoghurt, however it was a bit thin once mixed in (still ok). I was reading somwhere when heating milk, if you hold it at 80°C for 30 mins, you get thicker/creamier yoghurt. Have any of you heard of this?
Also, I am wondering if I can get away with hotter temps of the water I put in to get thicker yoghurt. You say that your Mum cools to 40°C and puts in boiling water? this works ok?
Yep, she uses boiling water with warm milk and has had no problem. I haven’t tried holding it at a temperature for any length of time, but other things I would suggest you try for thicker yoghurt: add some powdered milk; use more starter (so there is more of that good bacteria doing it’s thing), leave it for longer – though this probably wouldn’t work if you didn’t start with boiling water. I have also heard of people carefully changing over the water half way through because it had cooled down too much, but I have never had to do this.
You can also ‘drain’ the yoghurt for a little while afterwards to remove some of the whey using cheesecloth or something similar (but not for too long or you end up with quark) for a thicker effect, but be aware that you are also draining away a lot of the bacteria that way.
Hi Andy,
If you want your yogurt to be a bit thicker, don’t stir it when you remove it from the easiyo container (or other container). Just put it strait in the fridge. The yogurt needs to SET. This makes the yogurt thicker and creamier.
Cheers!
Yep. good advice. 🙂
Well, I tried making yoghurt using Stevia as a sweetener last night and it didn’t work at all well (better than when I tried with xylitol though, which didn’t set at all). I think I’m just going to stick to honey and sugar for sweeteners from now on!
We go through a lot of yoghurt in our household. I now have three EasiYo yoghurt makers set up. I buy the 3L milk for $3.00 from Coles, heat that up, with 1.5 cups of instant powdered milk (Woolworths brand). When it has boiled I cool it down in the sink filled with cold water. After around 15 minutes I add 6 heaped tablespoons of the EasiYo boysenberry probiotic base (2 tablespoons per 1L milk), whisk, and fill up the yoghurt containers. They get put into the yoghurt maker for 8-10 hours, and then go straight into the fridge. The yoghurt is thick and creamy. I save so much money with each litre costing around $1.50 (I was spending $5.50 per litre before).
Hi, i am thinking about buying a yogurt maker, and so I am reading about recipes. The easiyo sounds great but I’d prefer not to have to purchase their packets, so I googled and found your site – Thankyou! I do have a question though, why is it necessary to heat and then cool the milk? All the milk we get at the local stores here is already heat pasteurized, so it just seems like it is unnecessary?? Also, when I was little my mom made yogurt all the time in a salton yogurt maker, I don’t recall her ever heating the milk first. Thanks.
That’s a very good question Jennifer. I’ve read that the heating and cooling changes the milk chemistry somehow, but yes, wouldn’t pasturising have done that already? I don’t know. My mother now buys ultra-pasturised milk – whatever that is – and uses it without heating.
If you try it without heating will you report back about what happens?
Good luck!
Please can you tell me why my yoghurt ends up looking like cottage cheese? I have followed your recipe
Hi Jill,
Sorry to take so long to reply, I’ve been overseas & offline.
I can’t tell you for sure, but could it be that you have stirred or shaken it after it’s started to set? Or, you’ve added something that has curdled the milk, like some kind of fruit? I did that with berries once…
Good luck!
I understand that milk and yoghurt mix need to be held at around 40°. Over 50°C and the yoghurt will “split” giving a curds and whey effect, too cool and yoghurt becomes “snotty”. I check mine periodically with my coffee thermometer. Hope this helps.
Yes, that’s right Claire. I don’t check mine (usually), but every now and then I get a “snotty” batch (though I’ve never thought of it as snotty before, LOL, we just call it stretchy!), and I know it’s cooled down too quickly for some reason. Luckily, my kids like it stretchy – tends to be less tart too – so I don’t worry too much 🙂
Hi just curious as to whether soy milk would work, i am thinking that since it is UHT it would work in the same way? Went from full cream milk to semi skinned milk and now my tummy cant even take that anymore, hence moving onto soy….
Hi Roweina,
Sorry to take so long to reply, I’ve been overseas.
I haven’t tried soy milk, but I believe it works just the same. Will you let me you know how it goes if you try it? (Or just put another comment on post).
Thanks & Good luck.
Kirsten
Once you make the yogurt, can it be frozen? I dont think we would have a chance to eat it all before it went off…
Speaking of which, how many days does a batch of yogurt last for in the fridge before it is no good to eat?
Yes, it can be frozen. Just freeze it in portion sizes and then let it defrost a bit in the fridge before eating – frozen yoghurt is a great summer snack!
How long it will last in the fridge will depend, I assume, on how long your milk had to last. I’ve read up to two weeks as a rule of thumb, but since we tend to get through a litre in day or two I have never tested it out!
I love this post and have reposted it in my blog. I hope you don’t mind. I just made it last night with 3 Tbsp yoghurt culture and 1 1/3 cups powdered milk and it set really well. Thanks again for the post.
Rebecca
You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I like cement yoghurt – really thick, creamy yoghurt and I use 2 cups of full cream milk powder to 3 tablespoons of starter. – warm water in mix and hot water in baffle, I wrap in a towel to keep heat consistent.
I love to buy a can of mangoes and puree and stir through once set – yummo!
Yum, that sounds delicious Melissa. I’ve been stirring through home stewed rhubarb this week, which is also yummo! 🙂 I’ve never tried it that thick, but I might do one like that next. I love experimenting!
Has anyone tried making yoghurt from coconut milk? I would like to try it, but wonder if anyone already has to save me experimenting.
caroline
I haven’t tried this, but a quick google found me a recipe for coconut or soy yoghurt at http://cookbookaficionado.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/homemade-coconut-milk-yogurt/ the recipe includes both tapioca starch and agar powder, so I guess it’s a little more complexe, but it does say you can do it in a yoghurt maker.
The agar is a gelling agent, so perhaps it doesn’t quite set as thick without it.
-agar is derived from seaweed and will set anything with a temperature of 40 or less, so good for jellies, tarts, etc.
Hi. I use my easi-yo yoghurt maker to make yoghurt but without the baffle or container. I put in 3 cups each of cold and boiling water (slighlty less boiling and more cold water in hotter weather), 2 1/2 – 3 cups milk powder, one small tub natural yoghurt (or appox 1 cup of my previous batch) and 2 tablespoons of sugar. This I mix thoroughly and leave for about 12 hours. It makes about 2L of yoghurt so saves me having to make it as often.
Hi Anne-Maree,
That is great to know, I never thought of doing that! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Kirsten
I love this idea! Anne-Maree, I’m curious as to what you mean by hotter weather? I live in the tropics to I am wondering what the best ratio of cold to hot water would be for me?
Can you use real vanilla extract? We make our own with vanilla beans and vodka.
Are there any other ways to give it fruit flavors before it sets?
You Can use vanilla extract, yes. I don’t know about other ways to give a fruit flavour before it sets. Maybe using orange water or rose water in the powdered milk recipe would work?
I tried making the powdered milk recipe and it was so thick and creamy. I used the strawberries and cream powder mix as a starter, and Dano powdered milk (it’s Danish and available in west Africa-where I’m from). I now want to see if I can use the yoghurt I made as a starter, will know how it goes in the morning. Thank you very much for posting this recipe,it’s difficult for me to get the powder mix, I have to send all the way to London to buy it from Lakeland.
You’re welcome Amina, I’m glad it’s been useful.
Thank you so much for this post. I find buying the Easiyo sachets are just as expensive as buying premade yogurt but had no idea how to go about making it from scratch. The instructions were wonderfully straightforward while allowing variations 🙂
I wanted to say thankyou for the recipe’s, I have just borrowed my mums yoghurt maker and wondered how to make it myself with out the sachet’s I am looking forward to giving it a go and avoiding the store brought ones, I love that I will know what’s in it.
I live in UK and regularly use Long life milk mixed with milk powder and yogurt starter to make a container full of thick, creamy yogurt.
We’re now living in Australia for 5 months and bought ourselves an Easy-Yo yogurt maker to carry on with our yogurt making. However, I have been unable to achieve the same results as in UK. I have used different yogurt starters, different milk powders and different types of milk (UHT and normal pasteurised)but only achieve a runny, pouring yogurt. The latest experiment using heated,(but cooled to tepid temperature) pasteurised milk had to be thrown away, as the yogurt curdled. Please could you tell me how to achieve thick set yogurt using Australian ingredients? I don’t want to use Easy- Yo sachets. We bought a sachet of Greek yogurt when we first bought our Australian Easy Yo yogurt maker and found it much more bitter than the same product bought in UK. I don’t understand why I can’t make yogurt in Australia and can only conclude that there must be additives to prevent setting in one or more of the ingredients I’m using. Please can you help ?
Hi Patti,
I’m going to have to do a bit more research on this, but my first thought is to wonder how fresh your starters are?
I have noticed a few times lately that my yoghurt hasn’t been as thick as I would like, and I have a tendency to use left over yoghurt, then add a few tsps from an easiyo pack I have stored in the cupboard if I don’t have quite enough yoghurt or think it may be a little old. So yesterday I tried just using the rest of that easiyo packet, and found it didn’t set at all (not even to the point of runny yoghurt, just nothing) – so I’m figuring there’s my problem! I will now test the pack I have in the fridge and see if it is also all dead, and I went out yesterday and bought a fresh jar of jalna biodynamic yoghurt, with a month before its use-by date, to make a new batch of yogurt today.
I know you said you’ve used different starters and different milks. The only other thoughts I have are, is your easiyo maker somehow not holding the heat? Or, is it too hot (where in Australia are you?) and the bacteria is dying off? I know a friend of mine who lived in Alice Springs said she used to only make it at night.
As far as there being an additive in Australian milk that stops it setting, I don’t think so. I can’t tell just how thick you are used to having it, but I certainly make it thicker than a pouring yoghurt generally, though I must admit I’ve never got it to be as thick as the jalna yoghurt I buy. I’m going to experiment tomorrow with using more starter and see what happens.
Good luck – please let us know how you go!
Kirsten
Have you tried using more powdered milk?
Thanks Kirsten! I have just been given an Easiyo for Christmas but didn’t like the idea of being trapped into buying their sachets all the time. Your advice is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and also to all the others who have added their comments. Fantastic.
For the same reasons as everyone else, I am here to avoid having to buy the sachets, and do things the old fashioned way, which is hopefully healthier.
My question is, and I would appreciate if anyone has any ideas for me; My family has recently gone sugar free (or should I say – I have recently made my family go sugar free), and I am looking for ways to flavour the yogurt without added sugar, artificial or otherwise. Sweetened fruit juices are out too. Any ideas?
Also I thought some people may be interested to hear of my husbands recent trip to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. He was invited to stay in a Ger, which is a nomadic tent style of housing in the middle of literally nowhere, with a family for a few nights, along with the goats and animals etc. the old grandma in the family made yoghurt every night from horsemilk or goat milk in a container left out. She had been using the same culture that had been handed on from her mother, and would continue to be handed on the her children. No fridge, no easyyo, no sachets… Of course being my husband he didn’t take notes, but he did say it was horrible and had to refuse seconds 🙂
Wow, that’s a great story of your husband’s experience Laura.
As far as sweetening goes, is fresh fruit okay? You could try stirring in fresh berries or mango when serving. You could also try using a little cream instead of milk – I haven’t tried this, but the creamier yoghurts I’ve bought always seem sweeter than the ordinary ones, even without added sugar.
Let us know if you come up with anything else!
Cinnamon and sultanas is my favorite was of flavoring a lot of things, from yoghurt to bread pudding.
I have used the advice from posts to master my Easy yo yoghurt making,haven’t yet tried making yoghurt without a couple of tablespoons from sachet. On my last shopping trip to buy some new sachets I notice that Easy Yo now have an ice cream maker range – has anybody tried this out yet and was wondering if there are any short cuts again not making from scratch.
Hi,
Are you able to tell me if the recipe on the following website http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/vietnamese-yogurt-recipes/
can be used using the easiyo. The recipe used hot water and milk, would I have to cool it before I use it the easiyo and would it set in the 1 litre container, as the recipe pours the mixture into individual containers to set?
Thank you,
lochydc
I think it would work fine. You might have to adjust the quantities, it adds up to more than 1 litre. It would *probably* work okay just cutting down the yoghurt – if it’s all in the one container you should be able to make it with only a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt, though I couldn’t say if the condensed milk will have any affect on that, and also it could be a little watery so maybe cut down both the yoghurt and the water. Or, you could be more precise and reduce all the measurements to make a litre.
You shouldn’t need to worry about cooling it, as long as the milk you’re using is cold. Yoghurt can grow at up to about 50 degrees (it’s usually recommended that you cool to about 40 and try to hold it at that temperature when not using the easiyo) so that should be cool enough not to kill it off. On the other hand, using the Easiyo there’s probably no reason to boil the water in the first place, that’s probably just to bring the overall mix to the right temperature, so you could try it with cold water. It will take a little longer this way though, as the mix will have to warm up before the culture starts to grow.
Another option is to put a little less boiling water into the easiyo as it won’t need to be as hot (if you use hot water in the recipe), but if you do that I’d check after say 4 or 5 hours and make sure it’s still warm. If not, just carefully take the container out and add a bit more boiling water (or tip some out and add more), then put the container back. Truthfully, it’s a fairly forgiving process.
One thing to note is that the hotter it is (within the limits that don’t kill the culture) the quicker the process will go, which results in a tangier yoghurt and usually with more separation of the whey.
I’ll try this recipe out for myself next time I have some condensed milk and report back, or please do leave another comment with your results if you try it.
Dear Kirsten,
I just returned from a visit to New Zealand and bought an Easiyo with lots of sachets and even more milk powder. Thanks to your article I can keep making yogurt for my family for a while.
Thank you for your information.
Regards,
Kurt Common
Tokyo, Japan
Thanks Kurt, I’m so glad it is helped you.
Nice article. I love fruit flavored yogurt but its so expensive lol, maybe this is a better option.
Try making making yogurt from Yakult yogurt drink via Easiyo flask. It’s wonderful.
You know, I’d wondered about that. I figured it should work, if the bacteria are really live. Do you use one whole bottle to a litre?
I was just wondering if you can use filtered milk to make yoghurt. I’m pretty sure that you can, but would you need to go to the trouble of heating it up and letting it cool, or can you use it straight from the bottle, like UHT milk?
Hi Diana,
I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it would tend to be runnier, like using unheated milk. You wouldn’t have to worry about the ‘bad’ bacteria, which have been filtered out, but heating also ‘denatures’ the protein, which makes it yoghurt up more quickly.
Let us know if you try it and how it goes.
I’m going to give a go tomorrow. I think the filtered milk here (Cravendale) is also pasteurised and homogenised, so maybe that will have ‘denatured’ the protein.
Fingers crossed for a good result.
I made a patch of yoghurt last night using 1 litre of filtered whole milk (4%). It is super-great. It’s thick and very creamy. I will definitely be using this milk again…and no boil and cool required!
Awesome! Not having to heat and cool the milk is a definite plus 🙂
Hey,
I have had a bit of a failure after a few successes…
First batch was with a sachet – it was a great success.
Second batch was as you described above with full cream UHT (long life milk) with 2-3 tablespoons of starter culture (greek yoghurt from the supermarket), and 1/2 a cup of skim powdered milk – it was a great success, thick and creamy.
Third batch was same as the second except two things – the UHT milk was changed to skim milk, and the starter culture was from the second batch of yoghurt (and not from the bought tub). After 10 hours it’s runny – smells like yoghurt but I think I’ll have to tip it. I was very careful about sterilising everything – and I’m sure it’s not bad bacteria.
So it is either the starter culture from the first batch (which is only 2 days old) – is not good enough and has gone out of balance as you explain that some yoghurts have 2 bacterias in them and they go out of synch after reuse.
Or, it is the skim milk.
Interested in your thoughts.
Cheers
Matt
Hi Matt,
Skim milk will make your yoghurt less thick, but shouldn’t stop it from working altogether. So the other two probable options are that either, as you say, the starter culture was no good, or the temperature didn’t stay warm enough.
I have had the occasional failure like this, but I’m never willing to risk another batch on the same culture, so impossible to ever know for sure what caused it!
You could try using that same brand of original yoghurt, but a new batch, as an experiment, or you could just try a different starter altogether. Have you read the troubleshooting guide? https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/#runny-yoghurt
Let me know how you go.
Hi, i have today made the powdered milk version of this following the instructions to the letter and after 10 hours my yoghurt is still as runny as when i made it this morning altho it smells like yoghurt. What have i done wrong ?? im so disappointed as it seemed so easy to do. I am also very hesitant about trying to eat it after it has been in the fridge for at least 6 hours after being poorly a few years ago with bad food poisoning just before and over xmas after eating a shop bought yoghurt that was one day out of date (yes i hadnt checked the date before eating it!) any advice would be greatly received 🙂
Hi Sarah,
It’s hard to know exactly what went wrong – it is an easy process once you get the hang of it in your particular kitchen, but there are a few possible issues. The fact that it smells like yogurt and not off milk is a good sign that the bacteria started to grow, so it could be that it didn’t stay warm enough.
Have you looked at the trouble shooting guide? You might want to check out https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/#runny-yoghurt and https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/#why-cold
As for drinking it if it’s runny – the fact that it smells like yogurt suggests to me that it would probably be fine, but I am a bit squeamish like that too. I would tend to feed it to my chooks 🙂
Good luck!
Hi Kirsten
Thanks for your speedy reply. Thought Id update you and say that i suspect that the easiyo didnt stay warm enough for long enough. I have had another attempt but this time i did the UHT method instead of just milk powder and after 4 hours i tipped some of the water away and added some more boiling water and after 10 hours I have set yoghurt and it tastes delicious. thanks for your help and i am going to have a go at experimenting using semi-skimmed UHT and see if its any different to using the full fat milk UHT apart from the cost 🙂
Thanks for all your info. I just wanted to let you know that I use Natvia sweetener to sweeten my yogurt prior to setting it in my easiyo. It is made from Erythritol..a naturally occuring nectar found in fruits and Stevia. I have had no problem with my yogurt setting. I buy this from Coles.
Trying this now, with a starter from the last batch of easiyo, just left the leftovers in the container 🙂 and added water and milk powder, hope this will work, this will save us about 25 dollars a week on two batches ofeasiyo and 4 x 1ltr of fruit yoghurts!
And it works like a charm. Love it! Tried both the UHT and the milk powder option, UHT turn out quite thin, milk powder is perrrrfect. We use 1.4 cup of milk powder, best ever yoghurt, for a fraction of the price 🙂
Hi I fond this site (http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/CheeseDownloads_files/LetsMakeCheese.pdf) when I was looking for home made cheese recipes.
Testing your Starter Cultures
Take a clean glass and fill it with about 120ml of milk. Add one unit of culture to the milk, set it in an area at about 22°C and wait 24 hours. If after 24 hours you still just have a glass of milk your cultures are dead – throw them away and either purchase or make new ones. If after 24 hours your glass of milk is the consistency of pudding and tastes similar to sour cream your starter cultures are good and it’s time to make cheese!
Don’t skip this step even with newly purchased starter cultures. You never know what environments they were in before they got to you. A hot UPS truck can quickly kill a freeze dried start culture. I recommend buying the expensive commercially available cultures during cooler weather where travel conditions won’t be much of an issue.
Also I should mention that some store brands of yogurt and buttermilk may not contain active cultures. Read the labels they may be able to shed some light on the subject.
Thanks Ewan, that’s good information. I will give that a try 🙂
Hi there,
I’m a bit late but wanted to say thanks so much for this post, and your yoghurt FAQ one too! I bought my easiyo at the op shop and have been making our own for about 6 weeks without a failure! As a big yoghurt eating family, you’ve saved us heaps of money and loads of container landfill/environmental guilt!
Cheers!
Thanks Marteenam, thanks for letting me know, it feels good to be helpful! 6 weeks and no failures is an excellent record, I’ve had plenty of failures over the years, but still saved heaps and heaps of money and – like you said – containers, too. 🙂
So I’ve done a few batches like this and they had some problems…. too much whey was separating and there wasn’t a strong flavor…. tasted mild and was good but not as strong as I like my yogurt. Well I read somewhere that if there is too much separation then that’s due to the temperature you are keeping it at being too high. I was only cooling it enough to not kill the culture. And filling to the top of the baffle. So that boiling water was getting way too hot because part of my container was sitting in it. So last night I filled it just so it wouldn’t be sitting directly in the water and would only benefit from the air temperature around it. I just peeked and it has no whey and seems to have curded well. Just need to give it a little longer before I taste it!
Hi Shanan, that’s suprising to me that your yoghurt would have set well with the container not sitting in the water at all, but it just shows that experimenting for your local environment is essential. Do you like somewhere that is very warm?
Hello.
Should the UHT milk be at room temperature, or chilled in the fridge before making the yogurt?
Is it possible to buy powdered milk here in Australia without soy lecithin? Powdered milk at Coles I looked at contains this.
Hi Sam,
Generally I use the UHT milk out of the cupboard. If it was chilled you might want to fill the hot easiyo with a little more hot water, to warm it up more quickly, or you could end up with the yoghurt not setting properly (not staying in the right temperature range for long enough).
I don’t know the answer to your powdered milk question, I didn’t even know it had soy lecithin. I don’t have a box in the house at the moment, so I can’t check what I usually buy. Let us know if you find some.
All the best,
Kirsten
Very soon this web page will be famous amid all blog people, due to it’s fastidious posts
Hi, thanks for this whole series of posts! I live in Canada (bought my Easiyo in UK), and can’t easily get the packets anymore.
But, I have learned an amazing thing about this process recently! You don’t have to heat up and cool the milk at all if you start with organic pasteurized whole milk! Not UHT, just good whole organic pasteurized milk, cold from the fridge. Add 1/2 cup milk powder (Peak full fat works for me), plus either 3 Tbsp of yogurt that you like (live cultures, of course) or a yogurt starter culture (yogurmet plain, not the one that requires their maker).
Mix thoroughly to ensure the milk powder is dissolved, then proceed with the boiling water routine as per the Easiyo packets. 8 hours later I have lovely thick yogurt!
This saves tons of time, try it yourselves. I have used it several times now, including without the milk powder, which came out runny, still yogurt though, so if you don’t mind straining it afterwards it is okay.
Cheers, Susan
Thanks for that tip Susan. I wonder if that’s because the organic milk there is already heat treated? I’ve read that in the US most organic milk is ultra pasturised, which is not the same as UHT, but is still more than just pasturised. My mum buys organic ultra pasturised milk here (although most of it isn’t here in Australia) to make her yoghurt out of.
Thanks so much for this post, it was exactly what i was looking for. I gave up on the Easiyo mixes as I didnt like the taste or texture. Last night i made a batch using your instructions (roughly!). I used low fat A2 milk, starter and skim milk powder. This morning i have yogurt , it is an ok thickness but it is ‘grainy’. It doesnt look smooth and creamy, even after i have mixed it well. It tastes ok (bit milky). I had the same experience with the Easiyp packets. Is this just what homemade yogurt looks and tastes like or am i doing something wrong? i have read your troubleshooting guide but couldnt see anything about the yogurt being grainy…… is it just me :)??
No, it doesn’t have to be grainy, I do find the powdered milk version more often comes out grainy than other yoghurt. But I have come across this before, I will have to see if I can find out again what causes it. I’ll get back to you!
Michelle, I did have some graininess with the powdered milk initially, then I got really serious about mixing it up! Suggest you dissolve the powder in a bit of lukewarm water first (boiled, then cooled to lukewarm). In other words make it up into liquid milk, then add the culture (3 Tbsp works for me) and enough additional cold pasteurised milk to fill the container.
Shake it really well, because I think if the milk is grainy the yogurt will be too.
Kirsten, I don’t know if milk in Canada is ultra-pasteurised, I definitely don’t use UHT milk. But I figure if you start with organic milk your bacteria load is lower anyway, and then pasteurising it on top means there’s not much bacteria left to compete with the yogurt bacteria. Anyway, it’s working for me and not having to go through the whole boiling and cooling process with the milk makes it as easy to do as the original Easiyo packets without the expense (and hassle of getting it into Canada!)
Thanks so much Susan. I definitely think I wasn’t mixing it enough. I have now made a few batches ( both with a pre-made mix and from scratch) and have mixed it very enthusiastically! What a difference – no more “grains”. I am also leaving it out a bit longer so I think those two things have made a real difference.
This was interesting. Describes the ideal conditions that Yoghurt needs…
http://www.digitalbrain.com/dawsonsarah/web/shared%20resources/Unit%206/Factors%20affecting%20the%20successful%20production%20of%20yogurt.doc?verb=download
Hi there,
Thanks for your article, after a dismal first attempt at making yoghurt without any recipe (too much starter, didn’t heat milk enough), I followed yours and it worked!
Only thing I did different was heat the milk rather slowly in a saucepan, say 10mins to get to about 85C,then turned off heat and put the lid on for about 20mins.
Since the milk was still about 60C I put the saucepan in the sink with water and cooled to about 35C, and followed the rest of your recipe adding 1/2cup of milk powder and 3 tbs of yoghurt.
Wrapped the Easiyo in a towel and all set by morning (10hrs).
Thanks again,
Pete
That’s great Pete, glad it is now working for you 🙂
Im am trying to make a high fat yoghurt.
Im using 325ml full cream milk and 300ml heavy cream. Hopefully it will work!!
Has anyone tried this???
Hi Kristine,
I haven’t tried it with that much cream. I often put maybe 50 ml of cream in which makes for a thicker, creamier yoghurt, but, there is often a thin layer of almost solid cream on top (which is yum too of course). I’m not sure if that would happen but thicker with so much cream. I might have to try it myself as an experiment, but will you let me know how it goes. It sounds delicious!
Hi Kirsten,
Just finished making my 3rd batch of yogurt using your method and day old milk from our cows – we’re dairy farmers.
I just want to thank you! I searched for ages to find a simple way to make yogurt! Little did I know I had the hardware in my pantry sitting unused!
I made Greek yogurt the first time as it’s my favorite.
The second batch didn’t work. I think the kettle didn’t boil (it died completely 2 days later) and I didn’t notice.
The third I went al out and put a little sugar and a vanilla bean in – the result was fantastic. Made a strawberry sauce to go with and I am not sure I’ll be able to keep up demand!!
My idea is to become more self sufficient. 18 months of low milk prices have taken their toll. I am lucky that I’m a country girl who knows how to make bread, bake, make jams etc. We’re putting in a larger vegie garden this year with the idea we’ll preserve a lot!
Thanks again!!
Alison.
Hi Alison,
Thanks for your comment, I’m so glad it’s working for you. That’s so awesome that you can make it from your own cow’s milk, I bet that tastes even better. I’ve found that if I add extra cream I end up with the most delicious, thick creamy yoghurt. And with strawberry sauce – yum!
I’m sorry to hear the toll the low milk prices are taking – I’ve read that on more than one dairy blog I think – but glad if this can be one little part of the solution for you.
Enjoy your yoghurt!
Cheers
Kirsten
Ok can you clarify the pasteurizing please?
Im heating the raw milk to 75C then putting the lid on and leaving, then fridging overnight. It makes yogurt!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Alison,
I’m not sure I understand. Are you then making yoghurt out of the milk the next day?
Heating up to make yoghurt and heating up to pasteurize are two different things. And you can still make yoghurt if you do neither.
Generally I think the recommendation is to heat to about 80-85C for maximum thickening benefit (and even to hold it at that temperature for while) which denatures some of the milk protein, and allows the yoghurt to thicken up more readily.
But, if you are using raw milk, you could also heat it just to yoghurting temperature (approx 42C, and less than 50C). Which in an easiyo means you just put it in cold. Obviously, this is not pasteurizing the milk, which people are for and against from a health perspective. From a yoghurt perspective it should still work fine, but will likely be runnier than yoghurt made from pasteurized milk.
The difference with raw milk is that the naturally occurring lacto-fermenting bacteria will still be there, competing the introduced yoghurt bacteria, so you will get a different effect. Some people love that and some don’t. For full pasteurisation, to kill off those bacteria, I believe you need to heat to 80C.
There is an interesting article on this on the Weston A Price website at: http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/heat-or-not-heat-yogurt
Hi there
Thanks for your helpful article – I successfully made my first batch last night using UHT milk plus half cup of powdered milk and its set, albeit slightly runnier than I’d hoped. That might be because I used a milk carton from the fridge, so I plan to try straight from the cupboard next time and I’m keen to try adding some cream as I love creamy yoghurt.
You mention flavouring with vanilla or lemon essence (which sound yum!) so I was wondering if anyone can recommend brands for these – I have a good quality vanilla extract in my cupboard which I’ll try next batch with some added sugar, but have never used a lemon extract/essence.
I also would love to try a raspberry extract and other fruits so would love recommendations on these too. I saw a whole variety on Amazon, from ‘natural extracts’ to raspberry syrup which seems to be used mainly in the US for flavouring iced tea and other drinks, but wondered if anyone had experimented with using it to flavour yoghurt – both before and after setting?
Thanks again!
Hi Emma,
I’m glad your yoghurt worked – hopefully a bit of cream will make it that bit thicker too.
I just use the Queen brand essences available from the baking aisle in my supermarket, but that is an Australian brand, so I’m not sure if you can get them. Looking on the Amazon site, this seems like the closest thing (in raspberry though): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-Concentrated-Essence-xFFFD-Raspberry/dp/B008EJSBJ6 This is just a concentrated essence, whereas I suspect a syrup would end up all at the bottom of your jar.
Hi Kirsten,
My yoghurt seems pretty set, but it’s sort of separated or curdled. I used yoghurt left over from a sachet tub I made the day before. I heated my milk and added some Vanilla essence, about 1 tspn. I forgot to put it in the fridge overnight (yeah, I know…), but I made the yoghurt the next morning anyway, using unhomogenised organic cows milk. I left it about 20hrs, it tasted tangy like yoghurt but with that curdled texture.
Thanks for the article, it’s terrific!
You’re welcome Merryn!
If you left it overnight without the yoghurt in it – well, it might just have attracted other “wild” bacteria in that time, which could be “good” or “bad” bacteria. Then you added the yoghurt in the morning, and then left for – why 20 hours? The longer you leave it for, generally, the tangier it will be, and the more the whey is likely to separate from the yoghurt. I don’t know if the curdled texture might be from the length of time (I have left mine that long too though, without that happening), or from the wild bacteria.
Anyway, i hope you next batch is more straight forward!
I have tried this method and it didn’t set. What about using a starter culture like Kefir? Would this help?
Hi Corrine,
Keffir is a different culture, with difference requirements and – the outcome would be keffir, not yoghurt! Similar, but different.
If this method didn’t work for you there are a number of possibilities – that your milk didn’t stay warm enough, or was too hot and killed the culture, or the culture was too old and not still growing are the most common problems.
Did you take a look at https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/ and see if you could find your problem there?
I haven’t read through all the comments, there are so many! So this may have been answered already. But for those who are wondering how to flavor without adding sugar, sweetened juices etc, this is what I do which my daughter and I love, and even my partner who isn’t a yogurt fan enjoys occasionally…
When mangos, peaches etc are in season, buy plenty when they are nice and ripe, remove the skin (for peaches etc drop in boiling water for about 40 seconds and the skin peels off easy) slice into thin pieces, lay then put on a tray and freeze overnight (at least 4hrs).
Put the frozen pieces into Ziploc bags, and store in the freezer. Or blend and freeze into ice cubes if you don’t want chunks.
Great for packed lunches- just put some frozen bits in with the yoghurt in a container and in a couple hrs they’re perfectly defrosted and yummy. Also great for smoothys – just throw them frozen in the blender with yogurt. If that’s not sweet enough add just a little honey, but if the fruit is ripe enough it should be plenty sweet 🙂
I’ve had my yoghurt maker for a couple of weeks now, my mother has had one for years.
I’m currently trying my second attempt at making without a whole sachet… last time I tried uht milk with yoghurt from a previous batch but no powdered milk (it was sold out!) which was a bit runny for me but my daughter has been enjoying that.. Now I have a batch going with all powdered milk using some of a natural Greek sachet for the culture.. crossing fingers!
Hi Emma,
Thanks for those tips. I’m justs imagining some yoghurt with sliced mango through it now. Yum!
I hope your next batch of yoghurt was thicker. If not, you can also try adding some fresh cream. Delicious 🙂
Hi, thank you for the wonderful informative website !
I am making my own yogurt from scratch now. I stared with the sachets but find they are expensive.
My results have good but I still I tweak a bit each time. Last batch was an organic Coles brand milk, warmed to 30deg, a purchased dried culture and 1/3 cup milk powder and 1/4 cup raw honey. I let the boiling water cool to about 70deg before adding it to the easiyo maker. This morning I have lovely thick TASTY yogurt 🙂 I am planning another batch with a litre of local non homogenised full fat milk and some of the last batch as a starter. I like the idea of using the sachets as a starter too.
Your welcome Jo-Anne, and thanks for commenting. Your yoghurt sounds delicious, I think I will go an make some right now! 🙂
Hi
My 15 month old twins are allergic to cows milk/products and goats yoghurt is so expensive…is it easy and possible to make our own goats yoghurt at home? Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
Hi Chanel,
I haven’t made goats milk yoghurt, but yes, it does work. Someone commented on my tips, tricks and troubleshooting post (https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/) that she uses caprillic goats milk from Coles or Safeway and leaves it for 16 or 17 hours, and it makes lovely yoghurt.
Give it a try and see how it goes 🙂
Well I gave it a go. And what do you know, it was fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙂
You’re very welcome Debs, I’m so glad it worked for you.
Hello. I am wanting to introduce solids to my bub and am wanting to make yogurt for her based on my breastmilk. Would I follow the recipe but just substitute BM and skip the milk powder.
Thanks for your great page!
Dee
I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been making my own yoghurt in the thermomix for a couple of years. I always use a litre of longlife milk, along with 50g of milk powder and then 3 tablespoons of starter (the previous batch). Now I’ve been following the recipe which says to cook for 30 minutes at 90 degrees, then cool to 37 degrees before adding the starter. This cooling process took ages – usually at least 1.5 hours. So after reading this post and all the comments I realised I didn’t need to do the heating and cooling process using the longlife milk. So Tuesday night I added all ingredients at the beginning – continued with the next steps (heating for 10 minutes at 37 degrees) before putting into my thermoserver overnight for setting. And oh my gosh it worked! That has saved me about 2 hours of the elapsed time in my yoghurt making! I couldn’t be happier!
Oh wow, first attempt and I have perfect yoghurt, tastes better than the ones I made with the Easiyo mixes. You got a new fan 🙂 thanks
You’re welcome Lola, I’m happy for your success 🙂
Very useful instructions, thanks. I just wanted to say that Yakult is a great starter. 3 tablespoons and voila, perfect. Don’t use the whole bottle or it will be too runny.
Thanks Stewart, that’s a great tip 🙂
Hi
I made this using UHT milk and Hansells dry satchel, two tablespoons. The Yoghurt didn’t set until 15 hours later and I added new boiling water. Do you think this yoghurt is still good or off?
Could you tell me where I’m going wrong.
Sorry Lee, I didn’t see your comment before. I would think this would be fine, you can leave it for up to 24 hours. The only issue would be if it hadn’t started to “yoghurt” at all in the first 15 hours (which would only happen if it never heated up at all – like if you’d forgotten the boiling water the first time) and then it may already smell “off” at that 15 hour mark. But if the culture has started to grow, even though it hasn’t thickened yet, that should be fine.
Basically it sounds like it cooled down too quickly for some reason. One possibility is the starter – I have found Hansells doesn’t work as well, and I think it just has lower levels of the culture compared to the easiyo packets – so it hasn’t got as far with the “yoghurting” process when the water cools. Try adding an extra tablespoon next time.
Comment *hi, pls advise me I want to make yoghurt for commercial quantity using powdered milk with cow milk. eg 250ltrs of dilute powder milk with water and 25 ltrs of cow milk. please i am awaiting ur advise. thanks
Love reading everyone’s comments. Just a question – do you know how to make homemade yakult? My boys love Yakult but I find it quite expensive, even the Coles and Woolworth’s brands. Any help would be much appreciated 🙂
Hi Janet,
No I don’t – I have had other readers say they can make yoghurt with yakult, so I don’t know how to work back the other way – I do know yakult has a lot of sugar and also water in it, so maybe it’s just a matter of experimenting with the levels milk/sugar/water with the starter?
Hi, I live in Timor-Leste where ongoing supplies of many things in supermarkets can be problematic (we are currently going through a Soda Water Drought, though not as bad as the Great Butter Drought of ’08!!). Yoghurt has become more available through local producers, but expensive and seems to sour quickly. Among the book club devotees, the cult of home yoghurt-making has been strong, something I have avoided joining….until now! I bought one of the EasiYo flasks in Australia last week and a sachet and made it with astounding success, enjoying it this past week. We only have UHT milk in Dili, but I found this website and tried it last night with the remnants of my first sachet attempt….I’m eating it now in my banana and passionfruit smoothie (the great part of living in the tropics)…who knew it could be so easy! Thanks for the recipes and tips. Forget the books: I’m bringing this to book club next week…
That’s awesome Marie, and you’re welcome! Enjoy 🙂
I have been making yoghurt for a few weeks using full cream UHT milk and milk powder with great success. A few days ago I decided to try using a skim UHT milk rather than full cream. I have found that the 2 batches I have made have gone almost stringy / slimy / elastic in texture. It still smells and tastes normal and is thick, but the texture seems very wrong. I am not sure if something has gone wrong with the starter or if it is the skim UHT milk. Have you experienced this before or do you have any idea of what might be causing this?
Hi Daniel,
That usually means that the yoghurt hasn’t finished culturing – when I check it and find it like that, I will sometimes carefully remove the container from the thermos and replace some of the water with some more boiling water, then put it back in and give it another couple of hours.
If you are leaving it for the same amount of time, as I assume, I’d say your starter is getting a bit old and doesn’t have as much of the live culture in it as it did before. You could try a new starter or using more of it. It shouldn’t be anything to do with the skim milk – that will make for a runnier yoghurt, but shouldn’t affect the actual culturing.
I left the yoghurt setting overnight in the easiyo maker, but forgot it for around 22hrs. I put it straight into the fridge when I remembered, but am not sure if it’s safe to eat…. Any advise?
Should be totally fine Jason – you can leave it for up to 24 hours with no problem – just means it will be a bit tangier than usual!
Hey there! I’m at work surfing arounnd your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all yur posts!
Keep up the great work!
Hi there
Can you please explain the milk powder recipe in more detail. I don’t understand it. Do I not need to boil it like if I was using regular milk?
Also it says to add 1&1/3 to 1&1/2 cups of milk powder. Which one is it? 1 1/3 or 1 1/2? I don’t want to waste my ingredients getting it wrong so I thought I would check.
Thanks!
Hi David, no, you don’t need to boil it if you use powdered milk. If you are using an easiyo thermos you don’t need to heat it separately at all, you can just follow the instructions as for an easiyo packet, but using the powdered milk instead, and just add your starter.
How much milk powder you add is a personal preference thing really. Adding more will make for a thicker yoghurt, but some people find the powdered milk taste is then more obvious to them. Yoghurt is pretty forgiving. As long as you are using a fresh starter and keep it at the right temperature, you won’t be wasting your ingredients by experimenting a little.
Hi Kirsten,
Firstly thank you! This has been a game changer! It’s great to have a cheap self made source of yoghurt.
I experimented quite a bit and was even lucky to find store bought yoghurt culture from About Life.
I had some real seccess setting 2 cups of full cream milk powder with 2 teaspoons of culture for 9 hours. Preciously I used name brand milk. However once I switched to coles no name brand full cream milk all I get is sour milk.
Could it be the cheaper milk powder? Or could I have unknowingly changed another step and look back again at my technique?
Actually looking at my method I’m wondering if it’s something else that is affecting my results. I’ve tried using the same name-brand milk powder but go the same runny sour milk.
I’m going to try to use less culture starter (I have store bought starter).
You see it worked really well once, but I neglected to write down the method I used so I’ve been working to try and duplicate my results. I’ll keep you updated.
That’s weird that it’s not working now, after working well the first time. It could go either way with the starter, more or less – are you using an amount indicated on the packaging? If so, and it’s not working, I would be inclined to use more rather than less – it could be that some of the culture has died and so it is not working well before the milk turns.
I have only used starter from previous yoghurts or a scoop from an easiyo packet – it does seem to keep a long time, even once open, but does your culture have storage instructions?
I would like to use milk powder because I don’t have a thermometer to check if I am heating it enough/too much.
Totally understandable David. And you can also use UHT milk for this purpose too. Just follow the instructions, but omit the heating & cooling of the milk.
Hi Kirsten,
I’ve gone and bought myself an easiyo after finding this, it’s exactly what I needed as I also didn’t want to use whole sachets – they work out to be as expensive as bought prepared yoghurt here in nz.
I was just wondering, before I begin, what is considered to be “fresh” and “old” starter yoghurt. Approximately how many days old can the yoghurt be without losing all of its culture? And how many times do you think you can reuse the homemade yoghurt as a starter culture…? Indefinitely, or could it be quite a limited number of times. I.e. Would you recommend using yoghurt one time, easiyo starter the next…?
Thank you. Cannot wait to try this.
– first time yoghurt maker!
Julia
Sorry Julia, I thought I had replied to this! When you make a batch of yoghurt, the normal recommendation is to set some aside for your next batch, and make sure to reuse within 7 days. When I am buying yoghurt from the store to use as a starter, I try to make sure to get at least 4 weeks on the use by, or just the freshest one they have.
It is supposed to be the case that you can not use your “normal” yogurt indefinitely – there are certain kinds of starters that you can do that for, but they are not the ones in commercial youghurt – but you can certainly use it more than once – probably 3 or 4 times should be okay.
Good luck & enjoy!
Hi, Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post this. Your directions worked perfectly. I picked up one of these devices yesterday and did not buy a pre-made sachet thingy knowing that there must be a ‘hack’ around…. and here it is.
You’re welcome! Glad it worked for you! 🙂
I have only just tried making yoghurt using an alternate brand yoghurt maker also known Here as hansells yoghurt worked perfectly after 12 hours was set… Although bland so I stifted a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar as indicated and stirred through but it went watery will it thicken in the fridge? Please help thank you!!!
Hi Danny,
Did you stir it through after setting? If so, it may thicken up a little in the fridge, but in my experience, once you stir yoghurt it never quite goes back to that “set” consistency (unless it’s made using a thickener like gelatine, and possibly not even then.
Thanks for the recipes, I tried Sweet Greek dry powder with UHT (full fat) milk and a little milk powder and it made lovely thick yoghurt, just how I like it.
As easiyo has now got a bit too expensive this is welcome!
That’s great Ann, and you’re very welcome 🙂
Thank you so much for saving me so much money.
I always eat natural yogurt from the Easiyo and the sachets were costing me a small fortune for my family so thank you for this easy recipe – worked first time too 🙂
Hi there, just wondering when do you add the cream and could i use zymil light thickened lactose free cream? My son is lactose intolerant, and do i add the vanilla essence once i have heated the milk and before i put it in the fridge?
Thanks i love your recipe just what i was looking for, its so easy to make it this way 🙂
Thanks
Hi Emma,
I don’t think the zymil will work because it is the lactose in milk that the yoghurt bacteria consume. Unless you are using zymil cream but normal milk? That may be okay. Yoghurt has very low lactose in it anyway, by the end of the process – so some lactose intolerant people can tolerate it – I would make sure to leave it for for longer than average to make quite a tangy yoghurt if you want to try with normal milk and see how he goes – the longer it “cultures” for, the less lactose will be left.
As to when I add the cream, I add it last and then give it a good mix in (shake the container thoroughly basically). Though as I said somewhere in the comments above there is often a thin layer of cream on top when I do this, so maybe I should put it in earlier 🙂
Hi Emma,
I just found out my Mum has been making yoghurt with Liddells lactose free long life milk – she said it comes out lovely a creamy! So there you go. Have you tried it with the zymil cream yet?
I’ve made lactose free yogurt myself using lactose free UHT milk and 2 tablespoons of dissolved sugar (instead of milk powder for the cultures to eat) with live yogurt cultures. Makes great lactose free yogurt.
Apparently people prone to lactose allergies sometimes can tolerate Greek yogurt better than other types.
It has ben great to find your knowledgeable post! We travel to Arnhem land nearly every year and are 6 weeks without a fridge. We love esiyo as it works without needing a fridge: the yoghurt is all eaten by our group in the morning when it is ready.
Thank you for sharing the uht and powdered milk tips: this will help us immensely!
I am wondering if it is possible to make a half size amount in the maker for when the group is smaller: I see that you can buy smaller Easiyo tubs: but they seem to be for combining into the full amount to make the yoghurt: would it be too hot/would it work if I just halved the recipe?
Hi Jo,
This is something I have been meaning to test properly so I can give you a definitive answer, but I haven’t done it yet. I think my best success to date was using smaller amounts in the small tubs, and then putting them inside one large one, so they are not overheated by the water. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes 🙂
Hi Kirsten,
Experiment successful!
I followed your idea and put the yoghurt mix in a 440ml glass jar (old mayo jar) , then put that glass jar into the 1kg easiyo container, and then filled the 1kg container with room temperature water, so it was kind of just like I was making the 1kg size yoghurt, in terms of thermal mass.
I used exactly half the packet of (Hansells) Greek style and just followed the instructions. It come out really nice thick and creamy, my husband said “this is the best yoghurt you have ever made” hahaha
Thanks for the idea. Next I am going to try with the 220ml one!
Jo
Awesome! So glad it worked!
What a great idea to fill the easiyo container with water! I will have to try it again too. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Curious if you have tried any milk alternatives? Such as coconut milk or soy milk? I have bought coconut yogurt before but for $10 per a 2 serve container its a bit expensive.. I thought I could buy just one to start my homemade yogurt from so there was no dairy involved but wanted to know if you have had any experience or advice?
Hi Anita,
No, I haven’t tried making non-diary yoghurt. The thing is the yoghurt bacteria usually eats the lactose in yoghurt, so I am not sure how it works with non-dairy substitutes although I know you can do it.
Hi Anita,
I just tried it with coconut milk and used yoghurt as the culture. It didn’t work for me.
Hi Kirsten, thanks so much for this! I can’t wait to try it! I’m just wondering when you add your cream? Do you stir it through when the yoghurt had completely finished setting? 🙂
You’re welcome Camilla!
And no, I just put it in at the beginning and mix it up with the milk and starter culture. I do sometimes find I end up with a layer of cream at the top, but the rest of the yogurt is still creamier and thicker too 🙂
Hope that helps.
Aaah, excellent! Thanks so much for the super quick reply too! 🙂
Hi Kirsten, just one other thing… When heating the milk at the start what temperature do you get yours up to?
I actually have never used a thermometer Camilla, I just heat it up to not quite boiling – when it just starts to get frothy on top. But the ideal is said to be about 82-83 degrees C., which is about 180F. Then it normally needs to cool again to about 110F/42-43C before you add the starter, but for the easiyo I cool it right down in the fridge.
Hi,
I am abit lost at the cooling down part, do you put the milk straight into the fridge to cool or do you wait for a while before putting it into the fridge?
I would put it in the fridge as soon as it’s cool enough not to melt whatever it’s sitting on 🙂
Has anyone tried making yogurt using coconut milk?
I tried it using the directions for UHT milk and it didn’t work.
Any suggestions?
Hi Heather,
It might be because the coconut milk doesn’t have enough natural sugars in it to ferment well. Did you add any sweetener?
Here’s a good article I found on making yoghurt with coconut milk. It should adapt easily enough to do it in the Easiyo too 🙂
http://tasty-yummies.com/2014/06/03/how-to-make-coconut-milk-yogurt/
Hi Kirsten, do you ever strain your yoghurt thru a cloth to get a thicker Greek style yoghurt
Hi Sue,
The short answer is no. The longer answer is, I have done it, and it does work perfectly. I just have a tendency to forget about it any up with yo-cheese 🙂
It certainly does make for a thicker yoghurt though 🙂
It totally works, you can line a sieve with clean muslin or thin soft cotton or even kitchen paper towels. Then rest it on top of a bowl and refrigerate.
Hi Kristen,
Thank you so much for posting this! My family and I are missionaries in Papua New Guinea, and we just bought an EasiYo, but the sachets aren’t cheap, so I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!
I did have a couple questions about the UHT milk recipe. You mentioned leaving it in the cupboard? Would I still need to put it in the fridge for 6 hours after it sets? and then about how long do you think it would be good kept in the cupboard? We are often in our village for a month at a time, and while I don’t expect for it to keep very long, it would be good to have some idea 🙂
Thanks again!
Hi Rachel,
The UHT milk can be kept in the cupboard until you open it, then it needs to be in the fridge, just like other milk.
With the yoghurt, the UHT milk won’t really make it last any longer out of the fridge than with regularly milk, however yoghurt *will* last longer out of the fridge than milk will. But basically, it does still need to be refrigerated.
My original easiyo instructions said if you forget to check on your yoghurt and accidentally leave it in the easiyo it will be okay for up to 24 hours.
Hope that helps!
Thank you so much, worked perfectly the first time I made this and I haven’t made my own yogurt ever before. I just added some of my own honey from my own hives when I was eating it and it was delicious. My children love it too, just the way it is, without even adding honey.
That sounds great Kate, beehives are on my wishlist, but unfortunately my husband is allergic so they’ll probably never make it past that point 🙂 So lovely to have your own honey though!
Hi Kirsten,
I have just bought a Easiyo yoghurt maker, and i am told I can only use water to make the yoghurts! I note from your blogs above that you use all sorts? Could you advise me please?
Thank you in advance Erika x
The easy yo powders are meant to be used with water as they have powdered dry milk in and cultures and flavouring all in one packet.
Described above is a method using fresh/uht milk and a bit of live yogurt (or you can buy yogurt cultures online to use instead) which has the necessary live bacteria which turn milk into yogurt.
Sorry to have missed your question Erika, but Polly’s answer, which you hopefully saw, is absolutely correct. The easiyo sachets contain milk powder, hence you mix them with water, but if you use milk instead, you only need 2-3tbsps of the easiyo sachet, or another source of starter culture.
You can always leave the milk to cool to 40-ish degrees C and put warm water of the same temperature in the easy yo, instead of cooling completely then plunging into boiling water.
That’s what I do and it works great 🙂
Thanks Polly, that’s a great tip 🙂
Hi just wondering, to make “greek”or greek style yoghurt, do you just have to use greek yoghurt as your starter, or is there something else you need to do? Thanks
Hi Donna,
Sorry, I missed this earlier.
As I understand it Greek yogurt is thicker, as it has been strained a little, allowing some of the whey to come out.
I know easiyo sells “greek style” sachets – I suspect they just have a higher fat content or something to make it thicker, though I haven’t investigated.
Thanks, I have committed to making this year one of using as little single use plastic as I can so I’m digging out the Easiyo container. Because the culture packets are plastic I’ll use yogurt as the starter. Cheers, Maree.
That’s great Maree, I hope you get some delicious yogurt 🙂
Hi Kristen, My questions is about adding water to the easiyo system. I want to make yogurt with fresh whole milk, heated to 82º, cooled to 42º add fresh yogurt, add powder milk and set in the easiyo flask overnight, or 12 hours…. Do I need to add hot water to the flask, if so, boiling or warm. Keep in mind my milk is at 42º or so. I did read your blog, but you cooled the milk in the fridge overnight and then added boiling water…. It seems too hot if the water needs to be boiling. I did not receive any easiyo sachets, so I am using from scratch method with store bought yogurt as the culture. It is just the adding water to the flask that I am confused about.
I have not used the easiyo set yet…. Thanks so much, Jo
Hi Jo,
I would have your water only a little hotter than the milk – you don’t want it to be hot enough to heat them milk about 50C as that will kill off the yoghurt bacteria. But, you do want it to be a little warmer than 42, or it’s not going to keep the milk warm enough for long enough I suspect – a little experimentation may be required, but I would try water no hotter than 50C I think.
The hotter your milk is to begin (within the range that won’t kill the bacteria) the quicker your yoghurt will set, but it will also set more tart and with more whey separating out, I think.
I’d love it if you would come back and report how it goes 🙂
Hi. I tried this last night. It works beautifully. Thank you. So simple:-)
I made yogurt in my easiyo and added the water at about 48º, a little hotter than the milk, and the next morning it was too liquid. I refrigerated the easiyo container and thinking of your system, I later put the container (with the liquid yogurt) back into easiyo and added boiling water to the thermos, and the next morning I got thick and delish greek yogurt. I like your method and the fact that you don’t have to keep an eye on the milk as it soon drops below 42º. I love your blog and tips as it encourages to make (excellent) yogurt. I will try UHT milk too, which is readily available in France. I am into probiotics, and homemade yogurt is a new one for me. I have been thinking of making it but wasn’t sure it was worth it, yes indeed it is. Thanks so much. Jo
Hi,
Thanks for the instructions – fantastic! This is a great improvement for us living on the boat 🙂
I’ve tried a few batches using leftovers from the previous batch, and have a couple of questions:
1) Is there any need to wash the 1L yoghurt mixing container between batches (water is precious at sea)? I haven’t bothered for the last two times, thinking that there’s no difference between the leftover bits in the container and the 3 scoops that I’m putting in from the old batch.
2) I’ve noticed a slight powdery/pastey texture to recent batches (I’ve been using 1.5 cups powdered milk). Have you ever noticed this in any of your batches and figured out a solution? I’m intending to try to reduce the powdered milk to 1.3 cups, and also to try using chilled water when mixing.
Thanks again,
Bryce.
Hi there!
With the addition of yogurt for culture, are store bought yogurts okay? I used a bit of a plain chobani, but now I wonder if I should have forked for an easiyo sachet.
Ta!
Thanks for all your wonderful information. After searching around for advice on making yoghurt I thought your page was my favourite and bookmarked it.
I just finished my first batch from scratch and was pleased with myself….and come back to read through the rest of your comments etc…..oh nooooo……I didn’t real all of it first and I put Xylitol in it. Its not something I’ve ever used before but had it there so I thought I’d sweeten it a little bit. On the upside, if it fails at least I will know why. Fingers crossed it wont be a complete disaster. I will let you know how it turns out. I’ve used UHT with added powdered milk and Famers Union Natural Pot Set Yoghurt.
Oh Kylie! How did it go? I have never tried again after the first time…
Hi….
I’ve been using the uht method for long and it always work wonder,sometimes when I get enough of yogurt I just need to freeze the starters from my previous batches ,then start all over again …oh I just tried using my 3 month old frozen yogurt from my previous batches and It turn out well also 🙂
So thanks for sharing this lovely information
That’s great Junny! I haven’t tried using frozen yoghurt, I will have to do that!
Hi there, just wondering if anyone has been making yoghurt without the sachets in the 500mL mini maker? I’ve tried just halving the 1L recipe for powdered milk (i.e. 2/3 – 3/4C of milk powder and about 2 spoons of yoghurt) but am yet to get a good result, and don’t want to waste much more yoghurt trying! I always let it set for at least 12 hours if not 14-15, right temp water etc. Any help much appreciated!
I’m surprised this isn’t working as well Liz – I have not used the mini maker, but I have experimented a bit with using the small tubs in my big one (inside the litre container), with good results.
I’m curious – have you used the mini maker with a full easiyo sachet? I only ask because sometimes, depending on your location, you can have an issue with the water going cold too quickly or being too hot.
There are other general troubleshooting options – fresher yoghurt, or more of it, for instance – if you haven’t already, try looking at my troubleshooting page, it might help: https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/
Hi Kirsten. Can you tell us more about making a half batch in the EasyYo. I’ve tried simply halving the recipe (I use the powder milk method). No success.
To elaborate. I currently use 1&1/2 Cup milk power and 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt culture (powder). Works a treat.
I halved this, still using the Easyyo 1kg tub filling it half way.
I got sour milk. Perhaps less culture? Should I not be using the 1kg tub, and find a suitable sized jar?
Your advise and feedback will really help me along on this trial and error process.
Hi Liz,
I’ve actually had heaps of success making a 1 litre Easiyo in the mini maker. ( I only did it by pure accident as the on line company that I got it from was giving the 1 litre canister for free. Which at first I thought was counter productive but turned out to be a blessing in disguise)
All you have to do is prep the one litre satchel mix and as normal in the one lite canister. Take out the red triangle stand that usually goes in the mini maker. Fill hot water up to the line where the stand usually is placed. Now take off the red lid of your Easiyo container and very gently place the container inside the mini maker. Lastly place the mini maker lid on top and screw tight.
That’s it! You don’t need to use the large size Easiyo maker to make 1 litre yoghurt 🙂
Could you use fresh lemon juice to flavour the yogurt before setting?
I think Lemon juice would make your milk curdle Matthew, though I’m not 100% sure of that if you are using powdered milk. I suspect it still would though. I have used lemon essence though, with good success.
Hello,
I just got my Easiyo today. So glad that I have found your posts. Have you ever tried using non-dairy milk? I plan to use a regular plain milk yogurt for the starter. I can tolerate some dairy, just don’t want too much. I would like to eventually go with yogurt that is as dairy free as possible.
I can always use fat free and the powder milk if it won’t work.
Thank you for any input or ideas.
Hi, I’m slightly confused about the powdered milk method. Just to clarify, do I need to heat the milk first, like with the regular method, or will it work fine if I skip that out entirely?
Sorry if it’s a stupid question; I haven’t made yogurt before and I don’t want to stuff it up!
Hi Zoe,
It’s not a stupid question at all! No, you don’t need to heat the milk, as the drying process has the same effect 🙂
The milk *does* need to warm up to turn into yoghurt, but if you are using the easiyo thermos, that’s what the host water in the thermos does.
Happy yoghurt making! 🙂
Okay, thank you! 🙂
I haven’t got any plain yoghurt to use as a starter, could I use Greek yoghurt sachet. Also can I use yoghurt instead of buttermilk.
Hi Fran, Yes, you can certainly use a greek yoghurt sachet.
Are you asking if you can use yghurt instead of buttermilk in another recipe? In which case, I *think* the answer is yes, though it may depend on the recipe. I also *think* i have read of substituting whey (the liquid that comes out of yoghurt) instead of buttermilk – I would google it separately though 🙂
Hi! Planning to try with the UHT milk, am wondering if I strain the whey out after the 7-10 hours…would I get Greek yogurt?
You would certainly get thicker yoghurt, like Greek – I *think* real Greek yoghurt may use a particular strain of the yoghurt bacteria, but I am not actually clear on that, sorry.
Just tried making my first batch using the uht method and it turned out great. If I wanted a really thick yoghurt (the thick creamy Greek variety) do you think adding more milk powder would work? I was thinking of trying 2/3 – 3/4 cup of powdered milk to 1litre uht? Thanks!
Hi Julia
Yes, adding more milk powder can thicken it a bit, or adding some cream too.
All the best,
Kirsten
Hi Kirsten! I just discovered your site and am loving it! But I have lots of questions ?. I just inherited an EasiYo (never heard of it before) with no instructions and I live in the Philippines now and have no idea what to use as a starter. There is only UHT milk here and I understand you don’t have to heat it, but does that mean you just use it at room temperature without cooling too? It’s a little confusing trying to follow instructions from one process with comments below to incorporate without exact steps for the entire UHT process. I am afraid I will do something wrong. I’m a little nervous as this will be my first time ever of trying to make yoghurt. It is so expensive here! Thanks so much! …Tracy
Hi, I’m looking to make vanilla yoghurt using the UHT milk and was wondering when do I add in the sweetener as you mentioned with the other versions you mix it in while the milk is hot but seeing as you skip the heating process with the UHT milk at which time do you add the sweetener?
Hi Alecia,
It’s a bit tricky to get sugar to dissolve in cold milk, so I usually just heat up a little in the microwave and dissolve it in that.
Hi,
I’ve just tried the Esiyo yoghurt maker for the first time using their sachets. It worked beautifully. Once it has set and been in the fridge do you stir in the clear liquid that is sitting on the top of the set yoghurt?
Thanks
Jan
Hi Jan,
You can yes – that is the whey, and I usually just stir it in as I use it. Be aware though, that the “set” look of the yoghurt won’t come back after stirring 🙂
I realise this is an old blog post now but I only recently found this and wanted to say the uht milk worked a treat. I mixed 4 tablespoons of milk powder with the uht milk (aldi brand) and two or three tablespoons of my last batch of easiyo yoghurt. After 11 hours it was thick and smooth. A little tangier than the easiyo Greek yoghurt but I’ll just add a little honey or maple syrup. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for the feedback, so glad it’s worked so well for you 🙂
I lived in China for four years and, on and off, made weekly batches of yoghurt with uht milk in my easyo maker. Now I’m back in Au and plan to continue making my own yoghurt.
I too have certain family members who will not eat unsweetened yoghurt (*cough*husband). I always heard that adding sugar to the milk inhibits the fermentation, do you find that you get a runnier yoghurt when you do this?
Also, apart from extra milk powder I’ve never used thickeners. Do gelatine/pectin make a big difference? How do I use them?
Hi Jen,
I haven’t found adding sugar makes any difference, but I don’t add a lot…
I’ve never actually tried adding gelatine or pectin, though I believe they can make a pretty significant difference. Have you taken a look at my tips and tricks page? It has more info on getting thicker yoghurt: https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/
Hi
I have been making cheap yoghurt in my easiyo thermos for many years using the above method of several spoons of easiyo powder , one and half to two cups of powdered milk and a litre of filtered tap water. Last few months the process has failed to produce yoghurt. Is easiyo putting less live culture in each foil sachet to force us into using the whole full sachet? What can I do ?
Hi really don’t know Wayne, I haven’t started having any trouble. Could it be something to do with your thermos? Is it still keeping the milk warm enough? That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause this change.
Hi,
I’ve recently bought an easiyo and would love to try your recipes. However, the biggest yogurt fan in my house is my 9 month old. I know not to put honey in any yogurt I make for her, but is there anything else in these recipes that I should avoid?
Hi Jen,
No there’s nothing else to worry about at all 🙂
enjoy!
My daughter is vegan, but loves the idea of being able to eat non-dairy yogurt. Has anyone had success with non-dairy options such as soy milk or almond milk?
Isn’t bacteria like some kind of little animal?
I wouldn’t think a vegan would want to eat them.
Do I need to use powdered milk or can I leave it out
Hi Karen,
The powdered milk will result in thicker yoghurt, but no, it is not essential – you can leave it out. 🙂
Cheers
Kirsten
Loving the info on this internet site, you have done outstanding job on the content.
There’s definately a lot to find out about this issue.
I like all the points you’ve made.
so to make it without the sachets do ustill need a small amount of satchet powder to make it turnout properly or is there an alternative
I would love more reviews on trials WITHOUT the sachets as I wouldn’t want to be dependant on them. I am thinking about buying the EasiYo (or a different one) but only If I can make yogurt with a bit of fresh yogurt and milkpowder to thicken it.
Please confirm that Greek yogurt can be made with the EasiYo with Greek yogurt from the (organic) store + milk powder. THANKS!
(If not, with what machine (with or without electricity) can I make my own yogurt with as less thought and doings as possible 🙂 ? )
HI Tessa,
There’s no reason this can’t work. I *believe* true Greek yoghurt has a specific culture, but that it works just the same. Some people also strain their yoghurt for an hour or two (using cheesecloth) to get a thicker result – “greek-style” yoghurt.
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http://hy I have tried making yogurt in my easiyo yogurt maker using fat free yogurt as my starter ,and skimmed milk but it failed miserably help .
Hi Joyce, skimmed/fat free milk tends to come out runnier, but it shouldn’t completely fail – take a look at my trouble shooting page here: https://sustainablesuburbia.net/making-yogurt-at-home-faq-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/
See if that helps, if not, let me know 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you for this thorough post. I have recently purchased an easiyo and have had some not-so-great results! After reading this I realise I wasn’t filling the easiyo up enough with boiling water, my starter yogurt was way too old, and I probably put too much starter yogurt in- thinking “more the better”…. I guess not in this case. Also i like the updates- we are all learning and trying to figure out our own way!!! Can’t wait to try again and get some good outcomes!!!!
Hi Julia,
Thanks for posting this. Looking forward to giving it a try.
Do you know if I could use almond milk instead of ordinary milk?
Thanks in anticipation!
Which powdered milk do you use. Full cream or Skimmed milk?
I usually use full cream, which will give you a thicker consistency, but you can use either.
I used fresh semi-skimmed, plus dried skimmed and got a fantastic result. See method below.
Hi, i just got myself the easiyo maker. Love this post as i find the easiyo sachet is expensive.
Love the UHT milk for yoghurt. But would like to know, is this using the same method as your original yoghurt making? Heat up the milk and keep in the fridge overnight? Still need to use milk powder?
Thank you
No, with the UHT milk it has already been heated, so you can just use it straight out of the carton 🙂
Thks. Will try and update.
I just made my best ever yoghurt from scratch because we no longer seem to have a local stockist of Easiyo Greek style. Now I realise I don’t need it anyway! Just used a small amount say 3 tablespoons of any greek yoghurt, added half litre of semi-skimmed (2%) fresh milk, enough cheap skimmed milk powder to make about 1 litre, gave it a good shake up to mix it in the easiyo container. Then topped up with more fresh semi-skimmed milk to fill the container. Left it for an hour to get up to room temperature. Stuck it in Easyo maker with boiling water as usual. left the whole thing in an airing cupboard for 24 hours. Voila! Fantastic thick and creamy yoghurt, no whey, much better than when I made it with full cream Channel Islands milk (c.5%) which actually turned out a bit thin with quite a lot of whey.
That’s great Simon, thanks so much for sharing that!
Simon. Did you add just add ‘dry’ skimmed milk powder onto the milk to the 1 litre mark OR did you mix it with liquid first and then added it?
No, dry skimmed milk powder takes a bit of mixing so I shook it up with about half the Easiyo container of 2% milk and the ‘starter’ yoghurt. Only once it was thoroughly mixed did I top the container with more 2% milk, I actually went past the ‘full’ line but got a great result. No water, if that’s what you’re asking.
Thank you for the clarification Simon.
Hello Simon.
I tried your method but did not get a great result. Maybe I did not add enough skimmed milk powder. Approximately how much did you add to your container?
Hi Kirsten, thanks for your great tips! I wanted to ask about using all milk (a2) instead of any powdered? Is that possible? And also why do we need to heat the milk if it’s already pasteurized? That process is supposed to kill any bad bacteria. Thanks ?
Hi Lindy,
Yes, you can certainly use all fresh milk, no powdered – it will just be a slightly runnier yoghurt is all.
the heating actually does something called denaturing the milk protein which makes it “yoghurt” (can you use that as a verb?) better – but you *can* use unheated milk, again, just a runnier end product. I seem to remember that there are different cultures that work better with milk that hasn’t been heated, but now I can’t remember if that’s for ordinary pasteursed milk, or actually for use with raw milk…
Thanks Kirsten.
Hi just read all comments to see whether anyone asked you about non dairy milk but you didn’t answer the 3 comments about them so I’m hoping I can be the lucky 4th person. Have you had any luck with non dairy milk? If so what would work best? Thanks
Hi Gabrielle,
I’m sorry, but the truth is I haven’t really tried them. Everytime someone asks I think, “I must research that,” but I haven’t yet done it. I know it is possible to make yoghurt, at least of a sort, with soy or coconut milk, but because the yoghurt bacteria really feeds on the lactose in milk, I’m not quite sure how it works.
According to Cultures for Health, their direct set cultures (which are for one time use – you can’t then make yoghurt from the yoghurt) *will* work with non-dairy milk, but the other cultures won’t. https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/yogurt/yogurt-starter-frequently-asked-questions-faq/#milk
Have been using the above method for nearly 12 months. It started off really well. Then earlier this year I noticed it is a lot more difficult to get a good batch. At first I thought it was the powdered milk, then maybe the hot weather, but that was not the problem. I am now suspecting the Easiyo packets have been engineered to discourage us from doing our own thing and therefore buy more easiyo packets. I can no longer use three or four table spoons of easiyo powder as a starter culture and expect a good result. However I can get a reasonable result by using existing yoghurt made from easiyo packets. But as I make more yoghurt and get further away from the original, the yoghurt is more runny. I almost always use Aldi full cream powered milk. I have tried Aldi skim powered milk and it has never worked. I would like your thoughts on this matter please.
Robert, I too noticed the potency decline of Easiyo yogurt about 12 months ago. They used to say on the packet to leave for 8-10 hours to set, now it says 12 hours. My remedy is to use 3 heaped tablespoons of the dry mix to 1 litre of cold milk made with one and a half cups of full cream powdered milk, and to leave it for at least 12 hours in the Easiyo thermos flask, sometimes 14 hours. That always produces lovely thick Greek style yogurt. Now I’m about to try making it using a few tablespoons of my prepared yogurt thanks to the great suggestions on this site.
I mean Variation 1 at top of page when I said above method .
My daughter is unable to have milk or skim milk but can have soy or coconut milk. Is there any way that you can use coconut milk and/or coconut cream to make yoghurt ?
As I website possessor I believe the written content here is rattling
superb, thanks for your efforts.
Could you use probiotic tablets or the probiotic yucult for these methods also could this be done with coconut cream or milk in the easi yo. Thanks
I haven’t tried it Leanda, but I think you could. Here’s someone else’s experience – she isn’t using the easiyo though, but it sounds like you wouldn’t actually need it… https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-2-ingredient-coconut-yogurt/
I have just bought the Easiyo maker and thoroughly enjoying it. I was shown a trick by my cousin which was to only use half the packet . I fill it half full with water add only half the packet then top up with any milk. I let mine sit for 24 hours. Yummy but I will look at using UHT milk once I start caravaning around Australia.
That sounds great Jeanette!
For the milk powder option, I understand that steps 1&2 can be skipped, but step three also mentions adding another 1/2 cup of powdered milk after cooling. Do we skip that bit too?
Yep! It replaces that 1/2 cup 🙂
Kirsten, can you please tell me if you have used the UHT Lactose Free milk and if so how did it go?
I haven’t actually tried it Paula. If you do, let us know how it goes.
Hi there, I am keen to give this a go as we go through A LOT of yoghurt a week with three kids. We are using the Easiyo and I love it but wanting to reduce waste and costs. The only thing I keep wondering though is the amount of beneficial bacteria that will end up in the yoghurt as they are obviously added into the sachets and when I only take a small amount I wouldn’t get the same effect? Is there an addon or something that you use or do you just accept the fact that it will be “less beneficial”? Thanks so much!
HI Britta,
The beneficial bacteria actually keep growing as long as the yoghurt is “yoghurting” so although you only start out with a little, you end up with a lot 🙂
Hello! Just wondering if anyone has tried to make a slimming world friendly yoghurt with their Easiyo?
Thanks
Hi Sarah,
Do you mean making a low fat version? There is actually a lot of evidence accumulating now that low fat milk it worse, from a slimming perspective, than full cream. The fats in full cream milk are actually protective.
As far as artificial sweeteners go, I’d recommend simply reducing the sugar/honey rather than using something artificial (and note that creamier yoghurt is much more palatable without sugar, or with less sugar, than low fat).
Hi! So excited to have found your post.
Just wondering if using Uht milk ( I buy lactose free milk this way by the case so I always have milk) is it necessary to use milk powder as well as starter yogurt? Or can I just use milk and yogurt?
Thank you
Hi Jackie,
The milk powder is not essential, but will make for a thicker yoghurt. However, I’m not entirely sure that lactose free milk will work, as the yoghurt culture usually feeds on the lactose.
How about some recipes for making oat milk and then yoghurt from homemade oat milk in an easiyo please?
Hi there, constantly i used to check blog posts here early
in the morning, since i enjoy to find out more and more.
First try using the Easiyo. It was Passionfruit greek style yogurt followed instructions but even after 24 hours it was still runny. Any tips? What am I doing wrong?