Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was eager to try making homemade yoghurt. However, I knew if it was not easy and cheap,then I would not keep up with it. This yoghurt maker has been the answer to both! Please see the recipe below for making yoghurt with this yoghurt maker without the manufacturer recommended (expensive packets). 1. It is SOOO easy to figure out. Easy directions, no strict time, no electricity.... Follow the directions enclosed, of course. There is no plugging in and no super strict time that you have to adhere to. Basically, you have yoghurt in 8 hours but if you forget, it is still good until up to 24 hours. It just gets tarter as time goes on...Also, you don't have to be worried about leaving the house with something plugged in because you don't plug it in. It uses no electricity. You could easily leave the house in the morning and have yoghurt ready to be refrigerated that night. 2. It is SOOO easy to make the yoghurt. There are two ways to use it to make yoghurt. a. The first way is easy and yummy but too expensive for my big family if you use it according to the manufacturer with water and the powders that Easiyo sells. Yum, but expensive unless you live in the UK, Australia or New Zealand. So it is easy but not cheap for us in the USA. b. However, there is an easy way to make yoghurt with this yoghurt maker and keep the cost to a minimum. THE CHEAP AND EASY RECIPE FOR PLAIN YOGHURT (WITHOUT THE POWDER PACKETS AND ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS): Ingredients: 4 CUPS OF MILK(organic, fat-free, full-fat, whatever) 1/2 CUP of POWDERED MILK (optional, use it if you like it thicker like Greek or Dannon yoghurt; if you like Yoplait or more European style, then leave it out...) STARTER (use a tablespoon of organic plain yoghurt like Dannon Natural OR I read you can use a couple teaspoonfuls of the Easiyo packet of freeze dried powder they sell OR I read you can buy starter at your local natural food store, or ask a friend who makes yoghurt to give you a little from their batch so you can start your own...) DIRECTIONS: 1. Put the milk in a microwave safe container and cover it loosely. Nuke it on high until it hits 180 degrees (each microwave it different but you'll find how long yours takes to do this) so that it is scalded or do this stove top. OR eyeball it and stop the microwave just before it boils. This breaks down the cells of the milk so it gets a smoother yoghurt in the end. I read about this online in reference to the chemistry of yoghurt. 2. Put the milk in the fridge until it is COLD (if you want exact, then around 40 degrees F)... Put half the milk in the Easiyo container with the starter and the powdered milk (if you want the thicker yoghurt). Put on the lid. Shake and then add the remaining milk and shake up again. Keep the container in the fridge so it stays super cold until you insert it into the thermos. IF YOUR MILK MIXTURE IS NOT SUPERCOLD, YOU WILL KILL THE GOOD BACTERIA (THAT IS IN THE STARTER)WHEN YOU PUT IT INTO THE THERMOS THAT CONTAINS THE BOILING WATER & YOUR YOGHURT WILL NOT TURN OUT RIGHT.... 3. Boil the water stove top to pour into the thermos, and proceed as directed in instructions. 4. Then 8 to 12 hours later you take it out. Don't shake it, but put it into the fridge to completely chill. This helps further the growth of the good bacteria and gets it nice and thick. Yum! Be sure to save a few spoonfuls as starter for your next batch! If you are a organic type, I have read nothing but great reviews on the probiotic organic yoghurt packet that Easiyo sells. Do your research, but you could use that Easiyo organic packet for your first batch and then use organic milk for subsequent batches... saving a little yoghurt to use as startern for the next batch each time... I recommend getting another container and the lunch containers. I recommend buying one or two packets of the Easiyo powder just to make your first batch. I keep saving a few tablespoons for the next batch. I read that you can do this about 6 months until you need to buy a fresh starter... RECIPE FOR VANILLA OR COFFEE YOGHURT If you would like vanilla yoghurt, don't use imitation vanilla as it prevents the yoghurt from thickening. Take one cup of your plain yoghurt, one TBS. sugar (or 1 packet artifical sweetener like Splenda or Tuvia) and a little vanilla, maybe some cinammon. Yum! I also add a little coffee to make coffee yoghurt sometimes... I am so addicted. I love Dannon Vanilla and Coffee Yoghurt so this is a treat for me! I have a big family so I make a batch every morning and every evening just about. I am saving about 1/2 the cost of vanilla dannon yoghurt I think, as it is just the cost of milk and optional powdered milk, some sugar, and some vanilla extract....