How to make yogurt

finally, after a long hiatus, im back!

alright, all these are saved in the draft for eons.

today, i'll show everyone how to make yogurt in the simplest way possible! im a lazy person and this method works brilliantly

i use Easiyo yogurt maker, courtesy of besties Poh and Wong. haha! shipped all the way home from Glasgow.

the debut of this yogurt maker was using the Easiyo powder yogurt. very delicious indeed but too expensive. RM16.80 for one packet.
disadvantage no 1: kayjay cant eat
disadvantage no2: expensive
hb loves this but nope, due to the disadvantages, i am not buying this again.
many flavours are available and i chose Boysenberry

the yogurt maker has 4 compartments. the far end on the right is the cover, followed by the yogurt container, the red stand and the body of the maker, i would call it the insulator. it is to insulate, keep the yogurt batch warm for fermentation.
the red stand is to be put into the insulator and all u have to do is pour hot boiling water into the insulator until the top of the red stand. means the water level has to be just nicely flooding the red stand. after u've prepared the yogurt batch/mix, just place the yogurt container gently into the insulator as the yogurt container will sit on the red stand. cover the yogurt maker/insulator and put it at one corner undisturbed. come back again after 8 hours and u'll get home made yogurt!
ok, here goes on how to make the yogurt batch.

using this Easiyo packet is ultra simple! dont need any brains to do it. empty the packet into the container and add water. thats it! dont need yogurt starter or what not.

i did not give this batch of yogurt to kayjay though. it is sweet! so its a no no :)


now how do we make yogurt from milk and starter from scratch?

im thinking of showing photos but on second thoughts, i must not wait anymore. if i do not do it now, god knows how long it'll stay in the draft again.

i hate those recipes where they call for boiling milk! ugh. i wouldnt know the temperature and u would have to wait till the temperature dropped to a certain degree before putting in the starter.

so i found this method which is a keeper!

1. Milk - i use fresh milk. Room temperature milk. i place the chilled carton on the table until the coolness is gone. u will see puddles of water on the table, from the condensation of the milk.
2. Milk powder - use this if u want to have a thicker texture. i go by approximation, about 3 tbs of milk powder made up to 1/3 of a glass and pour it into the yogurt container.
3. Yogurt starter - Natural flavour commercial yogurt. i've tried Marigold and Danone. i prefer Marigold! danone is too runny as we prefer thicker type, they call it Greek yogurt. this is the last step, stir in ~ 3tbs into the yogurt mixture and cover it.

you are done!

the steps above are in order. add milk into the container until about 3/4, then pour in dissolved milk powder and lastly stir in the yogurt starter.

i always wait until atleast 8 hours before i bring out the yogurt batch from the maker and chilled it. never tried shorter than 8. it seems i read, the longer it sits in the maker, the thicker the yogurt becomes. u can experiment.

additional info which ive extracted :

It is important to sterilize equipments used as the live cultures are delicate little germs that will perish in wrong temperature or unsterilized environment. Give all equipments (jars, spoons, measuring cups) a hot water bath and let them dry on their own. Do not wipe.

Each time you make yogurt you will need some starter. You can use your own starter, but over time it looses its potency and your yogurt will not turn out. So I always begin with store bought yogurt. You can freeze your starter yogurt in ice cube trays so that it is convenient to have on hand.