Recipe: Kenwood Yogurella - Concact Info and General Instructions

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Kenwood Yogurella YM100 Yogurt Maker
Review and General Instructions by Suzan, 2-19-01

I love yoghurt, but not the over-sweetened stuff that is to be found in British supermarkets. I prefer natural yoghurt to which I add fresh fruit or honey, or just pour onto my breakfast cereal. So I was thrilled to receive the Kenwood YM100 Yogurella as a present from my husband, and I couldn't wait to make my first batch of pure, plain yoghurt.

The yoghurt maker is comprised of a base unit with a short lead and plug, an indicator light which remains on while the yoghurt maker is connected to the mains, a clear lid, an hour reminder which you set to remind you when the yoghurt is ready and six glass jars with white, plastic lids. (You can buy more jars.)

Before using the yoghurt maker for the first time it is vital that you clean and sterilize the glass jars, a measuring jug, a spoon and a sieve. You can either use a food-grade sterilizer, or plunge the items into very hot (but not boiling) water. Preferably, allow the items to air dry to avoid transferring germs from a tea towel.

The yoghurt can be made with full, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. You need to measure five glass jarfuls of milk into a high-sided saucepan. You will also need one jarful of natural yoghurt (either bought or made from a previous batch). Heat the milk until it starts to climb the sides of the saucepan (don't take your eyes off it). . Let it cool to about 96 degrees F (a kitchen thermometer is useful) and then pour the milk through the sieve into the jug.

Next, stir your starter jar of yoghurt into the milk and then divide the mixture between the six glass jars, close the lids securely, put them into the base unit and switch on. Set the hour reminder so that you will know when the yoghurt is done. If you are making the yoghurt with full fat milk it takes about four hours and skimmed milk takes about six.

When the yoghurt is ready, take the jars out of the yoghurt maker and place in the fridge to cool. Once cool, the yoghurt is ready to eat.

You may find when you come to eat the yoghurt that a liquid has formed on the top. This is whey and you can either stir it into the yoghurt or pour it off.

Well, after all that effort, is it worth it?

The yoghurt is not bad. It is mild and pleasant tasting. However, it is a little too runny for my liking. It is recommended that you can thicken the yoghurt by stirring in two tablespoons of powdered milk to the liquid milk before it is boiled I don't know if this works, as I never buy powdered milk.

Also, it is best to take the yoghurt out of the yoghurt maker as soon as it is ready: if the yoghurt is kept warm for too long it acquires an acidy taste and a granular texture. I had to throw a whole batch away because of this.

My one gripe is that the hour reminder is just that a reminder. It is not a timer, so you do have to remember to switch the yoghurt maker off when the time is up. Still, I suppose you can't have it all for 18.

I do use my yoghurt maker from time to time but I do still prefer commercial natural yoghurt because I don't seem able to get my homemade yoghurt to the same delicious thickness. Having said that, it is fine for pouring on cereal or using in cooking. All in all, not a bad buy.