Lakeland Multi Yoghurt and Soft Cheese Maker Recipes Included

I've been using this yoghurt maker regularly for homemade natural yoghurt, and it has worked exactly as I hoped. So far, I've been using a small pot of supermarket natural yoghurt as the starter culture, and every batch has set beautifully with very little effort. One feature I particularly appreciate is that it maintains a stable temperature throughout the fermentation process. I even used it to make an *L. casei* yoghurt, which requires a much lower temperature and a long fermentation time of around 32 hours. The result was excellent—smooth, thick, and exactly what I was aiming for. That gave me a lot of confidence in how consistently this machine performs. I haven't tried the strainer for making soft cheese or strained yoghurt yet, but it's one of the main reasons I chose this model. I'm already looking forward to using it to make homemade skyr, so it's nice to have that option included without needing extra equipment. **Pros:** * Produces consistently well-set yoghurt. * Maintains temperature reliably, even for long fermentation times. * Easy to use with ordinary supermarket yoghurt as a starter. * Includes a strainer for making strained yoghurt or soft cheese. * Quiet and straightforward to clean - including two massive containers! **Cons:** * The long fermentation times required for some cultures mean the unit is occupied for over a day, although that's a limitation of the recipe rather than the machine. I believe that having a sound timer would be helpful to check the timer when we are far from the kitchen. Overall, this has been an excellent yoghurt maker. It does exactly what it's supposed to do, and the results have been consistently impressive. If you enjoy making yoghurt at home or want the flexibility to experiment with different cultures, this is a reliable and worthwhile appliance.

I bought the previous (original) Lakeland Yoghurt Maker 15 years, or so, ago because it was recommended as one of the few Yoghurt Makers in which it was OK to ferment the yoghurt for 12 hours, which apparently is needed for the bacteria to survive/be of any use in the intestines etc. It was a very simple "on/off" device which always, without fail, produced perfect yoghurt every time. I've long since given up the faffing around of boiling milk, allowing the temperature to drop and then transferring the contents etc. when it's perfectly OK to use U.H.T. milk from cold, as it's already free of bacteria. This results in much less in the way of stuff to have to wash up.. My method: One small pot of Yeo Valley Organic Yoghurt straight in the plastic container and stirring in a litre of U.H.T. Whole Milk. I've never used Semi-Skimmed/Skimmed and ferment for 12 hours. Sadly, a few days ago, my Yoghurt Maker decided to stop working. The light came on, but it didn't get warm and after 12 hours, I ended up with cold milk. So, I decided to buy it again, given that 15 years was a pretty good bargain/bet. It was then that I discovered that Lakeland have updated the design. Having read any number of reviews and watched a few videos, some of which were less than complimentary, I was, to say the least, more than a little trepidatious about buying the "upgrade!" When it arrived, I immediately set to making some yoghurt and followed the instructions (apart from the fact that I used 1 litre of U.H.T. milk straight into the blue container, stirred into a small pot of live yoghurt.) I apprehensively watched and waited for the 12 hours @ 42 degrees. When the time was up, I lifted the lid (no condensation) to discover that it had set perfectly. I was concerned that the plastic pot would be difficult to lift out as it had no handles, unlike the previous model (see pic) but, it lifted out really easily and went straight into the fridge. Luckily the top shelf of my fridge is just low enough for it to fit in. This morning, I tested it with some sliced banana and a handful of blueberries for breakfast and it tasted wonderful, just slightly "tart." The timer is a nice touch, although, like some, I wish there were a "bleep" sound to let you know when it's done. The unit looks great and takes up less room on my kitchen counter than the previous model. Another possible plus may be that it'll be easier to clean than the previous model, as the white lid is less bulky and the pot doesn't contain a recessed ridge, where yoghurt used to get trapped, making it difficult to remove, when washing it up. Regarding the recommendations in the user manual. I can see no reason why they insist that the yoghurt should be used up within 4 days. I've never had any issues with yoghurt keeping in the fridge for well over a week. But, that's up to the individual. Early days, of course, but, first impressions, I'm very impressed with this unit. Whether it (or myself) will last another 15 years, remains to be seen. Time will tell. I'll pop back in a few weeks with an update. But, as things stand, fingers crossed, it appears to be a decent upgrade on the earlier model.

I've made yogurt in the slow cooker lots of times, it's a bit of a faff and takes up lots of space on the counter, but always tastes lovely. I purchased the Lakeland yogurt maker purely for the small size, and to regain my work top. I'm so glad I did! I made my first batch yesterday and have the best yogurt that I've ever tasted for breakfast this morning. I made Greek yogurt i e. Strained after it's finished in the maker. After 10 hrs straining (over night) It's perfectly smooth, deliciously thick, so thick in fact that I needed to add some whey back into it to be able to get a spoon into it, and has a lovely flavour. Slow cooker yogurt needs to be left a day or two for the flavour to develop, the constant steady heat of the yogurt maker means that the fermentation process is on point and that flavour is there from the beginning. I like my yogurt quite sour, so next time I'll adjust the timings and add an extra hour or two, a great feature of this machine is that you can program it to your own tastes! There are a couple of negatives, none of the components are dishwasher safe so everything must be meticulously washed by hand (cleanliness is vital for yogurt making) and I'd love for it to have a larger capacity, 1.6l of milk yielded only 700g of extra exta thick Greek yogurt, about the ratio I'd expect, but I'd love to make more in one go. The strainer can only hold 1l of yogurt, so I had to strain the rest through tradational cheese cloth. The instructions do state this, but I wanted a larger batch. The strainer itself is very fine though, not a drop of yogurt escaped and is easy to use far easier than messing with cheese cloth! On the whole this is an excellent piece of kit, and I'd definitely purchase it again. Make sure you also purchase a food thermometer (£4-5ish) if you are yogurt making for the first time, you can't make it without one, and that's something that's not stated in the description. Now back to my incredible breakfast!

Being new to making yoghurt, I tried to make it 3 times and I failed. So I decided I would buy a yoghurt maker. Im glad I did because I have been making yoghurt regularly now and its really easy with this. If you're new like me, just know that you still have to heat the milk up yourself on the hob and add the starter yoghurt (I thought you could just put everything in this maker and it'd do it for you). It makes a good amount of regular yoghurt but if you strain it, you do lose about half, I find the strainer can make Greek yoghurt but if you want thick skyr like yoghurt (like me!) then I would suggest buying a cheese cloth because I've found it has better straining capability and helps make the yoghurt really thick. I personally dont think this maker is great if you want to make family size batch greek yoghurt but for a couple or single person, it will be great. My only wish is that I wish it had larger scale making capacity because now Im yoghurt crazy!

Simple to use, easy to clean, and doesn't take up much room on the worktop. I've had no problems with the thermostat, perfect yogurt every time. Great value for money

Compact attractive yogurt maker, I was replacing a very old Easiyo yoghurt maker that had got rather beaten up. Also, I wanted something more reliable for making Kefir which requires a lower temperature, not easy in an old chilly house:) This suits me well only very slightly more expensive, and more consistent results. Also, extra container and strainer for cheese and Greek Yogurt. Another added benefit is it holds more than a litre, as usually use UHT and use up the whole carton. 5 stars all round :)

This is more style over substance. It’s a very poor replacement for the original Lakeland yoghurt maker that we’ve used for years. Maybe that’s it – it lasted too long, and wasn’t making much of a profit. Before this, it was 900ml UHT milk and a couple of dessert spoonfuls of Yeo Valley organic natural yoghurt, mixed together with a spoon, left overnight in the gentle heat of the yoghurt maker and in the morning, wake up to a lovely smooth yoghurt. Alas, that machine packed up, so I went online and, after checking ‘Top Picks’ and ‘Best Yoghurt Maker’ reviews, the Lakeland one stood out from the rest. A no brainer I thought. I tried this way and that – using the UHT milk as before, full milk and semi-skimmed milk. None of them looked or tasted like smooth yoghurt, the consistency was very thin and didn’t even look very good. The ingredients were as fresh as you can get. I did notice that a lot of reviews mentioned inconsistency in the temperature, and found that the base of the unit inside was very hot, compared to the gentle heat of original model. Boiling the milk and all that faff was a real pain – guess it’s the ‘health and safety’ attitude that’s so pervasive in today's ‘nanny state’. The instructions state that for the large container (1.8l) 165ml of starter yoghurt is used in 1485ml of milk. That’s equivalent to just over 11 tablespoonfuls, or more than a small shop bought natural yoghurt, which is a ridiculous and excessive amount. The height of the containers is quite impractical too, making it difficult to store in most fridges. This is a very poor replacement to the original model, cheaply made in China. Lakeland are well known for selling quality products, but have let themselves down badly in this case. Have returned it to Amazon for a full refund. Back to shop bought yoghurt in future.

I bought this Lakeland yoghurt and soft cheese maker because I wanted to try making yoghurt at home, and I am really pleased with it. It feels simple to use, even if you have not made yoghurt before. The included recipes are helpful and give you a good starting point. What I like most is that it makes the process feel easy and less scary. You prepare everything, leave it to do its job, and later you have homemade yoghurt. It is nice knowing what ingredients are going into it, and you can make it plain or adjust it to your own taste. It is also useful that it can make soft cheese as well, not just yoghurt. It does take time, but most of that time is just waiting, so it is not hard work. Overall, I am very happy with it. It is a practical, enjoyable kitchen gadget and a good choice if you like making fresh food at home.

Seen i bought the cheese/yoghurt maker i didn’t buy any yoghurt from the supermarket

So much plastic we sent it back. Even the inner bowl was plastic.