Fromagère yaourtière

[Chancer]

Anyone got one?

Are they any good?

How does the fromage blanc and yoghurts compare to shop bough ones?

Finally do you get the weight/volume out that you put in, ie 1 liter milk = 1 litre yoghurt/fromage?

Oh and can you use the standard UHT milk?

I am tempted by the one in Aldi tomorrow, I get through 3kg of fromage blanc and 1.5kg of yoghurt per week, making my own could save €2.50 per week which on my budget is significant.

Or is it a real work up to use?

Any comments welcomed.

[Clair]

I have one like this one, which I bought from Lakeland many, many years ago.

(Edit: I have looked at the Lakeland one and I can tell you I certainly didn't pay that much for mine!)

It didn't come with the special cheese insert (the one with the holes), but I have a fine mesh filter when I want a soft cheese for whatever reason and I have a spare insert to make even more yoghurt!

It makes 1 litre at a time, and I have used it regularly since I first bought it.

Previous discussions:

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/1838578/showPost.aspx

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/1858118/showPost.aspx

I still use the Easy-Yo mixes mentioned in the first thread.

I buy them in bulk from wherever is cheaper at the time and they last ages, way beyond the sell-by date. I bought the last batch from Easy-Yo directly, though they came from the UK agent.

For info, Lakeland have a good selection of the range and their delivery is now a fixed £7.50 charge.

[idun]

I never bought a machine just had a big food flask. We would heat the flask with some boiling water.  Next step was to heat long life milk in a pan to body temperature, beat in a plain yoghurt and a few tablespoons of whole dried milk. Put that in the warmed flask and then the next morning there'd be yoghurt. I'd bottle it and put it in the fridge and eat that evening.

Then use the equivilent of a pot of 'my' yoghurt to start the next batch.

I have never made fromage blanc, but if I did, I'd put a petit suisse into the warmed milk instead of yoghurt and a bit of something acid to turn it a little, what, well maybe lemon juice. I'm sure it would set and then need seiving in a muslin cloth over night. In fact I usually seived my bought fromage blanc anyway. LOL........(I'm not Cameron I know it means 'laugh out loud) and I could be wrong about that, but I'd give it a try in my food flask. Don't know how I would start the next batch of this......... if it works ofcourse!

Would I buy a machine, no I would not when I have a useful alternative.

[Clair]

[quote user="idun"]... Next step was to heat long life milk in a pan to body temperature, beat in a plain yoghurt and a few tablespoons of whole dried milk...[/quote]

... and that's when my dinner would make a come-back [+o(]!

I have never ever voluntarily drunk milk and the smell of heated milk makes me want to vomit... Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!

And that's one of the reasons the yoghurt-maker is perfect for me! [:D]

[idun]

I love warm milk.

And I find that the smell of 'fresh' yoghurt a bit sickly/sour before it is refridgerated to be honest about it.

 

Any kids Clair? and if so, how did you cope with the biberons?

 

 

[Clair]

[quote user="idun"]Any kids Clair? [/quote]

Kind of you to offer, but no thank you! [:D]

I did do a lot of babysitting, though, and baby bottles were never a problem, as most of them were filled with hot water and some sort of powder mix. All I had to do was to add one to to other and shake! [:D]

[Val_2]

I use a yoghurt maker and found it very successful and it was good for OH too as I knew what went into them and no sugar etc. I have tried the dried yoghurt additives that you find with the flour,dried yeast etc in the supers and it works well if you don't have an ordinary one to put in the milk mix and they do flavours as well. We got the machine from Darty but you can get replacement jars and lids in most shops but I have to say the packets of flavouring they supplied with the machine are extremely expensive to buy on their own,tasted synthetic and you do better with fresh fruit or jam etc. It takes approx 15hrs to set the yoghurts so I start off early evening so they are done for breakfast time ready to chill and eat later

[idun]

I am obviously a cheap skate, and I'll stick with my food flask.

[Chancer]

I bought one, its just an expensive food flask  [:P]

I only bought it as it has une faiselle and it means I can now have fromage blanc when I am in the UK, also being quite small (for a kitchen appliance) is important.

I doubt that other than the initial try out I will use it for yoghurt, it only costs me €1.09 for 1250g of natural yoghurt, the saving would be less than 50cts taking into account using one pot of normal yoghurt to demarrer it, at least with the throw away pots I have some control over my portions, I cant see me buying and faffing around cleaning the glass pots.

[Chancer]

Mmm, looks like my first batch of fromage blanc is going to be runny, it appears that I need présure, I gather that its available in pharmacies but the ones around here seem to price everything as if the customers mutuelle will be paying for it, is it available in the grand surfaces or hard discounters?

What is it called in English for when I am there.

[idun]

I thought it was just something to separate the milk, so an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. I suppose if I was properly making cheese I'd have to look into it further, but I don't think that I would go out and buy something for fromage blanc. Whatever you use, I would only use a couple of drops of it.

Curious to know what others use....... daresay I should look up a fromage blanc recette[Www]

[Chancer]

Its something that comes from a veals stomach, and yes I think its to seperate out the curd from the whey, I should know as i used to make dairy processing equipment, I think I found the breweries more interesting, in fact as I am writing this "rennet" springs to mind [I]

As I want mainly large volumes of fromage blanc and only the occasional fromage frais I am hoping that it will work without the extra cost of the contents of a cows stomach.

[Clair]

I have just checked the price of the présure I have in the fridge: 5.70€ for a 9ml little tube.

You only need a couple of drops per batch of 1 litre of milk and it keeps for ages.

[NormanH]

I buy Fromage blanc both battu and faisselle from the market, but am unsure of the difference between that and fromage frais

Can one of you explain?

[Chancer]

I will try!

Fromage blanc (battu) is the more liquid one with the viscosity of a light greek yoghurt, I have not found it in the UK.

Faiselle (they usually drop the fromage blanc) has a plastic liner seive, the thicker curds are retained within it and the whey runs through into the outer container, its thicker, creamier and more homogenous than cottage cheese, also tastes different and I am pretty convinced that what is sold as fromage frais in the UK is just drained faiselle.

I can actually but Normandy faiselle in the UK but unsurprisingly it costs more.

[NormanH]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRLuA0eIhlw

weird accent!

http://www.lesfoodies.com/magaliechoco/recette/fromage-blanc-en-faisselle

[Chancer]

WAFFLE [:-))]

He must be a Montee Pitonn fan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXH_12QWWg8

[Chancer]

An update.

I am very pleased with my purchase, made a couple of mistakes along the way but thats how I learn, you need full fat milk and preferably 20% fromage blanc although it works quite well with 1.5%.

The yoghurt was OK but a bit of a faff, I really bought it for making fromage blanc and I am delighted, using Lidl sterilised whole milk at 59cts per litre the texture and taste is far better than the bought fromage blanc and 70cts per pot cheaper.

I have already recovered my investment and wish I had bought a second one for the UK.

I will try out the faiselle when I can buy some whey at a reasonable price, also I ham hoping that it will make good greek yoghurt but need to try that when I can get to Tesco or Asda.

[Val_2]

Petit Suisse is another of much the same type of thing, I use it to bulk up marscapone or whipping cream for trifles etc.

[Chancer]

I will give either it or greek yoghurt a go, I am not sure though that a change of bacterial culture alone will ensure the thickened yoghurt, perhaps their is some other processing involved or maybe some rennet.

Still its fun experimenting and nothing goes to waste, my first batch of fromage blanc I just renamed yoghurt.

[NormanH]

When I used to make yoghurt in the UK I reduced the milk by two thirds by boiling it, cooling it before adding the live yoghurt obviously.

This gives a thicker version.

[Val_2]

We went for a meal with some  friends a few weeks ago and one of the deserts was home made yoghurt.Well I thought I was going to throw up there and then it was dreadful. I asked her low long the machine had been on for, she replied 3 hours so no wonder it was like water and to boot, she had used unpasturised milk from the farm next door which made me squirm as I cannot digest milk in it's liquid state apart from in drinks and food. How we managed to get it down us I don't know,but my stomach and my son's was not too good during the night. 

[basilbrush]

Really interested to read this thread. Just got back from holiday in the Languedoc and already missing the array of fromage blancs. Why can you not get it in the UK? Madness! So how did you make yours with the yaoourtiere?

[idun]

Some of the fromage blanc I used to buy in France changed their label a little during my last few years and were often called fromage frais........ which I have seen in the UK. I haven't bought it, as I don't like fromage blanc which is creamy, I like moulé a la louche, so 'lumpier' I suppose.

[Chancer]

[quote user="basilbrush"]Really interested to read this thread. Just got back from holiday in the Languedoc and already missing the array of fromage blancs. Why can you not get it in the UK? Madness! So how did you make yours with the yaoourtiere?
[/quote]

Some of the supermarkets sell it marked as fromage frais, of course the next time you go there will be a complete absence as if it was never sold there, Tesco's also sell (sold) a faiselle version from Normandy as well as Normandy creme fraiche.

I have settled into a rythm with my yaoutiére, I buy a kilo of fromage blanc on monday (€1.29) use a couple of spoonfulls with a pint of whole UHT milk and make the first batch, when thats done I do another, the 3kg then lasts me the week and costs overall 82cts the kilo.