Frequently Asked Questions

In order to grow, lactic cultures require heat and a source of milk sugar (lactose) on which to feed. They all have an optimal heat at which to grow (between 40-50°C).

The unique baffle system inside the EasiYo Yogurt Maker produces the controlled heat needed to activate all the LACTIC CULTURES present in the EasiYo Base and Culture Sachets. Our freeze dried cultures reactivate and divide in the perfect conditions in the EasiYo Yogurt Maker.

YES. It has an unconditional 12-month full replacement guarantee from date of purchase.

We have always been well aware of the problems encountered with plastics. As our yogurt bases are natural products, it is critical that we provide a completely safe system in which to make it. The plastic we use has a very high softening point (well above boiling point) and has been approved by every country in which it is used, as passing all that country's food grade requirements. This includes all the components, even the colour pigments used in all the various parts that make up the EasiYo Yogurt Maker and/or EasiYo jar. Also all the EasiYo Yogurt Maker components are polycarbonate free and contain no environmental hormones.

The EasiYo Yogurt Maker has been made to withstand constant and tough handling. However, there may be some parts (such as the yogurt jar lid) that do get damaged or lost in which case you could contact EasiYo Head Office (address on the back of each sachet), for a replacement.

These are available at most stockists of EasiYo products or available online as part of a pack including two jars and two lunchtakers.

Clean with a damp cloth only. Do not immerse Yogurt Maker in water.

The lid is only designed to clip, for ease of removal. It does not need to hold tightly and can be just placed on top unless small children are present.

The contents of the yogurt sachets consist of the highest quality New Zealand milk powder and lactic cultures.

They do not contain stabilisers, emulsifiers, artificial colouring or preservatives. All the flavours are nature identical (meaning they are derived from the plant or fruit they are named after, or from other vegetable or fruit with similar elements).

You just add clean drinking water.

All EasiYo yogurts contain Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Some certain products also contain the Bifidobacteria strain. The combination gives EasiYo its wonderful taste and texture. EasiYo BioLife Yogurt also contains additional probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM cultures which is beneficial for your digestive health.

All the EasiYo Yogurt sachets contain no artificial colouring, no stabilizers, emulsifiers or preservatives!

The flavours are nature identical ie. from a natural vegetable source but not necessarily from the flavour named ie. citric acid can be obtained from various sources, some more reliable than others, so the flavours are made up from elements combined together to make a flavour resemble what it is copying. These flavours are usually more shelf stable than natural flavours which is the reason so many manufacturers use them. NONE of our flavours are artificial. They are all derived from naturally occurring compounds. They are all approved by the NZ & Australian Food Regulations Authority.

Yes, it is EasiYo company policy to not use genetically modified ingredients in any of their products.

None of the EasiYo Yogurt Bases contain any gluten or wheat.

Yes, soya lecithin is present in small amounts in the whole milk powder to help the fat dissolve in water easily. It is not present in the skim milk powder but we have to state it on the packaging as there may be traces.

Yes. However, as they contain dairy, they are not suitable for vegans.

Lactose intolerance occurs when an individual lacks the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose into simple sugars. EasiYo yogurts typically contain around 3% lactose in the final product. This is slightly less than cow's milk (~4.6%).

Some of the lactose is broken down into lactic acid during fermentation. However, it is thought that yogurt is particularly special because the yogurt cultures contain enzymes which are released in the intestine that can break down the lactose. This is why yogurt with even comparable lactose content to standard milk may be suitable for mildly lactose intolerant people.

You can make yogurt any way you like to, but we suggest that all other ways of making yogurt are unreliable, messy and time-consuming. The EasiYo system is designed to eliminate the hassles of incubating and stabilising milk. The EasiYo system is designed to make yogurt easy and affordable so that you make delicious yogurt every time.

EasiYo plain and unsweetened low fat yogurts have no added sugar making them suitable for diabetics.

It is a suggested best before date only, not a use by date! If it makes yogurt then it has produced lactic acid which bad bugs can't live in, so it is perfectly OK to eat.

In addition to the lactic acid cultures Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, EasiYo BioLife Reduced Fat, Boysenberry and Nectarine also contain Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM culture, which is highly beneficial for your digestive health when sufficient quantities are consumed regularly (one 200g serving daily).

EasiYo is a living thing and can change with changes in the tap water temperature for example. Also there can be slight changes in the milk powder between seasons ie. the cows stop milking between April and November in NZ so the milk powder at the beginning and end of a season does vary a small amount.

Sometimes the yogurt needs to stay in the Yogurt Maker a little longer in order to set. In colder months you can add a little warm water to the cold tap when first mixing the yogurt powder in BUT make sure the water remains cool (tepid) and not warm or hot. This should make the product work faster. However in warm climates you need to watch that the temperatures do not get too hot inside the Yogurt Maker. Leaving out 1cm of the boiling water in the Yogurt Maker should work.

Because EasiYo yogurt is a 'live' product and contains no thickening agents there is a variation in normal setting times depending on how quickly the temperature changes inside the Yogurt Maker. This depends on whether you live in a warm or cold climate to a small extent.

No. Do not do this. It will only make everything too hot. Just leave a little longer and it should set.

If using cold water from the fridge in your jar then you should take the chill off ie warm it up to at least 15°C!

This is an expensive and unreliable method of making yogurt at home and will not ensure you of all the lactic cultures present in our EasiYo Yogurt.

The yogurt will keep in the EasiYo Yogurt Maker for up to 24 hours without it being adversely affected.

Whey (the liquid) being 'expressed' from the yogurt is part of a natural process. Commercial chiller yogurts often contain thickeners and stabilisers to absorb the expressed whey, but as EasiYo Yogurt contains no such additives the whey is best mixed back into the yogurt as it is very nutritious.

Alternatively, you may like to strain the whey and make use of it in your cooking.

Up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Neither of these methods is recommended because of their unreliability. EasiYo simply makes it cheaper, safer and easier, and it works every time!

It is both pasteurized and also homogenised.

Halal certified shows that the food is prepared in an acceptable way to conform to Muslim custom and EasiYo has been audited and registered as Halal.

As long as your baby can eat solids then he/she can eat EasiYo yogurts. The cultures in EasiYo break down the nutrients into more absorbable forms so plain yogurt is an ideal food for babies.

Yes of course EasiYo yogurt is especially good for pregnant women because it is high in Calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals.

As a dairy product, EasiYo Yogurt does contain a small amount of cholesterol. However the effect of yogurt cultures has been shown to normalise cholesterol in the body. Medical scientists continue to explore the exact mechanisms for this cholesterol lowering effect by beneficial bacteria. They suspect that lactobacillus bacteria and bifidobacteria decrease blood levels of cholesterol by either increased intestinal absorption and removal through solid excretion, or by limiting the conversion of cholesterol back into bile acids for storage in the liver.

Cholesterol Levels in EasiYo:-
EasiYo NATURAL YOGURT: 109 mg per 140 g powder or 10.9 mg per 100 g made-up yogurt
EasiYo SKIMMERS YOGURT: 27.7mg per 140 g powder or 2.8 mg per 100 g of made-up yogurt

Calcium, of which there is an abundance in the EasiYo yogurt, plays a wonderful role in weight management as shown by a wealth of recent research. Children seem to have an ability to know what their body needs (if presented with good healthy food) and as long as there is daily exercise, they can't really overdose on good food.

Lactose intolerant is different to being allergic to milk (cow's) protein!

If you are the first ie. lactose intolerant, then you should be able to have yogurt, as almost all of the lactose has been converted into two simple sugars that almost everyone can tolerate.

If however you are protein allergic, then you definitely will have to convert to a non dairy milk base. You can source a non dairy starter from the chiller (soy) and use this to inoculate your goat, sheep, soya milk (boil first if it is not UHT already, then cool to 45°C before adding culture)

They do contain casein because they are dairy based.

The litre boxes of Soy Milk are usually UHT so it does not have to be boiled.

Just add a couple of tablespoons of EasiYo Yogurt to the Soy Milk and incubate as per normal instructions in the EasiYo Yogurt Maker. Some may work, some may not. The Soy Milk needs to be very fresh i.e. have a long Best Before date.

Half-fill the yogurt jar with cool drinking water and completely dissolve 2-4 tablespoons of sugar before adding the sachet contents. Top up with more cool water and proceed with the yogurt making procedure as normal. Alternatively, add sweeteners or honey to your made-up yogurt when it is set.

Add the EasiYo Fruit Toppings after the yogurt is made and chilled. However you can add whatever you like to your made-up EasiYo Yogurt. For instance, it is a great accompaniment to cereal and fresh or stewed fruit.

No, because it upsets the pH balance in the yogurt which can disrupt the culture activity. This defeats the purpose of making fresh yogurt.

The cultures are freeze dried which means all the moisture is extracted and the cultures can 'hibernate' without losing much of their viability. We are currently carrying out testing to prove that lactic acid and probiotic cultures are much more stable and therefore more viable when stored in a dehydrated system (i.e. EasiYo yogurt base) than in made-up form such as store bought yogurt - watch this space for developments!

The cultures we use are freeze dried; a little like a seed that, for a certain period of time, is able to remain in a stable form before it is reactivated. In this dormant state i.e. without moisture or warmth, our cultures are good over the 18-month shelf life of the product. The process we use is designed to maintain the largest number of viable bacteria cultures that can be produced. It is also the method of keeping the most cultures viable for longer!

The very fact that you make your yogurt fresh with EasiYo guarantees the most live cultures you can get. Store bought yogurt may not even have many live cultures left in it once it is finally consumed. This is because cultures have a limited lifetime so you need to eat your yogurt freshly-made. By law, yogurt must contain millions of live cultures per spoonful (at the time of manufacture). A spoonful of EasiYo yogurt contains billions. The important thing with yogurt is to eat it fresh!

The number of live cultures is at its highest on the day that you make your EasiYo Yogurt. 1 gram of freshly-made EasiYo Yogurt after 8 hours in the making process contains around 1 billion live cultures.

EasiYo did extensive research on their cultures to make sure they survive in plentiful numbers for the duration of their made up shelf life i.e. the two weeks indicated on the instructions. The tests on our yogurts indicate there are millions of live cultures still present in every spoonful after these two weeks.

As these cultures are living organisms, the numbers do fluctuate depending on such things as outside temperatures, water temperature etc, but you are always guaranteed "real" yogurt, in other words EasiYo Yogurt always contains cultures in sufficient numbers for the consumer to reap the benefits that only live cultures deliver.

After freezing, the mix should have a sorbet consistency. Otherwise, break down into small pieces for ease of beating (loosen any corner pieces). Beat with an electric beater (not a blender) on high for about 5 minutes, until mixture is more than double its volume.

EasiYo Ice Cream has less than 7g of fat in every 1cup (250ml) serving, much less than ordinary Ice Cream.

Many diabetics have said they find the product most satisfactory but do consult your health professional.

Either it is not beaten up enough (it needs to be beaten until it reaches 2.5 times its original volume. If it is beaten only to double its volume the food solids to water ratio will be too high and it will set too firmly.) or it has been beaten too much and there is too much air in the mixture which will make it too icy. If you prefer soft serve rather than ice cream you can put your made-up Ice Cream in the microwave for a minute. It will soften without melting down.

They are approved food emulsifiers that is commonly used in ice cream manufacture:
- E477 propane - 1, 2diol esters of fatty acids
- E471 mono and di-glycerides of fatty acids
- E481 sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

They are made primarily from fruit, with added sugar, maize starch (no gluten and GM free), nature identical flavour, natural colour, preservatives and water. Some contain citric acid to prevent discolouration and loss of flavour.

No. Maize starch is used as the suspending agent in the toppings. Unlike wheat, maize does not normally contain gluten.

Yes. Sucrose and natural fruit sugars.

Preservatives have been added to guarantee the shelf life (prevent the growth of yeast and moulds). They are at levels less than those specified by the New Zealand Food Regulations. They are either 202 potassium sorbate or 223, sodium metabisulphate, or a combination of these two.

No, they don't need refrigeration but in extremely hot climates you may prefer to refrigerate them to prolong the shelf life.