Euro Cuisine GY50 Greek Yogurt Maker with Ultra Fine Mesh Strainer Basket, BPA Free, Patented Greek Yogurt Strainer for Homemade Greek Yogurt (White)

OH MY Gosh this is a great product. I have read the negative reviews and it is almost like we have different items.. We run a community house and we are fermenting foods especially yogurt and kefir ...for health and to save money. The GY50 works better than regular strainers and you can store the yogurt after you have strained it in it very easily. We tried several strainers and colandars with a variety of things in them. We work with DV victims, combat veterans, the homeless etc...many people come to us in poor health and we teach cooking and techniques for a healthy lifestyle on a low income using organic and whole foods. Making yogurt is definitely part of this process. Real Homemade Greek Yogurt is as Good or Better than store bought with no extra additives or thickeners. You can get an amazing product and it is alot cheaper which is important if you are low income and using food stamps or supplies from the food bank. We really wish Organic whole food was available to everyone. We think it would cut medical bills for the country in a big way. For us this is a health investment.We looked at many heating yogurt machines but due to volume we make on a weekly basis decided to keep our method going, which is basically to do a gallon batch each time. We use a pressure cooker to heat/cool down milk, We then put culture in and put in quart mason jars, we are moving to two quart jars purchased from Amazon.Com because they fit inside the Pressure Cooker when we are fermenting. Please note the cooker is not on heat. We just add warm water and and close the lid... and then ferment over night in the pressure cooker, then pour into Euro Cuisine CY50 Greek Yogurt Maker....this item is actually NOT a yogurt maker from the perspective that it does not ferment the yogurt, it is a full size (2) quart strainer. It is sort of like a giant coffee strainer. It holds the large size of "Nancy's Honey Cultured Yogurt" perfectly. You get several cups of whey out of it. We turn our whey into lemonade and other drinks for people to consume for the culture and health benefits which include ulcers and gasteric problems. We ferment our own yogurt as well as use Nancy's as a backup because we eat so much weekly. It is really a shame so many Americans suffer from stomach and gut problems including surgeries when they can eat their medicine and enjoy it! We tried other methods to strain yogurt but decided on this product because of the cost and the fact we do not like to strain products into paper towels or coffee filters. It is easy to clean to but we keep adding yogurt to it and putting it back in the fridge! Some of the reviews say this product is fragile. I have not experienced this. It might be because we use plastic utensils and avoid metal because with Kefir fermentation metal can change the flavor. When you first put in the yogurt it can be runny. We spoon it in and then just pour on top when we get to the bottom of our quart and two quart jars. It sets up in a few hours but if you like it extra firm let it set up overnight. Using cream or 1/2 and 1/2 during fermentation is absolutely divine. The Euro Cuisine GY50 Maker Works great either straining yogurt you just made or prepared yogurt into creamy Greek Style yogurt. We are making yogurt cheese as we speak. You just let it drain a litte bit longer. We would definitely purchase this item again. We plan on having fermenting parties to teach others how to do this. Amazon is a great place to get supplies and the prices seem to be the best. We know down the road we will want another one. Even the die hard, "I don't eat yogurt" change their minds after eating homemade Greek Yogurt. We are not kidding...it is really amazing stuff. We are plugging Nancy's Cultured products as a prepared yogurt to use because of the volume but there are many others that simply cost more. Either way it is much cheaper to make Greek Yogurt from scratch or straining your own. We paid for this Amazon purchase in in 4 cultured batches.www.harmonyhealingheartservices.org

Euro Strainer is the perfect finishing tool for homemade yogurt. I only drain mine for 30 minutes - 2 hours even though it indicates 3-12 hours. This gives me about .5 cups (30 minutes) to 1.5 cups of whey which is perfect for whey bread that I talk about later. The Euro Strainer will hold 2 quarts of yogurt. So, after I make my yogurt either in the pressure cooker (more later) or the microwave/stovetop & oven method, I put the bowl or pressure cooker inner pot into the refrigerator to cool and thicken. Wipe the condensation from the lid.I put the cooled yogurt in the Euro Strainer and put back in the fridge for about 2 hours. When finished & with the lid on, I give it one big flip then drop it about 2" from the counter. A majority of the yogurt will then be removed from the strainer onto the lip. If you did a full 2 quarts of milk, you need to work quickly especially if you didn't strain 3+ hours. I move it to individual containers or two quart mason / ball jars for storage. You will want to get a flat knife or spatula and gently remove any remaining yogurt from the strainer. Be very careful, as it's a fine mesh and you don't want to detach. I then flip it over and use my faucet sprayer working from the outside with it tilted down to drain flushed yogurt into the sink. Spray around the mesh completely removing the yogurt. DO NOT LET THE YOGURT SET UP OR IT WILL BE HARD TO REMOVE. I put it somewhere safe to dry. I flavor my yogurt with stevia & vanilla about 1/8 tsp per cup. Two quarts of milk will yield about 7 cups of yogurt. I add berries as we eat it. The Euro Strainer is a perfect "END" to a great batch of homemade yogurt.YOGURT STARTER: If you are making yogurt starter for your next batch which I what I do every 6th batch, fill your ice cube trays with the plain yogurt before straining or flavoring. When yogurt cubes are set, move to a ziplock for freezer storage. I use two cubes that I lay out to thaw when I start my next yogurt batch. Once slightly thawed, use a fork or knife to break into half to thaw a little quicker.YOGURT TIPS - When I first started making yogurt I brought it to 185 on the stove. I quickly moved to the microwave method and found 16 minutes of 2 quarts of milk in a 2 quart pyrex glass measuring cup (pour pitcher) gives me 185 degree. Stir every 3-4 minutes to get rid of cold spots. You then need to cool to below 120 or you will kill your yogurt bacteria. You can either leave it on the counter for a slow cool or put in a sink of ice cold water. Stirring every so often to cool quicker. By now, your yogurt cubes should be melted and be in your pyrex / bowl or inner pot. As soon as your milk hits 120, pour about a cup of milk back into the pyrex dish or bowl if you are doing the oven method or into the inner pot if doing a pressure cooker method. Stir it around good, then add the remaining milk and stir again.To incubate the yogurt, I put in my Instant Pot which has a yogurt mode setting it for 10 hours and normal pressure. Note, that pressure isn't used, but there is a low setting (Jiu Niang) and a high to scald (I find it's easier in the MW). You aren't under pressure, so you can use a glass Instant Pot lid or with the regular IP lid you can vent or close. When its finished, I wipe the condensation off the top and move to the fridge.You can do the oven method too instead of the Instant Pot. I turn my electric oven on the lowest it will go which is 170. I turn the light on. To incubate, move the yogurt in a bowl/pyrex covered with saran wrap to the oven. Turn off the oven. Do not open the door. Leave for 10 hours with the light on to keep it about 100 degrees.For those without a pressure cooker with yogurt mode or electric oven, I've heard of the hot water method with mason jars in a cooler. People wrap their pressure cookers with a towel. I've not used any of these, but google for more info.WHEY - This old gal has a great whey bread recipe on her site. I use half white and half whole wheat, plus the 1.5 cups of whey, salt and yeast. It's a no knead bread. DO NOT THROW THE WHEY away. It's very nutritious and can be used different ways if you google it. I've even drank it. Think of it as a shot of healthiness.I hope this review helps and although I went into additional details, anyone using a Euro Strainer wants to know how you make the yogurt to strain and also what to do with the whey !!! The price of a gallon of milk is so cheap. A half gallon of milk will yield 7 cups of great yogurt. It's worth the time to make healthy yogurt. If you liked this review, please be sure to mark it was helpful. Thanks.

This makes great yogurt with very little effort. I pour milk into my instant pot, heat it to 185 degrees, cool it to 110 degrees, then add a few tablespoons of yogurt as a starter. 8 hours later I pour the milk mixture into this strainer. I let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days to thoroughly strain it. The finished product is almost as thick as cream cheese. Once it's done straining, I put it in a bowl and mix in a tablespoon of honey and a dash of vanilla.This strainer is essential for getting consistent, good results. The yogurt is delicious and after a week of eating it daily, it has helped my gut health. No more bloating, constipation, indigestion.The only suggestion I have to improve the product is to make it a little bigger.

Love it! Makes awesome Greek yogurt and the process is so much easier than cheesecloth or any other strainer I’ve used. Easy to clean, store, and you can set the whole thing in the fridge while it drains.

This is just right for straining a 2-quart batch of my homemade yogurt. The mesh is very fine, so the whey drips through, leaving the yogurt behind to thicken. It’s not overly difficult to remove the yogurt when it’s ready. It’s also easy enough to clean. (It’s not dishwashers safe, but it washes up just fine.)It will take up a good bit of space in the fridge, but let’s be realistic. It has to be large enough to hold 2 quarts of yogurt. That’s the amount I make, so this is the right size fort me.