You don't need a yogurt maker to make Yogourmet Kefir AT ALL, so that should take care of the yogurt maker delemma. Yogourmet Kefir Starter ferments milk at room temperature. Both my sister and I would hold back a 1/2-cup portion from a fresh batch to culture the next batch - and it would work about 3 times before we'd need a new package of the powdered Kefir Starter.

Are you confusing Yogourmet Kefir Starter with Yogourmet Yogurt Starter? I sold and used both for years until I quit using them both after I got REAL kefir grains (which last forever).

Another good option to use for a yogurt starter is Stonyfield Farm Yogurt. "It's the only U.S. yogurt brand with six live, active cultures, and the only U.S. brand with Lactobacillus reuteri culture." I used to be able to get it 2-hours away so I'd freeze it in 1-T. amounts in ice cube trays. Then I'd pop the yogurt cubes out of the trays and keep in the freezer until I needed a new starter. I'd thaw the amount I needed in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature just before making yogurt.

What beats any of the powdered Yogourmet Yogurt or Kefir Starters all to heck is REAL kefir grains. Check the link below for more information. Why pay so much for something you can often get free (or the price of shipping) and never need to replenish them EVER again.

Some advantages of using real kefir grains...
(source: "KEFIR Rediscovered!" - by Klaus Kaufmann)

-Milk used for making kefir does NOT have to be preheated like milk for making yogurt, and it is left at room temperature throughout the incubation.

-You can use almost any kind of milk (cold out of the refrigerator).

-The smaller curds make kefir are far more digestible than yogurt.

-Kefir contains "right-turning" lactic acid, usually called L+ lactic acid. How turning left vs. turning right makes a HUGE difference not only on the highways, but in your own bodily pathways.

-Best of all, the cost of making kefir is far below the cost of making yogurt. The REAL kefir (unlike the powdered Yogourmet version) never dies. Thus, kefir cultures do not have to be bought time and again. Kefir grains are "immortal." Yogurt cultures are merely like "humans," they have a birth, childhood and youth stage, an adult stage, and sinking-towards-death stage.

I use kefir as a substitute for buttermilk, cream cheese, sourcream, and plain yogurt. Depending on how long I drain the curd will determine what I use it for. I also use the very important whey as a refreshing beverage, or if you shake the jar of kefir, the curds will quickly liquify and mix with the whey. We consume kefir every day!

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Dom's Kefir In-Site

I have a kefir smoothie every day for breakfast. I buy my kefir from Trader Joe's - I'm not ambitious enough to make my own. I put 1/2 - 3/4 cup kefir in my blender, then add frozen fruit and a little sugar, equal, or splenda. It's fast, easy, healthy, (other than the sugar/sweetener), and delicious. Otherwise I would not have breakfast at all.

I buy frozen fruit or fresh fruit, whatever is on sale. (I freeze the fruit if it's fresh - I like the ice cream like result.) Typically I get strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mango. Bananas are another great addition. I mix and match, but I think my favorite is strawberries, pineapple and raspberries. I don't get the raspberries often, because they are expensive.

I have an old yogurt maker at home but I only used it twice. Instead, I use a heating pad to make my own yogurt. I built an incubator and place the heating pad inside (very easy, I can show you how if you want to see it) with 4 x 500-ml Mason jars filled with cultured milk. Leave it overnight and the next morning, fresh yogurt!

I find the yogurt maker not convenient because the cup size was wrong; too big for one helping, yet too small for two. So I always end up with a bit less than 1/2 cup of yogurt when I open a cup. I also find the taste of my heating pad yogurt much better than the stuff from my yogurt maker... could be the temperature?

I started making plain yogurt using skim milk for my husband and now I begin to play with different ingredients i.e. buttermilk powder and vanilla etc to make it more interesting. Last week, I made a batch with skim milk, buttermilk powder, added one cup of canned coconut milk. My husband loved it!

Yogurt making is so fun and forgiving that you really don't need to pay for a yogurt maker. I enjoy making my own yogurt because it's like little girl doing science projects, a lot of experimental fun!

I've never had a yogurt maker, Elery taught me to make yogurt in a cooler full of hot water, but I use my dehydrator, it's easier and I can get a gallon's worth of yogurt in there easily, in quart canning jars.

I always use skim milk, but I like that addition of coconut milk, I think I'll try that next.

I never bought starter at all, I just used a cup of plain vanilla Dannon to start and now I just use some of my current batch to make the next batch.

Each batch gets a bit more sour and mine is very thick. I'm told that eventually I'll have to get a new starter, but I haven't had to yet.

Annie