Friday 23 September 2016

Kitchen equipment


I am told that I am a very difficult person to buy presents for but I suspect that could be said of most ladies "of a certain age".  We just don't want more "stuff", we get picky about toiletries, we don't want calorific treats - the list of what we don't want goes on and on.


All this means that if I express the smallest interest in something there is a real danger that someone will remember and I receive it for my birthday or Christmas.  I happened to mention yoghurt makers last year and this came in my stocking.  It's an electric model from Lakeland and it makes lovely yoghurt, about 500g at a time.  I've had a lovely time buying various live yoghurts and using them as cultures.  I've also bought Easiyo and some dried cultures.  

I like the dried cultures best.  I make a batch using UHT milk and skim milk powder, eat it, and use the last little bit as a culture for the next lot.  Some of the yoghurt gets turned into cheese and if one ignores the initial cost of the machine, it's very economical. 

But there's the rub.  I can ignore the cost of the machine as it was a gift.  I make a batch most weeks and I reckon it's about 20p per 500g cheaper than an equivalent natural yoghurt so over a year I will have saved £10.  I'd have to make and eat steadily at that rate for two years to break even and that ignores the cost of electricity.

I like my yoghurt maker.  I find it convenient and I enjoy the yoghurt and the cheese that I make.  Will I replace it when it breaks down?  I doubt it.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information. Its always great to see someone else´s perspective on things. I agree that with age you know what you want. Every year I get the same toiletries from a friend Im not fond of them but they get used up by the kitchen sink inside an old soap dispenser and in the shower for both of us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the information. Its always great to see someone else´s perspective on things. I agree that with age you know what you want. Every year I get the same toiletries from a friend Im not fond of them but they get used up by the kitchen sink inside an old soap dispenser and in the shower for both of us.

    ReplyDelete