We consume and extraordinary amount of yogurt in our household. We have it for breakfast with fruit or granola or in smoothies, I spoon it over curries and spicy dishes, I mix it with equal parts of lighter-than-light mayo for a low calorie salad dressing/dip, I make cakes with it.

In the autumn of 2015 I had the pleasure of trying out the Hansells Yogurt Starter Kit. They’d sent me one of their starter kits and a selection of different yogurts to try out with it.

I admit I was skeptical.

I’ve been making my own homemade plain natural yogurt for over ten years in one litre batches with an electronic Lakeland yogurt maker. It was really simple – 4 tbsp skimmed milk powder stirred into one litre of UHT supermarket brand full fat milk and one heaped tablespoonful of [a popular UK organic brand] plain natural yogurt as a starter. I could then take one tablespoon from each fresh batch to start off the next lot of yogurt, and repeat for five or six batches. Six litres of plain natural yogurt would cost me about £5. It was fantastic.

Until something changed. The yogurt no longer turned out the way it was supposed to. It was thin and curdled and not like yogurt was supposed to be at all. I suspect the brand of yogurt I was using no longer had as many active cultures in it. After spending such a long time trying to find a decent replacement brand I stopped making my own yogurt and we had to start buying shop bought again.

Until Hansells sent me their yogurt starter kit.

I mind trying another brand starter kit many, many years ago, but the sachets were full of thickeners and sweeteners and the texture was all wrong. Thickeners do not belong in yogurt! So yes, I was skeptical. What exactly was in these sachets of yogurt from Hansells?

The answer? Whole milk powder, four active cultures and two probiotics! No rubbish! Even the flavoured yogurts just have a bit of sugar, some natural flavouring and natural colouring (like beet red).

And they taste fantastic!

They’re so simple to make too. Simply fill the provided 1 kg container half full to the first with cold water from the tap, add the contents of your chosen sachet, pop the lid on and shake, shake, shake (doing a little dance in your kitchen, of course!), fill to the top line, shake again, open the lid slightly to release excess air, and close again. Boil your kettle, fill the yogurt maker to the right line for your climate (we’re in a cold climate so I have to fill it to the top line), pop the tub in, affix the lid and leave for 8-10 hours or overnight and presto – gorgeous, thick, creamy and delicious yogurt!

Each 1 kg batch will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, so you can always have yogurt on hand when needed.

I’m a Hansells convert now. My old Lakeland electric yogurt maker has been given away and there’s always a batch of Hansells yogurt in my fridge now.

The Hansells Yogurt Starter Kit retails for £22.60, but it’s currently on offer from Hansells directly (and Amazon) for only £14, and this includes the yogurt maker, a 1 kg container, 2 x 500 gram containers and six varieties of yogurt to try. You can then buy replacement sachets for between £10-£13 for six – working out to be from £0.83 to £1.13 for 500 grams.

GIVEAWAY

Hansells have very kindly offered the chance for one of my UK readers to win one of their Hansells Yogurt Starter Kits worth £22.60. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below!

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win a Hansells Yogurt Starter Kit worth £22.60, enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winners will need to respond within 30 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Hansells. The prize is to win Hansells Yogurt Starter Kit worth £22.60. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway. The promoter (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary) reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.

Entry into our giveaways will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winners at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries and any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory!

Closing date is midnight (that’s 00:00 hours, 12 am on Friday night/Saturday morning) on Saturday 30 January 2016 (GMT) and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was sent a Hansells Yogurt Starter Kit for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. This is not a paid post.

This post also contains an Amazon affiliate link, highlighted in orange, which means if you click through and make any purchase at all via Amazon we will get a small commission and you will be helping to support our family.