Easi Yo

We've all seen EasiYo in the supermarkets, and many of us have an EasiYo maker in the pantry. EasiYo's inventor, Len Light, was the first in the world to invent a successful home yoghurt making kit.

The need was there: cheap supermarket yoghurt often contains preservatives and other nasties. Expensive yoghurt is... expensive, especially when, as Len did, you've got eight children. And all store-bought yoghurt suffers from the fact that the precious bacterial culture, the part that brings all the health benefits, deteriorates over time. By the time you get yoghurt home it isn't nearly as good for you as it was when fresh.

If only everyone, everywhere could easily eat cheap, fresh, pure yoghurt. With that idea in mind Len Light did what any Kiwi man would do. He disappeared into his shed. The 'Easi' part was the hard part. People have always made yoghurt at home, but only dedicated people who are probably, let's face it, slightly nutty. You need a double-boiler and a 'culture' that's been kept alive, and you have to keep the yoghurt at 38 degrees for 7 hours, which unless you live in Darwin, is tricky.

In other words making yoghurt at home was really hard and nobody really bothered to do it.