초록 ▼

A kitchen appliance for preparing yogurt, soft frozen yogurt and ice cream, hard frozen yogurt and ice cream, and cheese. The appliance includes a housing having a base and side walls defining an open top. A motor-driven paddle device is rotationally journaled with respect to the cover and base and

A kitchen appliance for preparing yogurt, soft frozen yogurt and ice cream, hard frozen yogurt and ice cream, and cheese. The appliance includes a housing having a base and side walls defining an open top. A motor-driven paddle device is rotationally journaled with respect to the cover and base and the motor therefor is adapted to be driven either continuously or with a predetermined duty cycle, dependent upon the product being made. Also mounted on either the cover or the base is a vent hole occluder that is normally positioned to block the vent holes in the cover or base, but which shifts to a second position uncovering those vent holes when the consistency of the product being produced, as tested by the paddle motion or other apparatus reveals that a predetermined cultured state has been reached. Shifting of the occluding device from the covering position to the open position also actuates a switch to shut off the drive motor and a warming element. When a frozen yogurt product is desired, a pre-chilled freezing bowl can be placed in the housing and the paddle used to scrape the frozen yogurt from the walls of the freezing bowl.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A kitchen appliance for automatically making yogurt from a milk product through a culturing process, comprising:(a) a housing defining a chamber adapted to be warmed to a predetermined culturing temperature by an electrical current; and(b) means for automatically interrup

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A kitchen appliance for automatically making yogurt from a milk product through a culturing process, comprising:(a) a housing defining a chamber adapted to be warmed to a predetermined culturing temperature by an electrical current; and(b) means for automatically interrupting the electrical current upon the milk product reaching a predetermined cultured state.