Importance

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Abstract

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.

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First Claim