Customer Reviews

Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

What's good:
1. Large capacity, can make two batch sizes.
2. Water bath for even heating.
3. Digital thermometer.
4. Cheesecloth bag included for making yogurt-cheese.
5. Avoids the hassle of little single-serving containers.

What's bad:
1. No way to view the yogurt's progress without significantly disturbing it. When you're dealing with incubation periods anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours, a window would be nice to give you an idea.
2. Exploding lid. I've actually had both lids blow off while incubating from the gases created by the culture, as others have mentioned, and found them halfway across the counter. At best, you have to be careful when removing the lid even when you're ready. When you lift the jar out of the machine, you have to catch the edge of the lid to lift it out -- and that can cause problems and mess if it pops too easily.
3. No time indicator, nor any other kind of indicator. I also have the Donvier maker with small serving cups, and it has a digital timer with automatic shutoff. Not necessary, but would be a nice feature for this price. You need to actually be there to shut it off (and make sure the lid doesn't blow off midway through).
4. The batch jar it comes with is plastic instead of glass. It does have a tight seal, however, and keeps the yogurt fresh for weeks.
5. It does get very hot. I don't incubate more than 8 hours, but have tested the water and found it at 123 degrees at around 3 hours.
6. For this price, you basically get a plastic vat that heats up and has a light to indicate it's on. That's it. This machine does not remove any of the guesswork. I've been making yogurt for years, and I've still screwed up many batches with this one. When you're growing bacteria, there's little room for error. Also, you still have to go through the process of heating to sterilize, cooling, etc., as you would with any machine.

Recommended? Maybe. I use it more than the Donvier simply because of the container size.

A couple of tips:
1. Soy-based yogurt is very difficult to get right. If you're like me and you don't mind eating dairy, but you want to eat more soy and prefer to avoid saturated fat, try using a quart of creamy soy milk (not light!) and adding 1/2 cup dry dairy milk powder to it, plus sugar and any flavor extracts. It makes an absolutely thick and creamy, delicious yogurt that sets up properly and has no weird flavor. I have experimented with pectin and do not like it -- adding additional milk powder thickens the yogurt nicely.
2. Honey is naturally antibacterial, and therefore will impede your culture. Don't sweeten with honey before culturing -- use it afterward if you like it.
3. Do not use a starter yogurt that contains a lot of gelatin. It's very difficult to get it to mix evenly with your warm milk, even if you pour the warm milk into the starter a little at a time.
4. Unfortunately, almond milk and hazelnut milk do not work, even if mixed with some cow's milk. However, coconut milk (full fat) or coconut cream make an incredible, rich silky yogurt when mixed with dairy milk.

I have made three batches of yogurt with a 24hr-ferment time and have been very pleased. I did use Yogourmet starter and have had thick, creamy yogurt each time. I like that the yogurt maker comes with a thermometer for when the milk is heated prior to making the yogurt.
My yogurt maker does not get very warm to the touch, even after 24 hours, but I will have to check that with a thermometer the next time I make yogurt (tonight) because there have been concerns voiced here that the yogurt gets too hot for the probiotics to survive.
I have been completely happy with this product so far!
Ok--news flash update--I have been checking the yogurt with a thermometer and it has been fermenting at the same temp for 19hrs which is about 110F. The Yogourmet therm. has a green line on it and that is right where the temp. staying--well under 120F. I doubt it will suddenly heat up in the next sev. hours. I AM happy with this yogurt maker!

Prior to purchasing the Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker, I had never made yogurt before. I saw this on sale at Amazon and decided now was the time to get started. My first batch turned out well, and I am anxious to start trying out adding fruit and other extras.

However...I was slightly disappointed because I thought buying a yogurt maker would mean that all I would need to do is dump together the ingredients in the yogurt maker, turn it on, and wait. Instead, there turned out to be several steps: heat the milk on the stovetop to 180F, wait for the milk to cool down to 112F, and add some kind of thickener to the milk if desired (such as powdered milk or unflavored gelatin). None of these steps were hinted at in the product description. The purpose of the yogurt maker, apparently, is to then keep this mixture held at the appropriate temperature for several hours to allow the yogurt to form.

Now, I'm not complaining that I needed to do a little work in the kitchen...I certainly don't mind spending the time. My point is simply this: If you are buying this yogurt maker thinking that it does all the work for you, note that it does not. It IS very useful...I would not want to figure out another way to maintain the desired temperature for 4 or 5 hours. I DO recommend it. Just know that it's not a "put-in-the-ingredients-and-forget-about-it" kind of device.

The product is great, makes yogurt making really easy. However the water in the basin gets too hot. If it is culturing for more than 10 hours the water gets too hot to sustain the good bacteria. to do a 24 hour culture you need to replace the water several times. And caution if you use the CBA starter, do not put the water in the basin with it plugged in until you are ready to put the yogurt in, the water will heat too fast. This culture needs to gradually reach a little over a 100 degrees and not go into it right away.

I tried making yogurt without a yogurt-maker, but it's too hit and miss. Keeping the temperature constant is apparently a bigger deal than I'd read. Now that I have my Yógourmet maker, it always turns out fine. FYI, I use Stonyfield Farm plain yogurt as a starter. I buy a quart at a time and freeze it into cubes to use whenever I make a batch.

I use generic powdered milk (Kroger brand) instead of liquid because it's always fresh. It's much cheaper, too! To make my yogurt thick, I use 1/3 more powder than recommended. I've also experimented with adding gelatin to the water before adding the powdered milk. If you do this, be sure not to use too much gelatin or you'll get stiff jello-yogurt! Also, gelatin must be added to a very small amount of water to "soften" it first. If you make the mistake of pouring dry gelatin directly into a pot of water, you get a blob which won't dissolve no matter what you do!

Now I make two quarts of yogurt at a time with my Yógourmet yogurt maker, and I never have yogurt which is too runny or weird.

I own the original 1970's yogourmet yogurt maker and it is still working like new (the only way to tell it's that old is the 'old style' power cord on it ;)

the thick walls of the unit allows for gentle heating and the water bath maintains a more even temperature all the way up the 'bucket' without overheating at the bottom.

when i run out of the yogourmet starter culture (which makes a tangy yogurt), i use a 6oz container of stoneyfield plain yogurt as a starter (which has 6 different cultures and yields a delicate flavor)

once you have discovered real yogurt (that is, tangy and a little runny), you will never be able to eat that overly sweet, wall paper glue of a concoction american dairy companys parade as yogurt.

This yogurt maker offers a size (2 Qt) for serious yogurt aficionados and a handy thermometer that fits inside the tub. I hadn't made yogurt in years, and this incubator was very forgiving as I re-entered the learning curve. My first batch didn't work, likely due to an insufficient amount or substandard quality of starter yogurt. Fortunately, I was armed with the Yogourmet freeze-dried starter packets. Mixed in a double packet for the 2 Qt, used the same milk from the failed original batch, and it worked like a charm. 2% organic milk, and 3/4 cup powdered milk. Also purchased the Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese strainer to make thick Greek yogurt. Word of caution--my yogurt maker runs a little bit on the warm side. Unplugged the unit after 3 hours, and continued the incubation with the unit turned off. Excellent results.

You really don't need a yogurt maker--all you need is something to keep your yogurt at the same warm temperature. Some people use a warm oven, others a heating pad or the top of the fridge. That said, I like having a yogurt maker, it makes things easier. But the complicated part of yogurt making is heating the milk to a particular temperature then cooling it again. As far as I can see there is no need to spend more on a yogurt maker. I love the fact that this one makes two quarts--I eat a lot of yogurt and I don't want it in little 6oz containers.

The directions that come with this maker tell you to buy their starter--you don't need to. Just use yogurt. I recommend following yogurt making instructions you find on the internet instead of their instructions. Good luck!

The yogurt maker is pretty simple to operate and is as advertised. Depending on the type of milk, and the length of incubation time effects the consistency of the yogurt.I have made several batches with organic milk, soy milk, and low fat milk. Instead of spending $16.00 for an extra batch jar, I pour out to a seperate container, and can reuse the 1 jar that it came with, and if you save at least 1/2 cup of fresh yogurt, you can use that as your starter, instead of paying for a packet every time.

This is a yogurt maker for life! I just love it! It is easy to use and I especially like the capacity. An extra batch jar gives you that added bit of luxury... you can buy a gallon of milk and process it in 2 successive cycles (e.g. a day and a night)! That is pretty important here in Hawaii where milk prices are so high. And yes, I eat all of that just by myself! The yogurt stays perfectly fresh in the refrigerator for quite a while. I read that with some yogurt makers the yoghurt might not come out well with high ambient temperatures, but this one does just fine! At home in Belgium, we had a yogurt maker that had 6-7 individual glass jars. I actually like the "one big jar" better, because you have less washing up to do, and the big plastic jar doesn't have nasty edges behind which yogurt can get stuck. Moreover, I once accidentally dropped the other yogurt maker and every single little glass jar was broken!! No need to worry about that with this one (though I wouldn't go ahead and frequently smash it on the floor!). Anyway, it's a great thing to have, and I will keep on making my own yoghurt for the rest of my life! The two minor improvements that could be done are the following:
- include a timer
- offer them in one other (darker) color than white