Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker
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List Price: Our Price: $49.15 You Save: $0.80 (2%) Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker
Customer Review: Great but not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
My first batch used soy milk and it didn't turn out. Stunk bad and didn't thicken. If you use milk powder it is supposed to help.
Used whole milk the 2nd time and it turned out. I heated 2 quarts of milk in the microwave. Three 5 minute intervals and stirred after each interval...I'm not sure if this step is really necessary but they say it is for purity. Reached 160 degrees...supposed to be 180 but I called it good.
After cooling (40 min), used yogurt maker for 4 1/2 hours. It turned out sour and good but it is plain yogurt. I did use a starter that I bought in a health food store for $5.00. You get 3 starters to make 2 quarts each. As an update I can not find this any longer, I've been using the Danon Greek yogurt as starter and it is very good.
All in all it's okay. It is work like any other kitchen appliance but it has potential. I've discovered 1% milk works great with a little gelatin.
A perfect product would be you dump everything in a container and it comes out as strawberry yogurt!
Also I think a con is the price. Didn't even come with the starter. A crock pot has a lot more involved and half the price. As an update, I've never used a crock for making yogurt, I just meant there is more to a crockpot appliance and 1/2 the price
Update: I paid 30 something...the price of this has skyrocketed.
Customer Review: Love It
Summary: 5 Stars
Back in the 80s the only yogurt maker I could find that made 1/2 gal. at a time was called Big Batch. It was great but eventually broke. I have not found one since then for that size until this one and it is as good a unit as Big Batch. Really fresh tasting and not too sour.
I was spending at least $9 a month on yogurt. Now it's costing me less that $3 for the same amount of yogurt.
I was concerned the yogurt may not be thick enough, but following the simple directions and using 1/2 Cup of pure store bought yogurt
as a starter, [ I think the directions call for 1 or 2 TBS but I just go with 1/2 C] after about 4 1/2 hours, it is definitely thick. 4 hours could work and 5 hours may produce even thicker yogurt but I don't know.
I have a plastic funnel that I kept from the 80s, that is used to drain the whey to make a super thick yogurt. I mix it using a 1 to 1 ratio with sour cream. It tastes 99% as good as sour cream and it is 50% healthier.
The yogurt starter I use is from Walmart and it has L-acidophiles bacteria. I've read that the L-Bulgarious bacteria is better, so I may get to a health store and find some of that to use.
It will cost more but I plan to use organic raw milk soon. It should be heated very slowly to 180 degrees.
Customer Review: Perfect Greek Yoghurt every time
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this so much I have purchased two others for gifts. Don't bother with the package mixes, just buy one small carton of Greek yoghurt with active cultures (important) at your local grocery store. Heat 2 quarts of milk (whole produces the richest yoghurt) as directed, put a couple of tablespoons of the Greek yoghurt in the bottom of the container as a starter, add a few spoonfuls of warm milk, mix well into a slurry, roll the container almost on it's side so sides are coated, pour in the rest of the milk (try not to wash down the sides) and put the inner container in the outer container with water measured to the given lines. Put on the lids and let it process 24 hours (not 12) and don't peek or stir. Carefully turn the yoghurt into a large sieve like you would use to sift flour sitting on top of a larger bowl. The yoghurt should be firm enough so it will not go through the sieve but the whey will drain through. Let it drain about an hour so that there is almost as much whey as yoghurt and you are done. Oh, we like to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of honey and mix well while it is still warm and this is the best time and way to eat it. If you use skim milk you will get more whey and less yoghurt. Save the last of your batch to start a new one and you don't have to buy any.Customer Review: It couldn't have been any better!
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Customer Review: Works great
Summary: 5 Stars
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.