Salton YM9 1-Quart Yogurt Maker
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Our Price: $169.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Salton YM9 1-Quart Yogurt Maker
Customer Review: Quite the little trooper
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Salton quart size yogurt maker and use it fairly often. Here's how I use it to make nonfat yogurt.» Place the Salton yogurt maker in a convenient but out-of-the-way location where it can run for a few days. Plug it in.
» Add one cup of nonfat dry milk powder to a gallon of skim milk and mix well. This makes the resulting yogurt thicker and more nutritious. (I've read that non-instant is better for this but haven't tried it. Any experience with this, anyone?)
» Heat milk to 185-190 degrees F, stirring frequently.
» Cool milk to 110-115 degrees F. (I usually use an ice water bath. Stir the milk frequently and monitor its temperature closely. This only takes a few minutes.)
» Stir a cup to a pint of plain nonfat yogurt with live active cultures (usually from the previous batch, sometimes from a commercial product) into the cooled milk. Whisk well.
» Decant the inoculated milk into the Salton quart container and four other clean wide mouth quart canning jars. Put the Salton container in the yogurt maker and the lidded quart canning jars in the refrigerator.
» Culture the yogurt to your preferred state of solidity and tartness. It's edible in a few hours but becomes stiffer and tarter the longer you leave it. I usually let it go 24 hours (no kidding-I like it tart!).
» When the batch is done, cool it either for several hours or overnight in the fridge or, if you're dying to eat it, more quickly in an ice water bath (no stirring!). At this point the yogurt is setting. If it gets jostled or stirred anytime before it's completely cooled its consistency will be looser and runnier.
» When you're ready to make the next batch (or immediately, to keep the ball rolling until you've processed all your quarts), put a wide mouth canning jar of inoculated milk into the yogurt maker. (I used to just take them directly from the fridge. It works, but the resulting texture of the yogurt is distinctly thicker at the bottom of the jar. Now I zap the milk on half-power in the microwave in 30-second runs, stirring between, until it's at 110-115 degrees F. It works like a charm!)
SUMMARY: The Salton YM9 has been a trouble free unit. The only improvement would be larger capacity, such as the Yogourmet machine has (though at more than twice the price). Knowing what I do, I'd buy it again.
Customer Review: Happy now eating yogurt in California
Summary: 4 Stars
Here's how to make great yogurt with the Salton YM-9 Yogurt Maker.
I live in California, so making fresh yogurt is simpler. California law mandates that liquid milk must be fortified with non-fat milk solids, so I can skip the part about adding nonfat dry milk to my quart of whole milk.
The most imporant things to keep in mind for making yogurt are
(1) all the containers and utensils must be VERY clean;
(2) accurate temperature measurement is essential; and
(3) use a good plain yogurt for starter.
I got a Taylor digital thermometer with a "remote" (long cord) probe. This makes accurately measuring temperature easy. I just put the pot on the stove with 1 quart of milk, set the temperature alarm for 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and give the milk a stir with a wire whisk a couple of times a minute until the alarm says it's hot enough. Why this high a temperature? It's to kill any competing cultures that might have taken root in the milk. If you're starting with a freshly-opened pasteurized bottle, 140 degrees should work fine.
Put the pot of scalded milk in a sink of cold water so you don't have to wait all day for it to cool down, and plug in the empty yogurt maker to preheat it.
Next you wait until the milk temperature drops to 115 degrees Fahrenheit -- NOT the 100-110 mentioned in the included instructions, and stir in your 1/2 cup of starter with live cultures. The cold starter yogurt will drop the temperature enough to be right on target. Pour the milk plus starter into the container, cap it, put it in the yogurt maker, and pop on the lid. Come back in 5 hours.
I like to pour off the whey that's on top of the yogurt then, but you can leave it if you like. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. The resultant yogurt is light and fluffy, with none of the gelatin stiffness of the commercial junk.
If you don't like the level of tartness you can adjust the "cooking" time, with longer = more tart. But if there's anything else amiss with the flavor, you need a different starter with a better balance of live cultures. Shop around until you find one you like.
The only thing wrong with this yogurt maker is the funky container cap, which doesn't lock into place. Minus one star.
Customer Review: why buy another appliance when the oven does better?
Summary: 3 Stars
I was going to buy this yogurt maker, but after I read a review that said there was no thermostat in this machine, despite what the manufacturer claims (someone actually took it apart and looked!) - I decided to do further research. What I found was that I already had everything I needed to make my own yogurt - my oven. My oven has better temperature control and it doesn't take up counter space.
Making yogurt basically involves mixing milk with a "starter" (usually plain, unpasteurized yogurt) and keeping it at a temperature where the "good" bacteria will multiply and turn the rest of the milk into yogurt. Everything needs to be really clean so you don't introduce "bad" bacteria into the mix. Other methods I had heard about involved scalding the milk and sterilizing the containers and everything else -- sounded like a pain. But I found a method that works really well for lazy people like me, with no scalding and no sterilization, and no special equipment:
Get a quart-size carton of milk and some yogurt, both at room temperature. Open the milk carton, pour some out to make room in the carton, and add 1/2 c. of plain yogurt with live cultures (like Straus Creamery or Dannon plain yogurt). Close up the carton again, clip shut, and shake it gently to mix up the milk and yogurt. As for the milk you poured out (you saved it right?), that's going to be your starter for the next batch, so add a couple teaspoons of yogurt to that, give it a good stir, and cover tightly. Get an old (but clean!) bath towel and wrap both in it. Place on a cookie sheet and place in 110 degree F oven. "Bake" at 110 degrees overnight - around 12 hours - remove from oven and refrigerate. Perfect European-style yogurt! (For the thicker American style, add powdered milk along with your yogurt "starter.") Best of all, there's no need to pre-heat/scald the milk (not necessary if you use pasteurized milk) and no cleaning (since you make the yogurt right in the paper milk carton straight from the store). Any size milk carton will work -- just adjust the amount of starter accordingly.
We go through 4 quarts of yogurt a week, so I make 2 big milk cartons' worth each time. If I used the Salton, I would have to run it four times to get the same amount of yogurt.
Customer Review: The Best Little Yogurt Maker In Town.
Summary: 5 Stars
OH! I LOVE THIS THING!
I have used four yogurt makers in my lifetime. My mother made yogurt, and I inherited her maker. It was simply a large pot with a heating element riveted to the bottom. One had to use their own jars, and it worked fine. That was a million years ago. Upon its demise, I found a Salton that had plastic containers, which sat in openings in the base. I didn't care for it. Next there was a low, round-based jobbie, with a dome lid and 7 jars that came with it.
All those cute little round jars to store in the fridge. Yikes!
Then along came this little darling. Oh boy, what a joy!
This Salton is light in weight, compact in design, and cute. It looks like a little baby robot. And this baby puts out some great yogurt. In record time. At five hours, I have a mild yogurt, that is firm, and very easy on the palate.
The price is wonderful. I actually paid less than the currant price because I caught it on sale here at Amazon. It's worth twice what I paid for it. I like it so much, I might buy another one soon as a backup, because nothing lasts forever.
My tag for this item is "Wonderfully Easy To Use". It is. Buy one, you'll love it!
A few minor tips: Do use fresh ingredients as instructed in the recipe book. Do check the yogurt after four hours. It will probably not be ready yet, but may be within 30-60 minutes away. Yogurt gets more sour the longer it incubates. Follow the directions for heating the milk religiously. If it isn't heated enough, the enzymes in the milk (I think that's what it is) will prevent proper thickening. You must NOT let the milk come to a boil.
Don't be afraid to use some extra dried skim milk in your yogurt. I use 3/4 of a cup, and the yogurt I get is of superior texture, and very nicely firm. DO NOT beat the ingredients once you add the yogurt you've used as a starter. Mix them.
It's almost impossible not to get good yogurt with this maker, but it can happen. Don't be discouraged. Try another batch. Just make sure you're following the directions properly, and that everything is nice and fresh. You'll get lovely yogurt that tastes good. And it's good for your tummy too.
Customer Review: My Soy Yogurt Exploits and Packaged Starter Mixes
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I finally got my Salton YM9 Yogurt maker and have made three
batches of Soy Yogurt already using my own homemade Soy milk...
Batch #1: I added 1/4 cup of instant powdered milk to my Soy milk and
used the Yogourmet Freeze-Dried Starter. I cultured this batch for 6
hours and it came out pretty curdy and wasn't a very solid yogurt. It
did have a good flavor though. Since it wasn't too solid, I used this
batch to make Yogurt cheese using a paper cone coffee filter and large
metal sieve. It dripped quite of bit of whey, which I drank and found
very tasty, and I ended up with about 1/4 volume of Soy cheese. It
was really good.
Batch #2: In my second batch I again used 1/4 cup of powdered milk and
used the Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Starter. I cultured this batch for 6
hours also and it came out much better than the first batch. In my
opinion, I really liked the flavor of the Cuisipro Donvier starter
better than the Yogourmet. Both have an excellent flavor, but the
Donvier has a smoother and creamier taste over the Yogourmet. YMMV.
Batch #3: With my third batch I added more powdered milk, 1/2 cup, and
again the Cuisipro Donvier starter. This time I cultured for 8 hours
and it came out way more solid than my last batches. Probably because
of the extra powdered milk and additional 2 hours. The powdered milk
is key for making a solid Soy Yogurt in my opinion. The flavor is
excellent and I am staying with the Cuisipro Donvier starter for
awhile. Note: I am also going to try store bought Yogurt in my later
tests.
I am very happy with my Salton YM9 1 Qt Yogurt maker and with
both the Yogourmet and Donvier Yogurt starters. Here are links to both the Donvier and Yogourment starters...
Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Starter Link: Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Starter
Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter Link: Yogourmet Freeze-Dried Yogurt Starter, 1-Ounce Packet (Pack of 5)
Hope this helps others making Soy Yogurt... The Salton is a keeper.
Dennis