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: Homemake yogurt - Yummy!
Summary: 5 Stars
This little machine does a wonderful job in my yogurt-making experience. Homemade yogurt has the livest yogurt cultures comparing with the store bought ones. So it has more nutritional values. And it is so easy to make. You will find simple instructions in the manual. Just want to point out a couple of things:
1. You could use cold milk (not what the manual recommends) because eventually the yogurt maker will warm the milk up to the temp the yogurt cultures can "bloom" ; However, it takes much longer time if you want to have a firm texture;
2. Yogurt starter matters. It is too expensive to use store bought plain yogurt (I could only find quart size plain yogurt) as starter and eventually the results becomes very watery. I was able to make only the first batch nice and firm. By the time I finished my yogurt - about a week, the cultures in the store-bought plain yogurt are not lively and I got very watery result for the second batch. So around $3.00 to only be able to make 1 batch of firm yogurt?
So I searched for yogurt starter. The price without shipping ranges from $2 to $5 for 2 packages of 5 gram - each package makes a quart. Still too expensive to make yogurt regularly. So I did some research on the yogurt cultures. All commercially made yogurt in US is required to have these two types of cultures: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus. They could also be found in all yogurt starters. In addition to those, other cultures like Lactobacillus acidophilus are commonly added in yogurt starters as well. After a few days, my research has finally paid off. I found out that the Acidophilus supplement in the local pharmacies has all these live cultures and it could be used to make yogurt. (GNC brand has a nice blend of these 3 cultures) I got a bottle of 100 tablet for about $6. Grind 2 tablets (each has 1.5 billion live cultures) as starter to make a quart of firm, consistent and delicious yogurt.
3. If you got watery results, watch the milk temperature - the colder the milk, the longer it takes (more than 12 hours); sometimes cold milk kills the cultures, so you could only have watery results.
Have fun and eat healthy!
Customer Review: The Best Yogurt I've Ever Eaten
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this thing! It is so simple to use and makes GREAT yogurt.
As was suggested by one of the other customers, I started using wide mouth quart jars. With the screw on lids, there is less of a chance of a spill and I have the freedom to make a second batch while the first is cooling. It couldn't be easier to use. You simply add dry milk to a quart of milk (I use 1%), heat it (I use a candy thermometer to get it to between 150 and 175 degrees), cool it to about 100 degrees, stir in your yogurt culture, put it in the jars, and put it in the yogurt maker. 4 hours later, take it out and put it into the refrigerator. About two hours after that you have a quart of perfect yogurt.
I bought mine in conjunction with the Yogurt Cheese maker and usually strain the result to make even thicker European Style yogurt.
The directions say you may have to start over with a new culture after a few batches because the culture will get weak. I have yet to have a problem but perhaps it is because I make about 2 batches a week. My daughter and I flavor it with homemade sugar-free jam and it's a great after school or after work snack. I don't think either of us will ever eat store bought yogurt again.
When comparing yogurt makers, I looked at several different models. I considered one that turns off when it's finished cooking, but you still have to take it out and put it into the refrigerator. With this one, I simply set a reminder in my cell phone. I can then set it for another hour or two if the yogurt is not thick enough. This only happened once because I heated the milk for two batches at one and put the second into the refrigerator while the first batch cooked so I put it into the yogurt maker cold. I also looked at several models with multiple small jars. This seemed like too much effort to be worth it. I like the one jar idea much better.
I am working on some healthy recipes as well and have made cheese cake with the strained yogurt. It is not quite as good as the real thing, but considering it is actually good for you, it really can't be beat!
Customer Review: Excellent Product!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I did not use the plastic yogurt container. I used a quart size glass Mason jar and metal lid with band. I sterilized the jar and a spoon in boiling water. I brought one quart of milk in a saucepan to 185 degrees (using a candy thermometer). I then let it cool to 110, which took about half an hour. Then I added 1/16 teaspoon of DCI freeze dried yogurt cultures from Dairy Connection. This culture is supposed to make a thick and mild yogurt. I poured the milk in the Mason jar and put the whole thing in the Salton incubator. I left it there for seven hours. When I opened it, I saw the yogurt had formed into a solid curd and smelled WONDERFUL! There was very thin layer of whey on the top. I closed the jar and set it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day I stirred in the whey and put a little bit it in a bowl for myself and also gave some to my Rottweiler in his own bowl. I couldn't believe how great the yogurt was. It was mild, just a tiny bit tart, and quite thick. It tasted like high-quality plain store bought. I used whole milk and no milk powder. It was still very thick with this particular culture. I will add some milk powder next time for even more thickening and extra calcium. My Rottweiler loved the yogurt and lapped it up eagerly. The incubator kept it perfectly warm for seven hours and I had perfect yogurt AT A FRACTION OF THE COST of store bought! I had very little whey and the texture was not lumpy throughout. It was very smooth.
I have read that one key to success is sterilizing all equipment that will come in contact with the milk/yogurt. This seemed to work. I sterlized the candy thermometer, a stainless steel spoon, my stainless steel measuring spoon, the Mason jar, and the metal lid. Everything was sterile and the yogurt was perfect the first time I ever made it. Using a candy thermometer is imperative for perfect yogurt.
This product will pay for itself in no time. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. It is SO SIMPLE that you really can't afford NOT to have one!
Customer Review: Love it!- don't know what is up with the price right now- I only paid $20 or $30 not $149.
Summary: 4 Stars
(right now they have the yogurt machine at $149 which I can't believe, I bought mine for either $20 or $30 on amazon about 5 months ago so you may want to search elsewhere for it.)
I love this machine and I've had it now for about 5 months. I have two little girls that eat ALOT of yogurt and organic at that. Yobaby is around $4 for 6 little containers and has added sugar, this way I can make organic yogurt with no added sugar for cheap. I make at least one batch a week but sometimes as much as 3. I've only had a bad batch once and it could have been because it was so hot in my house that it affected the temp. in the machine or it could have been that I saw a crumb get into the batch as I made it and that could have killed the culture. The only negative I have for the machine is that the plug has a warning about it having lead in it (that's why it didn't get 5 stars), the only other negative is the plastic container but I use a glass canning jar which fits perfect and works fine.
I do hate how they call this a yogurt "maker", you actually make the yogurt and the machine acts like a thermos keeping it at the right temp. Making the yogurt is simple:
I heat milk in the microwave for 6 or so minutes (I used to take the temp but after making it so many times I know how much it takes) and then let it sit for 20-30 min., put in a 1/2 cup of yogurt (I usually use Brown Cow or Stoneyfield as my starter) and put in the machine for 12-24 hours (the longer it is in there the thicker it is). This yogurt is tangier than normal yogurt but my 2.5 year old loves honey in hers and my 9 month old just has it plain.
I also bought the Donvier yogurt cheese maker with the machine and I love making yogurt cheese, it is such a healthier alternative to sour cream and cream cheese. I use it for dips and in recipes. I couldn't believe how much I used it once I had it. The contraption works great and I like how it has a top and everything for storage in the fridge. I highly recommend buying this with the machine.
Customer Review: Homemade Yogurt is the BEST !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Salton YM9 1-Quart Yogurt Maker was on my Wish List for over a year. My family finally got the hint and ordered it for my birthday, along with the Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker, and the The Book Of Yogurt by Sonia Uvezian.
I have been making a quart of fresh, homemade yogurt a week since I got these items and I am very pleased with the outcome. The Salton "incubator" is easy to use; my only problem with the design is the slot and channel for the included spoon (which you don't really need) makes cleanup a little more time consuming. The unit includes a brief instruction guide which was simple to follow and was sufficient to get me up and running. Where Salton suggests a candy or deep-frying thermometer, I've been having great success with a Taylor digital readout "chef's" stem-type thermometer. It was under $15.00 and very accurate for yougurt making. Many home cooks already have one in their kitchen anyway.
The Cheese Maker is basically a high-quality stainless steel mesh strainer suspended in a heavy-duty plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. When a batch of yougurt is complete, spoon up to 1 cup of it into this device, and place it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. The result is a thick, creamy "cheese", the consistency of sour cream or even whipped cream cheese. Since I use fat-free milk to make the yogurt, the cheese is a great, guilt-free substitute for cream cheese, and can substitute for it in almost any recipe. In the Donvier booklet is a recipe for a yogurt cheesecake I'm just dying to try! Although the same results can be obtained by using a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl, the Donvier unit takes up less space in the refrigerator and is fairly easy to clean.
The Book Of Yogurt by Sonia Uvezian contains many international recipes from every food category, as well as basic instructions for yogurt making that embellish what comes with the yogurt maker itself. I've tried a few, and they are wonderful.