# Is a yogurt maker worth it?



## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

So people have mentioned how cheap it is to make your own yogurt. For some reason I always thought of yogurt making as meaning little cups that took a long time to "ferment" or whatever it is yogurt does... which I would then eat very quickly, making yogurt making something of a wasted effort in our house...

But someone mentioned "I can buy milk for XX dollars a gallon, that's .25XX a quart!" and I got to thinking... damn. Yogurt is like $2.50-3 for the non-organic, closer to 4 for organic... that's like $12-16 a gallon. I can buy a gallon of organic milk for $5... or less if I go to the farmer's market...

I saw this on Amazon and I am tempted to make my own. I eat a LOT of yogurt. I have a big bowl every night as my night time snack and I get testy when we run out of yogurt. So I use a quart every 2 days - and that's just me. DH likes it, too, with bananas, and DS likes it in smoothies...

Anyway - here is the yogurt maker -

It just seems it would make it very easy and quick and at a cost of half off per quart - do you get a 1:1 ratio with how much milk you put in?? It would pay for itself here very quickly.

BUT generally I am not a fan of specialized space eating kitchen gadgets so - is this really worth it? Or is there some way to do it without buying anything fancy? I do have a crock pot, if that helps.


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## PlayaMama (Apr 1, 2007)

well, i bought a villi yogurt starter from dogmom's website culturesforhealth.com and it's awesome. it cultures at counter-top temperature or i put it in a sunny window when it's cold and it totally cultures up great. it's not quite as firm as store yogurt but then again, it doesn't have all the firming agents.

we like it a lot, and it's REALLY easy. really.


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## debfsb (Aug 29, 2008)

well, it's worth it if you will use it --
i tried making yogurt w/o a yogurt maker and it was a disaster. i bought a yogurt maker, and it does make it a lot easier to incubate the yogurt. and homemade yogurt is SO delish. but, b/c it's a kitchen gadget, so it sits on the shelf unused most of the time. and, i couldn't tell w/ the one you're looking at, but w/ most yogurt "makers", they really just do the incubation. i still have to heat the milk on the stove and mix in the cultures separately. it's great that yours comes w/ the thermometer, though. there are several websites that give instructions for how to make it w/o an incubator and the super baby foods book gives several methods too. i made such a mess when i tried w/o an incubator, and the yogurt didn't turn out, so i do think it's worth getting one if you will use it regularly.


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## Jennifer3141 (Mar 7, 2004)

I bought the yogurt maker from www.cheesemaking.com and at first, I felt like I'd been ripped off. It's just a plastic tub with an insert and doesn't get plugged in. But here's the thing, it makes PERFECT yogurt every time - even the Greek style. I love it and my yogurt costs have been slashed by about 2/3 because I do use only local and organic milk and organic fruits in it.

My kids love watching the yogurt tub on the counter and knowing that in 24 hours, they are going to have mounds and mounds of what my son calls, "creamies."


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## Mere (Oct 1, 2002)

I agree that you need to use whatever works best for your lifestyle. That said, I'd try out the methods that don't require special equipment first (e.g., crockpot, stove, heating pad). Myself, I use an insulated lunch bag wrapped in a heating pad and it works great







.


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## mommabear207 (Nov 19, 2007)

i have a yogurt maker with the little cups- still have to heat the milk and i just use a little yogurt as starter.i find it a bit of a pain to pour into each cup which i then have to wash plus unless you have extra cups you have to wait til you finish them all to start a new batch.
personally i find it easier to pour into a bowl and leave overnight in myoven-it has a gas pilot light which works perfect plus less mess and more counter space!


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## Mpenny1001 (May 21, 2005)

I have never used a yogurt maker. After I heat and cool the milk and put in the starter, I wrap (or until I remember it, lol). In the winter when we keep the house cool, I'll set it on top of the stove if I happen to have the oven on for something else. If not, I'll heat the oven to 200, turn it off, and put my wrapped pot in there. Perfect yogurt every time!


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## tinuviel_k (Apr 29, 2004)

I really love my yogurt maker. I have the Salton brand that makes a quart at a time. I really recommend it over the Yogourmet maker you are looking at: it is less than half the price: $24 on Amazon instead of $60 for the Yogourmet. And you can use a glass quart-size wide mouth mason jar in the Salton instead of the plastic tub it comes with. With the Yogourmet you are stuck using plastic. I just don't feel good about holding milk to 110 degrees for hours on end in plastic. Yuck.
The Salton is simple and works nicely: keeps the yogurt at a steady 110 and I also use it for other stuff (mainly warming oil and herbs to make various herbal oils and salves and such).
http://www.amazon.com/Salton-YM9-1-Q...1199160&sr=8-1

I've tried making it without a yogurt maker but wasn't successful enough of the time. The oven light method didn't work for me, nor did the crock pot on warm setting (heats to 120). Using a cooler was too bulky for my kitchen.
I tried some of the "room temp" cultures: fil mjolk and caspian sea yogurt (matsooni) but I really was not in love with the flavors of either. The matsooni was decent in smoothies, but that was it. And the fil mjolk made nice sour cream, but I didn't like it as yogurt at all. I eventually just let them go and went back to regular yogurt. I missed that special yogurt tartness.


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## sparkly (Oct 17, 2007)

I say "no", due to the expense and bulk of an extra appliance...here's how I make yogurt (works every time, and couldn't be easier):

Heat milk in a pot to at least 180 (I do 185) degrees. Stir while it's heating so it doesn't scorch. Let cool to 115, whisk in 1 T. plain yogurt per cup of milk, and pour into jars (I use jelly jars or wide mouthed mason jars). Place in a cooler and do not disturb for 8-12 hours.

It should still feel warm after the 8 hours...if not, I put some hot water in the cooler with the jars.


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## kalisis (Jan 10, 2005)

The Salton one is a better deal, IMO.

And yes, it's totally worth it if you're going to use it. We eat A LOT of yogurt and it's cut my bills by so much. I only buy one gallon of organic milk/week now and use half for yogurt and the other half for cooking. I used to buy that whole gallon plus yogurt. That yogurt maker paid for itself within two weeks.

I wish now that I had bought one like the Salton. I have a plastic one and although it works great, it is plastic and I'm trying hard to get away from any plastic near our food. My next purchase will probably be that Salton brand yogurt maker.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

I was actually just eyeballing the Salton one! I think I may go that route. Will consider going a maker-free route first though... I don't know. The maker just makes it seem to fool proof... no milk to burn... no way to goof it up...

Thanks!


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Before buying a specialized piece of clutter, try using what you have at home. I've done it on a heating pad with the whole mess wrapped in a towel... did it for years that way. Then I switched to doing it in a crockpot. Both work beautifully for me.


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## crunchy_mama (Oct 11, 2004)

I made many, many, many gallons of yogurt using my oven and it worked fine but I really enjoyed having the yogurt maker as then my oven or crockpot or whatever was available whenever I needed. Whatever works for you though. It depends on what you have available and how often you will be making it.


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## ErinBird (Dec 5, 2005)

I bought one after trying a few other "gentle warm" areas of my house- crockpot got too hot, oven was too cool, heating pad too cool or too hot with no other setting.

Its worked well. I make 42oz of yogurt every few days (7-6oz glass cups) and enjoy the taste much more then store bought yogurt. My toddler DD would rather not eat yogurt then eat non-store bought stuff, but we use mine for baking and such.


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## star792 (May 31, 2004)

also, if you have a dehydrator that has temperature settings, you can incubate in there. slide the trays out and set it in there. mine is only four trays so i would have to use multiple pint jars rather than the big quart. i am planning on trying this very soon. I have also successfully made yogurt without a maker for yrs, you just have to wrap it up and it is fine. I am thinking about getting the room temp starter. My least favorite part of the whole process is heating up the milk.


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