Sales Rank: 8


Features:

Makes up to 1 quart; temperature controlled

Power cord storage on the base's bottom

No rock salt or ice needed; internal container is freezer-safe

Clean container and lid with hot soapy water, base with warm cloth

Measures 9 by 5-1/2 by 5-1/2 inches; 1 year limited warranty

Average Rating:
Rating: - great results very easy to use for first time yogurt maker
I agree that the plastic container, lid, and spoon are lame. Why did they make a domed lid that didn't fit on very well. I still use the container, but only because I don't have a canning jar with a storage lid to replace the plastic container with(as suggested by another reviewer). The first time I made yogurt it turned out great and it still makes great yogurt very easily. I was surprised how easily and quickly yogurt can be made. I have made soy yogurt and whole milk organic yogurt. The soy yogurt was good and not sour tasting at all, but if you incubate it longer than 3-4 hours, it separates. The whole milk yogurt is creamy and delicious with only a slight sour taste(unlike store bought yogurt). I have only had a couple of batches not turn out, but it was due to incubating the soy yogurt too long or putting in too much starter. Sometimes the whole milk yogurt is not as smooth looking as store bought, but stirring till it is nice and smooth solves the problem. I always take out 2 tablespoons of yogurt from a fresh batch and put it in a small container to use as my starter for another batch.I find it is faster to make the yogurt if I use a microwave to sterilize the milk and use a big bowl full of cold water to cool the heated milk. I am sure that the microwave is not the preferred method of sterilizing the milk, but it has worked for me and it is quick.I use the yogurt maker about 2-3 times a week since my kids eat a lot of yogurt. The yogurt that I make with this yogurt maker is much tastier, healthier(no additives and fresher), and cheaper than store bought yogurt.

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Rating: - Quite the little trooper
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.

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Rating: - wonderful little machine!!!
I had a 6 (separate) cup yogurt maker which was difficult to keep clean. The yogurt maker made by Salton is very easy to use and makes perfect yogurt every time! Just follow the instructions and you have nice, wholesome, yogurt with no additives and at a fraction of the cost too. Truly, it is one of the best gadgets I own.