Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker – YMX650 Automatic Digital Yogurt Maker Machine with Set Temperature – Includes 7-6 oz. Reusable Glass Jars and 7 Rotary Date Setting Lids for Instant Storage

I chose this brand partly for the glass jars. Many makers come with plastic jars or tubs. ( As C. Li and Donna Mom note, these jars have a hard-to-clean groove around the bottom–but that’s what tiny stiff brushes are for.) If you hate the jars, the 7 qt Pyrex bowl many people use instead is only a few dollars. I chose the slightly pricier YMX650 for the longer, 15-hour timer, the flattish top (for parking lightweight things on), the automatic shut-off, and even the digital controls (mechanical controls are so shoddy these days, even the digital junk seems slightly better). The plastic cover is sturdier than it looks; when I dropped it on a tile floor (not on purpose!), it landed on one edge and bounced without cracking. Every yogurt maker I looked at was made in China. I suspect they’re all made in the same factory, with the same working parts. This brand has a good track record, but so do a few others. If another model or brand strikes you as a better fit, who am I to tell you what to buy?The Euro Cuisine YMX650 Yogurt Maker draws only 13 watts, about the same as a good light bulb. It insulates well enough that you can leave the yogurt in the machine after it turns off and get a free hour of heat. As far as I can tell, all yogurt makers of this type are simply plastic enclosures with a heating element inside. Any temperature sensor is under the plastic bottom getting an indirect reading. It’s not perfect, but with a bit of tweaking it works well, and is probably as good as it gets for under a hundred bucks. If you insist on real temperature control, you’re going to need to drop $150 on the Brod & Taylor Folding Proofer. ( If your yogurt maker is heating to 130 degrees, no amount of tweaking will work because your unit is defective. Return it immediately for a refund or exchange.)These simple heaters sometimes heat unevenly. Reviewer A puts a few paper towels under the jars for insulation. I didn’t want insulation so much as moderation; the bottoms of the jars were a little hot–115 degrees, but the tops of the jars were a little cool–100 degrees. I had used a water bath in my (unsuccessful) attempts to make yogurt without special equipment, so tried pouring about 1/2 inch warm water in the bottom of the yogurt maker, where the jars sit. This works like a charm to even out the temperature to about 108 degrees. It does evaporate some, adding to the water vapor the yogurt alone generates. Others have had problems with condensate dripping into their yogurt, but I’ve found the water all drips down the outside. ( It dribbles out the join between cover and bottom and puddles under the machine where you won’t see it. It does this without a water bath, too, so make sure to use it on a water-resistant surface.) Although the temperature is uneven without the water bath, it hasn’t drifted after dozens of uses, so it seems like it will last for years. We’ll see. Also, it has stayed between 104-112 degrees (with water bath) whether the room temperature is 60 (winter) or 80 (summer), so maybe the temperature control is better than I thought.If you are lucky enough to have one of those ovens that culture yogurt perfectly overnight, you can skip this purchase. (I have to laugh when people brag that they don’t need to waste $40 on a yogurt maker because their $3,000 oven can do the job.) Nobody I know has an oven capable of maintaining 105 degrees Fahrenheit for hours at a stretch. By turning my 20-year old oven on for two minutes every twenty minutes I can keep it between 90 and 120 degrees–not really a practical method. ( If you have one of those magical ovens, treasure it.)I use this to make the unsweetened soy yogurt I prefer. Since WholeSoy went belly-up I’ve been forced to learn to make my own. It took a few tries to get it right (commercial vegan yogurt didn’t work as a starter). Since I’ve been using WestSoy Organic Unsweetened Soymilk, Cultures for Health Vegan Yogurt Starter and a water bath, I’ve made dozens of batches without a single flop. I’ve been adding a tablespoon of cashew butter to a quart of soy milk for a decadent taste without the expense and blender use (I don’t own one) of Miyoko Schinner’s cashew-heavy recipe . That’s all I use for thickener. I culture it for 10-12 hours for good, tart yogurt.