I like the water bath technique for making yogurt. The unit works well but for the price it should at least come with a way to control temperature and glass jar, hence four stars. I bought a Lutron lamp dimmer (Lutron TT-300H-WH) and two glass jars that fit perfectly. I can't remember the name of the jars but they are easy to find by searching (go to mfg web site to get best price on two, in case one breaks). I use a Bluetooth temp monitor to get the temp right (stick it in the bath water). Yogurt needs good temp control to develop properly. Since ambient temp is variable it's important to be able to dial back the heating element to achieve the right temp.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I was spending a fortune on Greek yogurt for our morning smoothies. I purchased this a couple months ago along with Wellbee's 64 Oz. Glass Jar (Fits Into Yogourmet®, Euro Cuisine® - YM260, YM360 and YM460) and am so happy I did. I make a batch about every 5 days and it is so easy! I use a half gallon of organic milk and it is a fraction of the cost! It is also smooth and creamy and I can't believe it is this easy! I was wasting sooooo much money before. This makes such great tasting yogurt and it is so easy to do that you really should stop throwing all that money away. Especially if you are buying yogurt to make smoothies with. This is the way to go!

I have had one of these yogurt makers for 10 years. Admittedly, I haven't used it regularly all these years, but off and on. The past 5 months I've used it 2-4 times per week, as my son and I are on the GAPS diet and use homemade yogurt every day. It finally stopped heating up so I just purchased a new one. I hadn't been aware of a glass jar that would fit into the maker but reading other reviews I ordered a glass jar too. It fits perfectly and I realized that I have a 1/2 gallon glass jar in my pantry that fits also! I usually keep two jars going, one that is cooking and one that is being eaten from. So, I'm happy to see that I can continue that routine without purchasing another jar!

I recently started my family on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) due to my daughter's severe case of CD. I already own a yogurt maker that I use on a regular basis having had no idea about the tempt. My first attempt at making the SCD specific yogurt was a fail in that yogurt maker, at the 24 hour point I checked the temp. and it was at 130 degrees! So I did some research and this yogurt maker was recommended by some other SCD users so I crossed my fingers and shelled out some money for it. I am happy to say with the Yogourmet yogurt maker the tempt of the yogurt stayed at a steady 110 degrees the entire time! Perfect SCD legal yogurt! The only issue I have with this is that there is no timer or auto shut off so you have to be there to shut it off.

I've been using this for nearly 2 years after using a Salton 1-quart unit for about 10 years that finally died. I've made about 80 batches (160 quarts) with this one and I'm pleased with the yogurt. A few observations:

- I found the thermometer that came with the unit was off by about 5 degrees so I use a $3 Tru-Temp thermometer of the same size from the supermarket instead. I know the Tru-Temp is more accurate as I use thermometers doing photographic darkroom work.
- I use the Yogourmet dry starter culture for each batch but use 1/2 envelope (1/2 rounded teaspoon) per 2 quart batch instead of the recommended whole envelope per 1 quart batch, i.e., 1/4 the recommended amount. The yogurt is done in 4.5 hours. This makes the cost that of a half gallon of non-fat milk + about $0.40 per 2-quart batch, about $1.20 per quart, a nice savings over the lowest-price store-brand quarts.
- I preheat the yogurt maker for about 30 minutes, with the water and empty container, while the milk cools to the 110F temperature which is safe for adding the culture.
- The yogurt is not firm after 4.5 hours; let it cool to room temperature, very carefully pour off any separated liquid (whey) so as not to lose it, and put it in the refrigerator, covered, overnight. It gets even firmer if left in the refrigerator 2 or 3 days.
- As others have said, there's not much to this unit. It's not truly temperature controlled, there's just a wire resistor that generates a certain amount of heat so the room temperature can affect the results. In the winter, when the house is cooler I've found that leaving the unit near a window in the sun will overcome the lower room temperature.
- I used to use a store-bought yogurt for starter when I used the Salton maker. Just make sure the yogurt you use does not contain pectin. The best store yogurt for this purpose was the 6 oz. cup of Walmart Great Value plain yogurt but this is no longer available by me.