$ 37.77
The Ultimate yogurt maker is a really nice quality machine. I personally think of it more like a yogurt “incubator” rather than a yogurt maker, because the machine itself isn’t really “making” the yogurt, it’s just incubating the culture(s) that you’ve decided to use in your yogurt. I bought this maker specifically to make L. Reuteri yogurt. Technically yogurt has to contain a different culture to be called “yogurt”, so I guess L. Reuteri yogurt has to be called a “cultured dairy product”. But for all other purposes L. Reuteri cultured dairy is a yogurt, so I will just refer to it as yogurt. I’ve included a pic of the Ultimate yogurt maker sitting on my countertop (along with one of the 2 bowls/lids that were included with my machine) as well as a pic of the first spoonful of yogurt from my first batch. I did expect some “separation” of curds and whey on my first batch as many people have had making their first batch. But my first batch turned out great. No separation. I used the L. Reuteri culture from “Cutting Edge Cultures” and “Microingredients Organic Inulin Powder”. I have checked the temperature of the incubation bath water several times during the 36 hour incubation process in my Ultimate yogurt maker. The temperature can be set exactly at 99 degrees Fahrenheit which is the temp suggested for L. Reuteri yogurt. My particular machine registered consistently about 1 degree warmer during the 36 hour incubation. I’m not sure if the temperature anomaly is due to my thermometer reading the temp a bit warmer than the actual temp, or if the yogurt maker just ran a touch warmer than the set temp of 99 degrees. In my case, it really doesn’t make much difference as the L. Reuteri culture likes to be around human body temp, and our bodies fluctuate in temperature throughout the day as we go about our daily lives. So if “exact” temperature is important to you, I’d suggest to turn on your yogurt maker for several hours while filled up with water, and check the temperature several times to see where your yogurt maker temperature runs. I’m guessing a difference of a few degrees probably doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to these culture bacteria… they’re just happy to be in a warm bath of milk or Half and Half, as long as it doesn’t get too warm to “cook” them. Anyway, this is a nice machine, feels like it’s made very well, it feels like the materials are nice quality, and it looks nice sitting on my countertop. I don’t know the specific temperature and time ranges that this machine has, but I think the incubation time range can be up to 48 hours and the temp can can be set up to 104 degrees. I’m not certain about those ranges so check the manufacturers page for those specific numbers. This is a nice appliance and I’d certainly recommend it to anyone wanting to jump into making their own yogurt. And they do offer a set of free yogurt jars that fit into their machine if you follow the directions in the included literature on how to get the offer. I’ve been notified by email that my free jars are on their way.