Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A wonderfully simple and elegant tool. The first time I used it, my yogurt came out perfectly -- firm and creamy. I used 42 ounces of Horizon organic vitamin D milk. Yes, this is whole milk. But remember, when the food producers take something out of a food, they always put something possibly dodgy back in. Look at the ingredients on skim milk. Also, 6 ounces of whole milk is only 100 calories. And Horizon milk tastes great! Great ingredients make great food. I boiled the milk, stirring frequently so as not to burn. It took about 20 minutes, but I just puttered around the kitchen during that time. Warm/hot milk smells heavenly! When it began to climb the sides, I took it off the heat, stuck in a candy thermometer, and set it in the sink which had cold water in it. I took 6 ounces of Stonyfield Greek style yogurt and placed it in the microwave. CAREFULLY warmed it, just a few seconds at at time until it was just barely warm so as not to kill the goodness. Once the milked had cooled to about 97 fahrenheit (36 celsius) I spooned a small amount into the yogurt and whisked, repeating until the mixture was very smooth, then poured, while whisking, into the warm milk. Poured it into the containers and 8.5 hours later...perfection! It was lightly tart, firm and creamy. A little dab of honey and holy smoly! At this point I have to make a couple of comments about what some other reviewers said. Lack of timer...really? Come now, it's not rocket science. Just take the time you start the machine and add how many hours you want it to cook. If you're afraid you'll forget, then use the numbers on the side and line the little line on the lid up to that number. If you are unable to start it at bedtime and shut it off in the morning, or your life is simply too busy to be home to shut it off, or you have significant memory problems (don't feel alone), then you probably should pay the extra 10.00 and purchase the one with the timer/shutoff. I can't help but think it is just one more thing to possibly go wrong. I'll take simple engineering anytime. Also, since this is the same product sans the timer, I read the reviews for the YM100 also. Sigh.... The following are just my thoughts on those complaints. The jars are a "nightmare" to clean with hand washing. Seriously? Has life been that easy? Take the jar into the kitchen immediately after consuming contents, run some hot water in it, replace the lid and shake. If there is any slight remainder, shove a dishcloth in there and wipe it out. When it comes time to wash, run some dishwater, and violà! Won't heat in the winter. It's cold as whiz right now in my house -- old house, frigid outside. It worked perfectly fine. And washing your machine probably did stop it from working, bless you. Use a pitcher to pour and it won't make a mess. And if you're making a mess so big that wiping the machine with a damp cloth won't take care of it, then have someone steadier pour into the jars. Leaking lids. My first thought was to put a piece of plastic wrap over the jar and then add the lid. Another reviewer had thought of this. If your yogurt is leaking after that, you have some mighty thin yogurt. Which will not be the fault of the machine (another complaint). And many timer issues. See above. Just think things through, read the manual and things will be fine. I saw very few complaints about the basic unit not working properly. If you get the occasional lemon that resides in all product lines, just send it back and have it replaced.