Bear Automatic Digital Yogurt Maker Machine - Stainless Steel Inner Pot with Strainer & Timer Control - Includes 2 Glass Jars (1 Quart) for Homemade Greek Yogurt, Cheese & Fruit Wine - Perfect for Healthy Breakfasts, Snacks & DIY Fermentation (Black)

After 7 weeks of experience with this yogurt maker, I can see both its plusses and minuses.On the plus side, it allows you to make about a quart or liter of yogurt as a single volume instead of as several small individual servings. This was, in fact, the main reason I was interested in this particular yogurt maker vs. alternatives, since here we often mix scoops of yogurt into other foods and don't always eat it as a separate dish, so making / buying single large volumes makes more sense to us. Another plus is that it is simple to operate -- just push the appropriate program button and it will keep your culture at the right temperature for an appropriate period of time. A third plus is that it does allow to make some adjustments to this incubation time, although this isn't in the instructions and isn't obvious: You have to press the 'program' button and select from the three programs it offers that correspond to different temperature settings ('yogurt' and 'greek yogurt' use the same temperature), and then repeatedly hit the 'timer' button to cycle through a range of different timing options.On the minus side, my main issue is that the device could have been made in a way that presented clearer and more complete options to give you better control over the product you are making. Many comments in these reviews complain about the unclear and incomplete instructions, and, indeed, the fact that the control over timing described above is not mentioned anywhere makes me wonder whether one can depend on it being implemented in every unit: Maybe the company will just stop making them with this feature without telling anyone. And, given what the 4 built-in programs do, I don't see why they couldn't have designed the unit so that users could simply select a time and temperature of their choosing vs. forcing them to pick between 'yogurt', 'greek yogurt', 'cheese', and 'fruit wine', giving them much more complete control. Third, there are also some issues with handling the large volume containers that attracted me to the product in the first place: The large size means that they weigh a lot when full, and they can be hard to pull out of the unit when the incubation program is done: You have to grab them by the lids (or just below them), and they just barely hold the weight. The suction on the lids is pretty good so this works now, but I anticipate that the seal will eventually weaken and it won't anymore. Also, when sterilizing the vessels with boiling water (as recommended), you have to use a *lot* of hot water and it is not easy to handle them without scalding yourself. Bottom line: the vessels need some provision for better handling when full. Lastly, why not put some graduation marks on the outside of the vessels to mark a liter or quart? That would be a nice convenience, and I can't see any reason for not doing this.So, to sum up, the product does what it promises, and has the advantage of large capacity. But it could be made *so much better*, especially when you consider that this is one of the most expensive of the yogurt makers being offered! And *that*, finally, is a last issue: Based on functionality alone, I would give this product four stars, but given its expense, they really ought to make these improvements: And so I give it three stars.For yogurt (l-reuteri strain), it is fine. I have not tried other fermented foods. It is easy to clean, lightweight and easy to set the hours/temp - read the instructions. It is not temperature specific. It is programmed to the temperature indicated for precise item, eg, 104 degrees for yogurt. I can only assume it is pretty close as the product resulted as it should. Be careful removing the one glass jar insert - hold by sides and bottom, not the lid.NOTE - the setting 'buttons' are super sensitive - brushing past them on the counter may turn the machine off - careful. I did it twice on the first use and had to re-set which may change the product outcome if it is off too long.I wanted a yogurt maker that was small enough to leave out on the counter. This works because of its size. Makes great regular yogurt and Wonderful creamy Greek yogurt. Like the strainer that comes with it to make Greek yogurt. The only thing I don't like is that it's a little difficult to get the glass container out of the cooking pot, but I understand that has to be the design. Glad I bought it. I use whole organic milk, and I am sure it has more probiotics than a lot of the yogurt you buy in stores. Makes a small batch, but I live alone and it is perfect for me. Great little product!I wanted to start making Greek yogurt that was lactose free and when I saw the reviews on YouTube about this product I was sold. It’s easy to make Greek yogurt and it came FABULOUS!! Can’t wait to make the soft cheese.There is nothing i dislike about this yogurt machine! If you use fairlife or organic milk it makes a very thick greek yogurt. There is no heating no mess. Fill the glass container up to the line at tttttttthe top where the glass is smaller put the starter in, top with the lid and program. Your done! Enjoy! Theres 2 glass containers so you can always have one container ahead!I've made several successful batches of almond/coconut milk yogurt with this machine. So easy - I love it. I appreciate that you get two glass containers - so if one breaks etc.. One container is so much simpler than small jars. A small recipe book - with recipes for cheeses and fermented fruit drinks as well as yogurt. 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp of agar powder worked well to add extra firmness to the yogurt - heated in 1 cup of the almond milk (just a touch of honey) - at a simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Then slowly add the remaining 3 cups of nut milk to get to temp where starter or probiotic can be added. Into the machine - 6 to 8 hours - done! (Caution - no vanilla extract or canned milks with additives.) Once done you can blend it with any fruit - so good! (Also check out the Soya Power 4 nut milk maker, to make your own nut milk for the yogurt.)On my FIRST ever try, this machine made gorgeous THICK as custard Greek yogurt! I was so nervous it would come out runny but it was THICK!I've never made yogurt before, but read about the process. Chose this maker because of the stainless steel interior and glass containers. When it arrived I put the jars and tops in the dishwasher to sterilize (3 hour process) then put four cups of 2% organic pasteurized milk in saucepan on medium heat and stirred with whisk for 20 minutes to kill bad bacteria. Put lid on saucepan to cool milk.When dishwasher was complete added 2 capsules of probiotics and one half container of lemon greek yogurt to the milk, mixing thoroughly with the wire whisk. Then poured this mixture in glass quart jar, covered it, placed it in yogurt maker and set it for Greek yogurt (10 hours).In the morning I opened the first ever attempt at yogurt and was so excited (and surprised) to see how thick it was!! I couldn't believe my luck! It tastes very tangy and lemon-y and needs sweetener for my taste, but placed bowl of yogurt in fridge to have when I come home from work. Amazing!!!Actually wish I'd seen the other Bear yogurt maker with individual pots before I ordered this once because then I could have taken one pot of yogurt in a bag for lunch today. But gosh I'm impressed!Works great, it’s a very simple process and in the long run will save you money and allows you to make yogurt to your preferred viscosity.The process I used with good results:Bring 1L of 3.25% milk to 180FAllow to cool to 110-115FMix in 3tbsp of store bought Greek yogurt(best if package says live cultures)Put in the yogurt maker for 10hrsStore in fridge for a couple hours then move to the strainer to achieve your preferred viscosity, longer you leave it in the thicker it’ll get. 2-3hrs is the amount I have been allowing and it comes out similar to store bought Greek.Hice el pedido el 17 de marzo de 2021. La fecha programada para la entrega era entre 29 de Marzo y el 12 de Abril. Recibí este producto el 21de Marzo, el cual llegó muy bien empacado y sin daños. La yogurtera es bonita, de apariencia moderna y sólida, además de tener un tamaño perfecto; los materiales lucen y se sienten de buena calidad. Tenemos otra yogurtera muy sencilla , pero que también puede fabricar yogurt griego, sólo que requiere mas participación humana, además de trabajo y tiempo adicional. Es necesario comentar que las instrucciones de la nueva yogurtera están únicamente en idioma Inglés por lo sería conveniente incluirlas también en Español o bien poder descargarlas del sitio del fabricante. El proceso de elaboración es muy sencillo pues sólo hay que mezclar los ingredientes en uno de los dos recipientes que se incluyen, colocar las tapas, elegir el tipo de yogurt que deseas (normal o griego), confirmar la operación y esperar a que transcurra el tiempo que ya viene definido.Una vez transcurrido el tiempo, la máquina se apagará por si sola y se deberán seguir las instrucciones ( las cuales están en Inglés) de enfriamiento y colado con sus respectivos tiempos. El producto obtenido es delicioso y con una muy buena consistencia. Como mi esposa ya ha adquirido mucha experiencia en esto del yogurt Griego ahora está realizando pruebas con tiempos de fermentación e ingredientes adicionales para obtener mayor o menor acidez y otras consistencias. En todos los casos, la yogurtera ha funcionado muy bien y los productos obtenidos son deliciosos.Works great! The instructions are incomplete thought. I used whole organic milk and heat it first for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat till it’s about to bubble (about 82 to 90 degrees Celsius). Let cool to about 42 to 44 degrees and pour it into the glass container. Add you culture or Greek yogurt starter (with active live cultures, about 3-4 tablespoons), put the lids on, start the machine and that’s it! Be careful though, the buttons are sensitive to touch so it get off easily. I pressed Greek yogurt and it gave me pretty firm yogurt. I am going to strain it because I like very firm yogourt almost cheese kind of texture. But it was very nice as is.A very beautiful Greek yogurt maker.. It can also make plain yogurt, soft cheese and fruit wine.. But if u want to use u need a step down transformer..Cette yaourtière n'est pas adéquate. À la température préprogrammée avec microprocesseur, le yaourt n'a pas la texture souhaitée. De plus, elle est livrée avec les instructions en anglais seulement. Et malgré notre demande au vendeur pour le français, le vendeur ne nous a pas répondu.