Aroma AYM-606 8-Cup Digital Yogurt Maker

Finally, An Affordable Yogurt Maker That Does It All!
The Aroma AYM-606 8-cup Digital Yogurt Maker was delivered to my house this morning. I put it to work about 2 this afternoon, and am very pleased with the results. This being my first batch, I expect some adjustments will be necessary. I used whole milk, but did not heat it to 180 F as the instructions suggest, as I'd read in several other sources that such isn't necessary. I took the milk down to 110 F (the instructions said 115, but I heard that higher temps could kill the bacteria,) added a couple tablespoons of sugar to the milk, and then added 3 tablespoons of Greek Yogurt (sans gelatin, etc.) along with a couple tablespoons of cold milk (as the instructions suggest) and mixed the lot thoroughly. A ladle made quick work of putting the mix in the cups, and I felt certain that they would be well heated by the design of this unit.

The interface couldn't be easier. Power it up, the digital display comes on. Add hours and minutes desired, and press the Start button...

Well built and seemingly reliable, but impractical
This being my first yogurt maker, I've learned a couple of things that might be useful. This yogurt maker, as with most of the others I can see on Amazon, are really nothing more than a heating element that keeps the yogurt a constant temperature for the intended cooking (or "growing") period.

Lesson 1: These are not like bread machines where you add all the ingredients and walk away. You have to boil the milk (or at least heat it up), let it cool, mix in starter, and then put it in the maker to cook. In other words, you do most of the yogurt "making".

Lesson 2: Although the pictures of this yogurt maker make it look like you can make multiple flavors in one batch, that's not practical. Actually, whatever you add to the yogurt prior to or during the "cooking period" must not introduce other bacterial cultures. Consequently, adding fruit or other flavorings that have not been sterilized is not a good idea. Consequently, you effectively make 8 small cups of...

Great for beginners and so easy to do!
I decided to start trying new things with food so I started with making our own yogurt. This is a great purchase and I highly recommend anyone to buy this if they are interested in making their own yogurt. It comes with directions for making your own yogurt that is very simple and easy to follow. The very first batch I made turned out perfect! I would suggest buying plain yogurt as a starter instead of the powdered culture. Its much easier and its still cheaper. In the directions it says to heat to a certain temp then to cool to a certain temp. I dont even do that because Its too complicated for me. I just barely bring the milk to a boil while frequently stirring to prevent scalding. Then I pop it in the fridge and do a finger dip check to see if it has cooled enough. I basically make sure its cool enough to keep my finger tip in the milk for a few seconds with out hurting. I then mix in the starter culture slowly with a wisk, pour it in the containers and set the yogurt maker for 9...

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