Table of Contents
Decisive factors for choosing a yogurt maker
Type of Yogurt Maker
Yogurt is healthy food to eat at breakfast or as a snack and is also suitable for preparing recipes and sweets belonging to different culinary cultures. If we then made yogurt with our hands carefully choosing the ingredients, the taste and the satisfaction are even greater.
But how does a yogurt maker work? It’s a kind of ” incubator ” that helps keep the yogurt bacteria hot for proliferation. The process takes a few hours, and throughout this time, the yogurt must maintain a constant temperature around 40°C.
There are several yogurt maker models available on the market, and in the next few paragraphs, we will consider what factors to consider when choosing the model that is ours. The first factor we have identified is the typology: not all yogurts have the same characteristics, and it is good to understand what kind of thing is our case. So let’s look at the different types of yogurt makers in detail.
Yogurt Maker with carafe or jars?
Doing a quick search on the yogurt maker will soon glance at the eye that not all are the same, even about form. For example, we can find two large types of yogurt makers, those with carafes and jars.
A Carafe
The first is simply two baskets: one, smaller, inside of which the ingredients are poured, and the second, larger, which creates a hot air chamber around the first to ferment the bacteria. This type of yogurt maker has the advantage of occupying little space in the kitchen, but it does not allow to share the dose of yogurt maker produced and to prepare more flavors of yogurt at a time.
The Jar
Jars of jars usually have a larger size and are made up of a tray that holds several jars, closed by a lid. In this way, you will not only be able to choose how many yogurts to prepare at a time conveniently, but you will also be able to vary the tastes.
Once finished, close the jars with their lids, and they will be ready to be stored in a fridge already partitioned. We also note that most yogurts include jars all of the same size, while others contain containers of different sizes to choose the amount of yogurt maker you want to prepare from time to time.
Performance
Once you have chosen the most suitable type for your needs, it will be useful to look at yogurt’s performance. It is not just a question of wattage, but also, for example, what it is possible to prepare, and how long it will take.
Let’s look at these aspects in detail :
- Cheese production: Did you know that some models can also make creamy cheese? Or of milk desserts? In fact, this is a feature present only in the most advanced yogurts. Still, it allows us to expand the range of homemade products, especially appreciated by those who love cooking or aspiring to become as independent as possible from supermarkets and factory products.
- Consumption: The main task of yogurt is to maintain a temperature of about 40°C for several hours to start fermentation. Thus, reason yogurts usually have a low wattage of about 15 W, which keeps the bill’s consumption and contents. A slightly higher wattage is needed only in those models that make it possible to prepare creamy cheeses, but sporadic cases where a model with a power greater than 50 W is scarce.
- Preparation time: Preparation times are fairly standardized as fermentation requires some hours. On average, yogurt reaches the right texture between 8 and 12 hours.
Functions
As we have seen, preparation times are rather long, and it is unthinkable to believe that fermentation is constantly monitored during all these hours. For this reason, many yogurts are provided with ancillary functions that allow you to devote yourself to others while milk turns into a yogurt maker.
Let’s see in detail. First, what are the most common features that can find:
- Auto Sleep: This is definitely the main function you should never miss in any yogurt maker. A model that was not equipped with it would require you to regularly check the fermentation process to turn off the machine when it ends and prevent the yogurt from running to consume power unnecessarily. The self-timer feature allows you not to worry about the preparation because the yogurt will be off at the right time. Some models have a beep that warns when the preparation is over.
- Timer: It offers the advantage of controlling how much time is missing at the end of the preparation so you can arrange it and prevent the yogurt maker, once ready, stay too long outside the fridge. Besides the mere hourglass function, some provide for the possibility of prolonging the length of preparation for several hours. A variant of the timer is the reminder function, which functions as a real-time disk: on the lid are the day’s hours, while a pointer is placed on the base. In this way, it is possible to mark when the preparation will end by rotating the cover, not forget it and turn off the machine in time.
- Display: Lastly, the presence of an LED display, possibly with backlit buttons, is certainly a plus value, especially for those models with different functions (such as those mentioned above). The display allows you to check exactly the missing time at the end of the preparation and check which functions are active to keep everything under control.
Structure
Even the structure of a yogurt maker can have many characteristics that make it more or less practical and suitable for the type of use it wants to make. First of all, you have to pay attention to the weight and size to check that there is adequate space in the kitchen where it is placed without damaging it and not too heavy to move.
Cover
Apart from these features, common to all objects, there are more specifics of the yogurt maker. For example, please do not overlook the lid, giving us interesting information on the model’s usability. First, it is good to see if the model you want to buy has a transparent lid or not: in the first case, we will observe the fermentation and check from time to time that everything is happening properly. The second will see the product finished only after incubation finished since it is not advisable to open the yogurt maker.
Stoppage box
In the case of jars, another feature of the lid may be convenient. That is the presence of a compartment where the jars of jars are stored. During the preparation, the jars should be left open and must set the caps aside.
Some yogurt makers are equipped with a compartment to retract when unused to prevent them from falling inadvertently, lost, or used for other containers. Often the compartment is in the lid.
Non-slip feet
Another important aspect of a yogurt maker that often goes unnoticed is non-slip feet, which do not make the machine oscillate. It is essential for the fermentation that the surface of the support is stable, so, by the way. You will also have to pay attention to the surfaces on which the yogurt maker is supported.
Capacity
Normally, homemade yogurt can stand in the fridge for about a week, at most ten days. However, to avoid wasting and not throwing away excess yogurt, it’s always good to calculate how it will consume much time to produce an adequate amount.
Thus, it is also good to consider the yogurt maker’s capacity in choosing a yogurt maker. That is the amount of yogurt that will produce per cycle and the yogurt’s capacity in the case of a yogurt pot.
On average, both types have a 1 liter of yogurt capacity, so about 8 servings from a supermarket. Instead, the jars supplied with the yogurt era usually have a slightly larger capacity, about 150 g. Some may even have a set of jars of different capacities to vary their doses.
Remember that to avoid mold formation. It is important to observe maximum hygiene during the preparation and storage of yogurt. In this sense, even though you do not have only one basket to open and close each time, several mono-dose containers help keep yogurt fresh and healthy.
Accessories
Accessories are not always present in a yogurt maker, but sometimes, especially on the most expensive and versatile models. They become almost indispensable.
Note that the jar yogurt usually has more accessories than canned ones. An accessory should always include a lid, possibly transparent, for the inner basket starting from the latter. We have seen how important it is to conserve yogurt so that it does not go bad and does not form molds, and a specific lid allows the basket to be stored directly in the fridge without loosening the yogurt, making the process surely greener. Also, in the yogurt with jars, the speech becomes wider, starting with the jars themselves.
First of all, the number already included in the package: in fact, some models come with only one set suitable for one cycle, while others provide a second set of jars to prepare other yogurt doses, although the first ones have not yet been emptied. Secondly, the latter’s structure is also important: some producers prefer to equip the yogurt with jars of the same capacity; others include smaller or larger jars to portion more freely the yogurt maker.
Even the jar cap can be more or less accurate due to the presence or not of a date tag to mark the expiration date or a surface similar to that of the magnetic pads to write and erase expiration dates and tastes.
Finally, significant in those models that make it possible to prepare fresh cheeses is the presence of fuscelle. That is jammed jars that let the excess water escape, without which it is not possible to exploit this function.
Other factors to keep in mind when choosing a yogurt maker
Are the materials important?
There is not a wide variety in the materials of which a yogurt maker is made. Normally, the structure is made of plastic because it has different qualities that suit many household appliances.
In this, the advantages are many: first, the plastic is a good insulator, so it can retain heat without dispersing it; secondly, it is a lightweight material, which makes the yogurt of objects light enough to move.
Finally, it is not to be underestimated that plastic can absorb vibrations. However, not at the rubber level, which must always be present on the base in non-slip feet to guarantee the machine stability during the fermentation phase.
As for pots, instead, the material used is glass, as it can be easily washed in the dishwasher and has a deterioration time significantly lower than the plastic. The caps are generally made of plastic, although it is to be said that the best models are equipped with silicone lids, which make it easier to seal the yogurt by stretching the time of decomposition.
Is the brand important?
The brands of small and large household appliances have now reached a considerable number, and several include in their catalog one or more yogurt maker models. It is more difficult to find really specialized brands that have the main yogurt maker products.
It is always good to rely on well-known brands that offer reliable customer service, so you know who to turn to in case of malfunction or want more information from the manufacturer before purchasing. Among the most experienced manufacturers in the industry, we have Severin, with several yogurt makers in the catalog.
Is the price important?
Yogurt Maker is a fairly cheap product, with a price ranging from $15 to $120. Within this range, it is possible to distinguish between low-priced yogurts, i.e., at a price ranging from $5 to $40, an intermediate price range of $40 to $100, and a price range High, over $100.
Typically, what makes yogurt so expensive is preparing fresh cheeses because this kind of preparation requires higher wattage and specific accessories. Therefore, the low price range is mainly occupied by caraway yogurt since the number of components is significantly lower, lacking jars.