Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker with Automatic Cooling,3.12lb Jar capacity,(1.5L)

Well I purchased this Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker/Automatic Cooling machine for several reasons. I was told by the doctor that my gallbladder was not functioning up to par and I have a bacterial infection that antibotic's can't kill so he is trying to save the gallbladder. Well he told me to eat Greek Yogurt for several months, and other patience have had great success with it, so I decided to give it a whirl before he did the surgery. Guess what? It seems to be working after all. The yogurt is helping and buying it weekly can become costly. So I have been looking to purchase a machine and make it myself knowing others that do. They all say once you have homemade yogurt you won't want store bought. So after searching for the perfect machine I came across two machines, this one and the Euro Automatic Cuisine YM80.The YM80 included the jars.I narrowed them down and the pros and cons. By the volume, cost, warranty, size, and rating reviews. I went with this machine after reading many reviews at Amazon, Macy's, WalMart, Willliams & Sonona. I decided to purchase it at Macy's but at the last minute with all my discounts it actually was cheaper to purchase it at Amazon. And who can go wrong with Amazon. Their customer service is excellent, on time or always early deliver dates, pricing is always or most of the time cheaper, and packaged well and earn points. Well ordered machine from Amazon, came early, nicely packaged, and started using it. Manual included was very self explanatory easy and even had a rubber spoon included, cool.Steps taken were to heat milk to 180 degree in pot, I used Teflon pot on medium heat.I used 4 cups 2 %. Let cool too 110 degree and then added 1/4 cup Fage 2 % greek yogurt. (I used 2 % because I am allergic to whole milk). Well that worked out just fine. Then whipped well and poured mixture into Yogurt machine container. Put the lids on and set digital time for 7 hours. Came back several time and checked machine was warm to touch and hours were decreasing down. The machine is very quite only hear it if standing near it when it is fermenting. After reaching the total cycle of 7 hours it did exactly what it should do. It went to the "C" cycle cooling. Held there til cycle was complete overnight. Unit was cool to touch. Removed stirred and then drained with 4 coffee filters and strainer to get rid of the whey. Let sit overnight in the fridge. Removed and put in container and reserved 1/3 cup for next yogurt cycle. This is the best yogurt I have ever had and it came out smooth, creamy, and not tart tasting. Go everyone and find a machine that suits you. This one is a lot of money but you will get great results if you take your time. Easy to use and clean. Like the plastic container can put it right in the fridge if not using jars. I prefer to keep it in the machine and transfer to mason jars or plastic containers, so it stays nice with the machine. Wonderful product and happy with my purchase. Figure over 6 months will get my money back instead of giving it to the grocery store and "Will be Tasty Too" because I made it myself!Pay for what you get, Excellent results for me.

Extremely easy to use, works like a charm at making soy yogurt. This is how I make my soy yogurt, every day: I use Westbrae Organic Unsweetned Plain Soymilk (I buy the half gallon/1.89L carton - Giant, Whole Foods, etc.). I use Nancy's Organic Cultured Soy Yogurt as my starter, if I forget to save some of my homemade yogurt to use. For some reason, this brand seems to be the only organic soy yogurt I can find at my local Whole Foods, none at the Giant. I get out a large (4 qt.) glass Pyrex bowl. I dump the entire 6 oz. soy yogurt into the bowl, then whisk in 2 tsp. of cornstarch. I whisk until the yogurt and cornstarch are thoroughly mixed, no lumpy bits. I then add approx. 1 C. of the soy milk, whisk well again to combine. I then add the remaining 3 C. soy milk and whisk again. Doesn't require much effort, don't have to whisk the daylights out of your mixture, just go easy. I pour the entire mixture into the plastic yogurt container that comes with the Cuisinart yogurt maker, put on the lid, lift the container and sit it down into the yogurt maker. No heating necessary!! I plug in the machine, push "START". Voila! I do this every morning, or every evening. The yogurt maker does all the real work - fermenting the mixture, then cooling it for 12 hours or until you remember to get your yogurt. I eat some of the fresh yogurt, about a cup or so, then pour the rest into a Denver yogurt strainer and put it in the fridge overnight to strain out the whey. I use the whey for liquid in bread recipes, or pour down the sink. I'm left with enough dense (Greek- style) yogurt to last for approx. 4 good servings (1 to 1 1/2 C. ea.) of homemade yogurt. If I want, I can keep straining the yogurt and make yochee. Sometimes I use Vanilla soy milk instead of plain, when I'm feeling frisky or just don't have any plain soy milk in the pantry. Doesn't affect anything in any harmful way. This is my yogurt making story. I've used the cheap yogurt makers - talk about a pain! - you get what you pay for. This machine is almost silent - just revs up very quietly every so often during the process. It's a no-brainer to use, clean. I keep it on my counter, takes up almost no space (is very narrow footprint). I don't use unbleached greek yogurt muslin bags because they're icky and messy and I don't like them. The Donvier is going to last forever, works terrific, and can be put in the dishwasher - sanitary. The soy milk I use has 9 g. Protein, 100 Calories (45 fat), 35 mg. Sodium, 390 mg. Potassium, 3 g. Sugar per cup - excellent nutritional profile - and my yogurt tastes exceptionally good compared to store-bought. The plain tastes good enough as is, but I usually add 1 T. or so of Grade B organic maple syrup, some cinnamon, maybe fresh or dried fruit - sometimes I go crazy and use the yogurt instead of soy milk on my Ezekiel 4:9 cereal.

I really love this machine! I've never made yogurt before but I love to eat yogurt and was always running out. I was looking online to see how to make yogurt when I saw this machine. Wow! I thought I'd have to buy a pot and a thermometer to boil milk and control the temperature and what not...but nope! This machine DOES IT ALL! It's so easy to use! I just guessed how I'd like my yogurt to turn out and every batch has turned out great since I've started back in July 2017. I've been making about 48 oz of yogurt once a week and enjoying delicious yogurt every day (see pictures). Here's how I do it: I put about a cup of (cold) Kirkland organic Greek yogurt into the yogurt container and stir in whole milk (cold) until everything is dissolved and then turn on the machine for 16 hours and let the machine do all the work. How much easier can it get? Go from fridge to yogurt maker back to fridge to chill again and get delicious yogurt in return! The machine is great because you can set the timer to ferment for how ever many hours you want (1-24 hours) and once it's done, it will start the cooling process until you turn it off. I usually chill the yogurt container overnight in my fridge before enjoying because I turn off the machine shortly after it switches from heating to 'C'ooling. I prefer using the fridge to chill the yogurt instead of the machine. Overall, this Cuisinart yogurt maker is really great and so very easy to use. The cord was a little short but the control buttons are simple and intuitive. The yogurt container, lid, and spoon are all easy to clean as well. I would definitely recommend it and I give it a 4.8/5.0! - 10/17/2017 08/07/2023: I just wanted to say that I still have this machine 6 years later and I still make yogurt about every other week with it. It's still makes great yogurt! I found out two things: 1) When I use Fage Greek yogurt or other yogurts like Chobani as the base, I didn't like the result as much because the yogurt turned out too sour for my taste. Kirkland Greek yogurt is the best and so I've been using it for the last 6 years. It's always nice and smooth and yummy and 2) I've had maybe 3 situations where the yogurt turned out to be liquid slush (like whey water) after 16 hours of running. The exact cause isn't certain but I believe that I (or someone at the store) had accidentally shaken the milk bottle which is bad (I think). When this happens like when I drop the milk bottle or something, I don't try to make yogurt with it anymore and use a new unshaken bottle and this has always fixed the issue. Finally, to prevent damage to the machine, I always long press the power button to turn it off and never EVER pull the plug, lest I short circuit the machine. So keep that in mind if you want to ensure that the machine will last as long as it has for me. Just take the time to properly power it off and not yank the plug. Good luck!

This is an unfortunate story. I bought this yogurt maker, used it for less than 2 months, and the heating mechanism stopped working. At that point it was too late to return it through Amazon so I had to go through Cuisinart. They sent me a new one, for which I had to pay $10 shipping, and worst of all I had to pay over $20 to return the broken one, as it is a heavy item. So I used the new one about 1-2 times per week, and after 7 months this one also malfunctioned. I called Quisinart and they were perfectly willing to send me another one, as long as I paid over $30 for all the shipping fees again. I told them that under the circumstances of them having a questionable product, 2 of which broke in less than a year, I felt that it was now their responsibility to pay for all the shipping costs. I waited 2 1/2 hours to talk to a supervisor, who ultimately hung up on me. They were completely unwilling to keep a customer for the price of shipping costs that were much more insignificant to a large company than to an individual customer. I spent over 30% of the cost of the product in shipping already and doing this again is ridiculous. The good news is that I called my credit card company, as many of them offer 1 year purchase protection. I told them the story and I got my refund through them, without any fuss. Now that's how you keep a customer! When the machine worked it was wonderful, and the refrigeration feature comes in incredibly handy if, for example, your yogurt happens to be ready in the middle of the night. If only it continued to work.......

I'm on my second Cuisinart yogurt maker. I loved the first so much that when it quit working after about 13 months I went ahead and got another just like it. I don't usually go for extended warranties because they never pan out anyway. I love the auto shut off and cooling mode. It's the only machine I've found with this feature. I don't want to have to watch my yogurt and have it over incubate which yields a more tangy result. I like a smooth, creamy, thick yogurt; not tangy. The secret to a creamy and mild yogurt is in the culture. I've tried several and the very best is ABY-2C Thermophilic Yogurt Culture (sold on Amazon). It gives me a consistent result and after straining overnight in the Greek yogurt strainer (also sold on Amazon) you can't beat it. I read a previous review that someone doesn't heat the milk but uses super pasteurized milk; pretty much what they tell you not to do but OK. I use a little less than a quart of milk and top it off with half and half which I heat to at least 180 deg. F. I cool the pan of hot milk in a cold water bath in the sink; cool it to about 105. I've found that cooling it to 110 is a little too warm. If I forget and get it cooled too much, like below 100, I simply put the pan back on the stove and heat to 105 again. The culture must be dissolved separately in cooled milk. So I remove a half cup of the scalded milk, cool it first to 105 and add the culture. Some cultures are very difficult to dissolve but the ABY-2C is not. It's just the best. After mixing the culture with the pan of milk I set the machine to 6 hours. I can go to bed or leave the house for the day and know that the machine will automatically start cooling after 6 hours. So easy! Then I cool the yogurt thoroughly in the frig for a couple hours before putting it in the Greek yogurt strainer overnight. Best. Yogurt. Ever.

I have a paralyzed Vagus nerve and therefore eat a lot of yogurt. I am very picky about my yogurt though. I do not like it liquidy nor thin. If it runs or drips off my spoon, I am not fond of it. I also find that many yogurts taste lemoney. I am not fond of the thick greek yogurt. To me, no matter what flavor or brand, it tastes like cheese. I have 3 yogurt makers and this is the last one I need to ever buy! Just by following their directions, I get a lovely thick, smooth, creamy, not repulsively sour, yogurt. I love the fact that I can start a batch of yogurt at any time and not have to worry about being right there as soon as it is finished fermenting to put it in the refrigerator. This automatically clicks over to cool mode when fermenting is done and will stay in cool mode until you turn it off. That is so helpful as many times something comes up and I do not get to grab the yogurt. The display is easy to see from all over my kitchen. The yogurt tub is not giant so you do not need to make a ton of yogurt that goes to waste. The bucket only holds 4 Cups of milk. If you go through more than that amount daily, the machine is so easy to use, you could do this without becoming frustrated. I found with the other machines my yogurt was extremely bitter and had an oatmeal texture which creeped me out. I tried many different ways to stop those issues and never accomplished anything but a lot of wasted milk and starter. I have ruined 2 batches of yogurt with this Cuisinart but the texture was still smooth and amazing creamy, at least on the one that set. Even the milk one was creamy. The first ruined batch was my fault. I set it to ferment and went to bed. A few hours later my daughter went to bed and turned off the machine. I got up the next morning and was disappointed it had shut off and not gone into cool mode. It was shut off at the wall. The yogurt still set beautifully. I tasted it and it was more like lemon than sour milk. I had no idea how long it had been sitting on the counter so I threw it out. The next batch I made, I was trying a vanilla recipe and it turned out as I knew it would, very sweet milk. The third batch and everyone since has been amazing perfect. If you read the book, it says to simmer the milk at 180ish for 20 minutes. If using powdered milk, this step is not recommended. I used their recipe which called out for the powder BUT I still heated them milk for 20 minutes. I am pretty sure that is why it is coming out so perfect. I have not tried their, mix everything and throw it in, method. I will try this once this batch is gone.

I am not going to discuss much about the machine's functionality, since that has been covered in a bunch of reviews. This review is for Greek Yogurt lovers only - that is what I like and that is what I am going to cover. The Cuisinart CYM-100 is a compact yogurt incubator with a cooling function. No worries after the incubation period is over, since the machine will automatically enter into a cooling cycle. This allows you to make yogurt without the hassle of traditional methods - set it and go. Well, almost. I like very thick Greek style yogurt and wanted to be able to make my own with the CYM-100. After some testings, this is what I have discovered. HOMEMADE GREEK YOGURT with STORE BOUGHT GREEK YOGURT STARTER 1. This was the first method I tried, since I had not freeze dried starter. For this method, I did the following a. Heat 5 cups of whole milk to 110f (this is more than the machine's directions suggest, but fits in the container without a problem). I used an instant read thermometer to monitor the temperature. On my GE induction cooktop, I set it to 5 1/2 and stirred until I reached the desired temperature. b. After reaching the desired temperature I mixed in 5oz of FAGE Total into the 110f milk. Don't ask me about 0% or 2% FAGE because I don't buy it - I only use full fat yogurt and am not interested in anything else! c. After whisking in the FAGE, I poured the mixture into the plastic Cuisinart container, placed the lid and set it to incubate for 8 hours. d. After the incubation cycle ended I waited another couple hours before removing the yogurt from the plastic container and pouring it into a strainer. I use the Euro Cuisine GY50, available on Amazon to strain. At this point the yogurt appeared to be already fairly thick. e. I allowed the yogurt to strain for about 18 hours, during which time quite a bit of whey strained off. f. Next step - EAT the YOGURT! I found the yogurt to be of a nearly identical consistency to the FAGE Total. I did feel the taste was a little bit muted - almost no tartness. If you like your yogurt this way, you can stop reading and use this method. HOMEMADE GREEK YOGURT with THERMOPHILIC CULTURE 2. Since the flavor was a bit muted, I thought I would try using thermophilic culture. I also wanted to be able to make yogurt without having to continually buy store bought yogurt. a. I purchased some ABY-2C from getculture.com. One container claims to make 50 gallons of milk, however this is ONLY possible when you using the entire bottle at one. When making smaller batches, you cannot expect to make 50 gallons. b. Heat 5 cups of whole milk to 110f. I used an instant read thermometer to monitor the temperature. On my GE induction cooktop, I set it to 5 1/2 and stirred until I reached the desired temperature. c. After reaching the desired temperature I mixed 1/4 tsp of ABY-2C. The directions say between 1/8 - 1/4, but to be safe and ensure that the milk was properly inoculated, I erred towards 1/4. DO NOT PUT IN THE CULTURE before the temperature drops to around 110f or you will kill it and end up with a failed batch. d. After whisking in the ABY-2C, I poured the mixture into the plastic Cuisinart container, placed the lid and set it to incubate for 8 hours. e. After the incubation cycle ended I waited another couple hours before removing the yogurt from the plastic container and pouring it into a strainer. I used the Euro Cuisine GY50 to strain. At this point the yogurt was quite loose - not nearly as thick as when I had used the FAGE for starter. In fact, when I poured it into the strainer, it was so thin that some seeped right through the fine mesh of the strainer into the holding container. f. I allowed the yogurt to strain for about 18 hours, during which time LOTS of whey strained off, as well as what appeared to be some yogurt. In the end I had very little yogurt - about 10oz. h. Next step - EAT the YOGURT! I found the yogurt to be smoother than the consistency of the FAGE Total starter method, more like very creamy thick sour cream. I did not prefer the consistency, but I did prefer the taste of this batch. I want to stress, that the consistency was still quite thick, but without body. HOMEMADE GREEK YOGURT with THERMOPHILIC CULTURE and pre-heating milk to 180f for 20 minutes 3. Since the flavor in method 2 was closer to what I preferred, but the consistency was not, I thought I would try using thermophilic culture again, but pre-heat the milk beyond the 110f up to 180f for 20 minutes. a. I used the same ABY-2C (for more info on this culture, see above). b. Heat 5 cups whole milk to 180f. I used an instant read thermometer to monitor the temperature. On my GE induction cooktop, I set it to 6 and stirred until I reached the desired temperature. c. After reaching the desired temperature, I removed the milk from the cooktop, poured it into the plastic Cuisinart container, and placed it in a bowl of water with some ice cubes to bring down the temperature to 110f. This took about 15 minutes. d. When the temperature of the milk had dropped to 110f, I mixed 1/8 tsp of ABY-2C. I did this to see if a 1/8 tsp dose would properly inoculate the milk and produce the same flavor as method 2. DO NOT PUT IN THE CULTURE before the temperature drops to around 110f or you will kill it and end up with a failed batch. e. After whisking in the ABY-2C, I placed the lid and set it to incubate for 8 hours. f. After the incubation cycle ended I waited another couple hours before removing the yogurt from the plastic container and pouring it into a strainer. I used the Euro Cuisine GY50 to strain. At this point the yogurt had tremendous body - thicker than when I had used the FAGE Total starter. In fact, it was so thick, that not much whey seeped through the fine mesh immediately, as in the other two methods. g. I allowed the yogurt to strain for about 18 hours, during which time the remaining whey strained off, creating a thick creamy consistent with a lot of body. h. Next step - EAT the YOGURT! I found the yogurt of this method to be the best overall. It had more body that the other two methods, but also had a better taste than method 1 - slightly tarter, but not overwhelmingly so. CONCLUSION While the set it and go method has its advantages, I feel that taking the time to heat the milk to 180f for 20 minutes a) improves the quality of the yogurt, b) makes a mixture with less waste. That is the good and the bad news. It would be great if the machine were able to heat the milk 180f without intervention, but sadly that is not the case. I have not yet tried making a batch with reserved yogurt from method 3. When I do that, I will update this review. I still think the machine is fantastic and give it 5 stars - it does what it promises, and does it well with relative ease.

Update: The last couple of times I've used this the cooling function hasn't worked. The yogurt was kind of lukewarm and after cooling in the fridge it didn't taste like much of anything. I made a batch with my non-electric, thermal yogurt maker and it was great, so it's not the starter. Too bad, because I liked being able to set it and forget it. So I've downgraded it to 3 stars. I had my doubts about making good yogurt without heating the milk, but I wanted to give it a try. I used whole organic milk and followed the directions for Plain Yogurt Variation #2 exactly. I set it for 8 hours, but checked after 6 to see if it was done yet. It wasn't, so I let it go the full 8 hours. Then I let it sit for 12 hours in the cool mode and this morning I opened it to find the thickest, creamiest yogurt I've ever made. I'll never go back to all that fuss, and I know I'll make yogurt much more frequently. Those who have not had success may need to try a different starter culture - I'm using the heirloom yogurt I made with Cultures for Health Bulgarian starter culture. Be sure to read all the Tips and Hints and follow the directions exactly. With the right starter and the right milk, you will have wonderful results.