Cuisinart CYM-100 Electronic Yogurt Maker with Automatic Cooling, White

Pricy but convenient
I've been researching everything about yogurt for the past few weeks and after successfully making yogurt in my oven a couple times I decided I like making my own yogurt and it would be worth it for convenience sake to have a machine that made it as easy as possible. I think I've found the right machine here.

Pros:
1. After mixing in your starter, you simply pour in the 1 1/2 qt mix, set the time, and forget about it. After the fermentation time is over, the machine changes to cooling mode so you can really let it go unattended until you're ready to use your yogurt or transfer it to your ref.
2. The tub and lid are pretty much all that needs cleaned after use.
3. The controls are simple to use (for adjusting the fermentation time).
4. It is very quiet. You can hear a small noise while it is heating or cooling but that cycles on and off as the machine is heating or cooling.
5. The fermentation timer will set for up to 24 hrs at 1 hour intervals...

Only yogurt maker available with auto shut off and chill
Any review on yogurt makers tends to elicit comments on whether it's worth buying a machine at all so, here's the breakdown on the pros and cons:
Machine vs. no machine - you can make spectacular yogurt either way. You can use of variety of methods, including crock pots, slightly warmed ovens etc. If you use yogurt as a starter, most brands that have live cultures in them do just fine.
Greek yogurt - you can get creamy, rich yogurt that's so thick that you can stand a spoon up in it, either with or with out a machine. The factors that will help you do so all take place outside of any machine process. They are: raising and holding the milk initially to a higher temperature (I do 200 degrees for 10 minutes using a Pyrex measuring cup and the microwave) using fuller fat milks (although 2 percent is almost as good as whole milk), and straining the finished yogurt. You can also use additives such as dried milk,if you don't mind the taste.
Temperature and time to ferment -...

Recipe needed tweaking, but I am very happy.
I have had good results making homemade yogurt in my crockpot, but the process involves many steps. I wanted an easier method, so I looked into the Cuisinart Electronic Yogurt Maker. After reading other reviews before I bought the yogurt maker, I knew I would need to experiment and tweak the recipe. I was still willing to make the purchase. My first batch came out runny with an 8 hour cook time with whole milk. I then reread the directions more carefully. For my second batch I heated the whole milk first on the stovetop to 180 degrees, and it took approximately 45 min. to cool down to 115 degrees before I added my starter, and then I cooked the yogurt mixture for 8 hours. I was very happy with the results. It was not as thick as Greek yogurt but certainly not runny. The third batch I followed the same procedure as the second batch but used 2% milk. I could not tell the difference between the whole milk yogurt versus the 2% milk yogurt. I have not made yogurt in this machine...

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