[Bear Greeks] 1 Gallon Gguduck Maker with Ultra Fine Nylon Mesh Strainer, Whey separator, 1 gallon of thick and creamy greek yogurt, eco-friendly materials container

Prior to buying this one, I'd been using a yogurt strainer made by Euro Cuisine, which also did a great job. Eventually the screen in the EC one tore and I thought I'd see what other options were out there and replaced it with this one.Cleaning: The Bear Greeks strainer claims to be dishwasher safe and has help up over a half-dozen trips through the dishwasher. I suspect it will eventually tear (since it's pretty rare for anything to be truly dishwasher safe long-term), but it hasn't yet. However, I did notice with the EC strainer (which wasn't sold as dishwasher safe) that trying to hand-wash it also put a lot of wear and tear on it, since some of the yogurt tended to get a little more caked on. Being able to throw it in the dishwasher makes the Bear Greeks strainer significantly easier to clean.Shape: The EC strainer was more of a rounded, shorter shape, while this strainer was more narrow and taller. For my fridge this allows for a better fit and takes up less usable space. This may be different for yours, so check dimensions. Strictly speaking, you don't need to refrigerate yogurt while it is being strained, if you stay on top of it. However, if you have a busier lifestyle and often leave things sitting for a few extra days to a week before getting around to it, I think it makes more sense to refrigerate it during the straining process and then shape matters. For example, while I'm eating up my current batch of yogurt, I can leave my next batch straining and then only transfer it out of the strainer when when I finish the current batch.Spring Mechanism: The EC strainer didn't include a spring. I've found with this strainer that using the spring does speed the process along. I believe the instructions say not to use the spring for the first 12-24 hours. That is due to the yogurt being thinner at that point and more likely to creep up along the sides of the pressure plate. I find that sometimes still happens when I'm putting an entire gallon of yogurt into the strainer, even if I wait a day before using the spring. I'm currently experimenting with positioning the spring differently in the strainer on one gallon batches. As designed the end of the spring is supposed to sit an inch or so above the pressure plate (there's a piece of plastic that extends from the plate and serves as a base for the spring). Instead of sitting the end of the spring onto that base, I put it in slightly off so it goes all the way down to the pressure plate itself. This should cause it to be less compressed by larger batches of yogurt and reduce the force applied.Removal of Yogurt: With this strainer, it's easiest to remove the yogurt by simply removing the pressure plate and straining basket from the outer shell and then flipping that upside down while lifting the straining basket up and away. It releases the yogurt and leaves it stuck to the plate for easier removal. I suppose I could have tried this with my EC strainer, but for some reason never thought to do it.While my old yogurt strainer felt like an improvement over messing with cheesecloths, it still felt like work (especially cleaning). The Bear Greeks yogurt strainer feels closer to an appliance where very little work is required and you still get the result that you're after.

First off, this is not a yogurt "maker", it's a yogurt strainer. That should be obvious, but I am mentioning it in case it isn't for some. That said, I am very pleased with the product. Packaging was excellent and the materials appear to be of good quality. I make 1 gallon of homemade yogurt every week and there are very few strainers that will take that much volume. After fermentation, my yogurt gets refrigerated overnight before I strain. I strained in the basket without the pressure plate for 4 hours. Poured off the whey and installed pressure plate with spring and strained another 4-6 hours. Final consistency of my yogurt is like a soft cream cheese, just like I want it. If you like it thinner, reduce the straining time or mix some of the whey back into your serving. Time will tell if the product holds up to my weekly use. If I have any issues with it, I will update my review.

Works perfectly. Made of decent material, does exactly what it's supposed to. I found I prefer the consistency you get without doing the spring pressure straining. But like many others I too learned that you need to let it drain well first before using the pressure or else it makes a mess.

Great item definitely worth it

This is a great help for making yogurt. Strains pretty quickly and easily fits yogurt made from an entire gallon milk. Fits into fridge nicely. I especially like that you can use the coil to press the yogurt down after initial strain in order to make labneh. I also have a smaller capacity round yogurt strainer. And I don’t like it nearly as much.

I was really excited to try out the product and it looked good until I saw something embedded inside the plastic with dirt. It would not come out because it’s inside of the plastic itself.

This was a great purchase!! Holds a gallon of yogurt. Made making yogurt at home easy. It's smaller rectangular design makes fitting it in the fridge easy, and doesn't take up a ton of space. The whey strained using this compared to cheese cloth was surprisingly good. Cheese cloth is so messy. This was great.

I have used this strainer about a dozen times in the last 5 months and I would not change a thing about it. I have made up to a gallon and a half of yogurt in this at one time. The mesh is exactly the right size, retaining all the yogurt and letting only clear whey through. The spring applies just the right amount of tension and you decide how long to leave it in place for thicker or thinner yogurt. Just don't put the spring in right away or yogurt will leak from around the press - the instructions warn you about this. I have put this strainer through the dishwasher several times and it has held up nicely.