Cooking Lesson #33— Instant Pot Yogurt

Instant Pot Yogurt

How you doin’? Do you have a lot of time on your hands? (Warning: If you are working from home or home schooling the kiddies, this may be too much for you to handle—Ben & Jerry’s Frozen Yogurt may be a better option and more rewarding.)

Do you want to feel that you really accomplished something beyond just pushing buttons on your Instant Pot? Well, here’s the 2020 Quarantine Kitchen Challenge—making yogurt from scratch in your Instant Pot.
As fair warning there are other, simpler ways to get your daily dose of yogurt. If you don’t mind all the sugar and additives there are plenty of brands at your local grocer. Check the labels… some may be cleaner than others.

Or, you can always purchase a single use appliance—a yogurt maker. They cost between $27.99 to a couple a hundred bucks. They are not very complicated to use. They are fairly automatic but take up a lot of room on your kitchen counters or cupboard and will eventually wind up in the same place as your juicer, automatic bread maker and slow cooker.

Let’s face it, you already have an Instant Pot that you are using for everything else, why not take a flier and make some yogurt in your trusty Instant Pot?

Here are some tips for making homemade yogurt. I do guarantee—homemade yogurt tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff. Now that you have plenty of time on your hands, give it a try.

Yogurt Making Tips
For your yogurt culture, you can use either store-bought plain yogurt with active cultures, a freeze-dried heirloom starter, or yogurt from a previous batch of homemade yogurt. A yogurt starter culture contains live bacteria that convert milk into yogurt—that’s a good thing. The bacteria feed on the lactose and convert it into lactic acid. This ferments the milk, making it thicker and giving it that tart flavor associated with yogurt. Every starter culture has its own blend of bacteria which gives the yogurt a specific taste and texture—it’s alive. Check out the internet to find the style of yogurt you prefer.

If you are using freeze-dried heirloom starter for the first time, read the directions that come with it. Instead of adding 2 tablespoons of yogurt, you’ll add the entire packet of freeze-dried starter in step 3.

Smell your Instant Pot gasket before you begin. If it carries a strong aroma of chili or curried lamb, you may want to order an extra gasket, as the yogurt can absorb those smells. Reserve the neutral gasket for making yogurt only.

 Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 4 to 12 hours, plus chilling time (most good things take time)
Yield: about 6-1/2 cups of homemade yogurt
 
Ingredients
 1/2-gallon pasteurized milk (we like organic, whole cow’s milk)
2 tablespoons yogurt culture
 
Directions

1. Pour the milk into the Instant Pot’s insert. Lock on the lid. It does not matter if the steam vent is open or closed. Press the YOGURT button, then press ADJUST so the digital readout says BOIL.
   On some Instant Pot models, you'll need to press the START button. Eventually it will bring the milk to 180° F (this kills off undesirable microorganisms). It usually takes about 30 minutes. When it's done, the Instant Pot will beep and its readout will say YOGT.
   For a thicker yogurt, keep the lid on, press YOGURT, then press ADJUST so the digital readout again says BOIL. Start a timer for 5 MINUTES; once the time is up, proceed with the recipe below. This cooks the milk a little longer and leads to thicker yogurt.
2. Right after the Instant Pot beeps, turn it OFF and lift out the insert of hot milk. Put the thermometer in the milk and wait until it’s 116°F. This may take as long as an hour. To speed the cooling, set the insert of hot milk in a bath of ice water and stir the milk; the temperature will drop in about 5 minutes. (If it dips below 110°F, pop the insert back in the cooker, press YOGURT, then ADJUST and monitor the thermometer until it reaches 116°. Remove the insert from the cooker.
   Remove the thermometer. There will be a film of coagulated milk on the surface of the milk; carefully lift this off with a spoon and discard (this film won’t ruin your yogurt, but it creates a distracting texture once it’s finished).
3. Put the starter in a medium bowl and add about 1/2 cup of the warm milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour into the insert of remaining milk and whisk to combine.
4. Set the insert of milk back in the Instant Pot, lock on the lid (once again, the steam vent may be open or closed), and press YOGURT. If the readout does not say 8:00, add time using the + button until it does to correct.
   The Instant Pot will incubate the yogurt for 8 hours before switching itself off (the display will read YOGT once the 8-hour default programming is complete). You can use the +/- button to adjust the incubation time.
   Note that, when incubating yogurt, the timer counts up (when pressure cooking with your Instant Pot, the readout counts down). When the readout says 2:45, it’s been incubating for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
5. Start checking on your yogurt after 4 hours. As the yogurt incubates, you don’t want to jostle the Instant Pot—it will keep the yogurt from setting well.
   It can take anywhere from under 4 to over 12 hours for your yogurt to set. A lot of it has to do with how active the cultures in your starter are—fresher starter takes a lot less time to incubate. Be patient and don’t lose hope! It will all pull together and it’s worth it.
   Open the lid carefully when you peek; a lot of condensation forms around the gasket and you want to minimize it dripping back onto the yogurt.
   The yogurt is set when it jiggles all as one unit when you carefully nudge the insert, and it does not run if you tip the pot a bit. You may see some clear liquid (the whey) floating on the surface and at the edges.
6. Once your yogurt is set, gently lift the insert from the cooker. Pouring it out or stirring at this point can make your yogurt runny, which you don’t want. You can set the insert on a rack to help it cool faster, but don’t pop it right in the fridge, since rapid temperature changes can also thin your yogurt. Once it’s at room temp (about 2 hours), set it in the refrigerator.
7. The yogurt might seem lumpy after it's been chilled, but a vigorous whisking will smooth it out. At this point, you may strain it or transfer it to sterile containers (I like sterilized mason jars).
8. Homemade yogurt can be stored for up to two weeks. As it sits in your refrigerator, it will get tangier and lose some of its body.

Hey, you did it!  You made homemade yogurt for the first time in your Instant Pot. Isn’t that rewarding? I am so proud of you!

ChefSecrets:

• To make yogurt in individual heatproof jars (of any size), put the steam rack inside the insert. Add 1 cup of water. Fill the jars with milk, stopping 1/2 inch from the rim. Set them on the rack, lock on the lid. Press the STEAM button and use the “-/+” keys to adjust the time to 1 MINUTE. When the cooker beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
• Open the cooker and use canning jar lifters to remove the jars. Stick a thermometer in one and wait for the milk to cool to 116°F. This can take up to an hour. Remove and discard any skin from the top of the milk in the jars.
• Divide the appropriate amount of starter among the jars—it’ll depend on how much the jars hold. Live on the wild side—experiment a little. Return the jars to the cooker, lock on the lid, press the YOGURT button, and proceed with Step 4.
  

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