What If My Instant Pot Doesnt Have A Yogurt Button
If your pressure cooker does not have a yogurt button, pour the milk into inner pot of pressure cooker. Turn on the Sear/Saute button. Heat milk to 180 degrees F., and use a thermometer to check the temperature often. Be sure to stir very often so milk does not scorch.
Once the milk reaches 180 degrees F., turn off the pressure cooker. Remove inner pot and cool to 108 degrees F. Once your milk has reached 108 degrees F., whisk in the yogurt until incorporated. Put inner pot back into the pressure cooker and add the lid. Wrap in a large towel, or two regular towels, and incubate for 8 hours.
You can also make yogurt in your slow cooker! Heres my tutorial on slow cooker yogurt.
- Prep Time:10 minutes
- Total Time:8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield:1/2 gallon1x
What Is A Starter Culture
A starter culture for milk is basically a milk product that is essentially rich in active lactic acid bacteria. This culture aids in souring of milk. The bacteria present in the culture changes lactose into lactic acid which causes the milk to sour, in other words, ferment.
Weve noticed that starter cultures are not easily available here in India, so we decided to experiment with packaged dahi itself. Were so pleased with the results and we just had to share it with you.
If you already set dahi at home for everyday use, you have a head start! Because you already have a starter culture to work with. We on the other hand, werent so lucky. Hence, we ventured out on a journey to figure out the best starter for our yogurt.
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How To Use An Instant Pot For Steaming
Im a huge fan of steaming vegetables in the Instant Pot. I open up Martha Stewarts Pressure Cooker often, because it has such great reference charts with cook times for various foods , so I tend to stick to the strategy listed in there. For 1 to 3 pounds of vegetables, it calls for placing 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon coarse salt in the bottom of the pot of the multicooker. I then drop my steamer basket in, but you can also use the steamer insert that came with the cooker or just put the vegetables straight into the water.
The cooker will come up to pressure fairly quickly, and after that, the vegetables will steam rapidly. Then finish with a manual release of the pressure. The timing, anywhere from 0 to 8 minutes, will vary depending on your desired level of tenderness and the type and size of your produce, with broccoli and cauliflower florets, green beans and chopped potatoes at the lower end and carrots and beets at the higher end. You can always err on the lower end and then check. If you need more time, the cooker will almost instantly come back up to pressure after you put the lid back on and seal.
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Yogurt
Lets talk about the two ingredients youll need to make probiotic yogurt: milk and a yogurt starter culture.
- Milk: I recommend starting with organic, grass-fed whole cows or goats milk . You might be tempted to go for a lower milkfat, but really, you want the whole kit-and-kaboodle herethats what makes the end result creamy, thick, and packed full of good-for-your-gut probiotics. You can use raw milk, pasteurized, or ultra-pasteurizedall three will work just fine for yogurt-making.
- Yogurt starter culture: Youll need to inoculate your milk with some starter bacteria to get the yogurt-making process going, and there are two ways of going about this. You can either use premade plain yogurt with active cultures or you can use a freeze-dried yogurt starter culture.
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Why Use Instant Pot To Make Yogurt
Most Instant Pots have a yogurt setting which provides a controlled temperature setting that is perfect for making yogurt. That means you get consistent results every time.
Yogurt temperature settings in Instant Pot
- More for pasteurizing/boiling milk: 160~180°F .
- Normal mode for setting yogurt: 96.8 ~ 109.4°F
My Favorite Instant Pot Yogurt Toppings And Stir
I also love the fruit on the bottom but I dont always want all of the mystery preservatives and other ingredients I care not to have in my yogurt. Plus I find the taste of my homemade yogurt not even comparable to store-bought, it is so much more delicious.
I have been making jam in my instant pot for quite some time and it so delicious over ice cream. I hosted brunch recently for Fathers Day and served delicious Instant Pot Yogurt with Instant Pot Blueberry Jam and Instant Pot Strawberry Jam. I also served sunflower seeds, chia seeds, graham cracker crumbs, blackberries, and strawberries. It was such a delicious treat that everyone enjoyed. It is a perfect Sunday morning breakfast while you read the newspaper.
Many of us potheads eventually end up with more than one instant pot. But for now, at least you know How To Make Instant Pot Yogurt WITHOUT The Yogurt Button.
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How Do I Know When The Yogurt Is Ready
Its tricky at first to tell when your yogurt is yogurt, and not just warm, tangy milk.
When it’s done, the yogurt will all be one mass, not runny liquid. Itll jiggle like loose Jell-O when you gently nudge the insert.
Sometimes the set yogurt will pull away from the sides of the insert, and youll see some clear liquid floating between the pot and the set yogurt. This is all normal.
Choosing Type Of Milk
Choosing the right type of milk is one of the most critical steps to succeed in making homemade yogurt because the type of milk will determine the thickness and creaminess of your homemade yogurt.
After testing the Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe with 2% Milk, 3.25% Milk and 3.8% Milk, 3.8% Whole Milk with the highest milk fat content produced the thickest and creamiest homemade yogurt.
For reference, we used the above Whole Foods 365 Organic 3.8% Whole Milk for this Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe.
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Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt
Description
Just prep all the ingredients before you go to bed and let your Instant Pot do its magic overnight. In the morning, your homemade vanilla yogurt will be ready to chill.
Recipe Tags
| Add Hy-Vee 2% reduced-fat milk | ½ gal. Hy-Vee 2% reduced-fat milk |
| Add Hy-Vee vanilla Greek yogurt | ¼ c. Hy-Vee vanilla Greek yogurt |
| Add Hy-Vee vanilla extract |
- Clean glass containers for storing
Directions
Pour milk into Instant Pot, and turn on the Sauté setting. Scald milk by bringing it to boiling. Turn off Instant pot and remove inner stainless steel bowl. Let stand, stirring occasionally until milk reaches 115 degrees, about 45 minutes.
Related Content, How-To
Place Hy-Vee yogurt in a medium bowl and stir in 1 cup warm milk and 2 tablespoons vanilla. Return mixture to stainless steel bowl stirring to combine. Place mixture back into the Instant Pot and seal shut. Press the Yogurt setting and adjust time to 10 hours.
When the yogurt stage is complete, turn the Instant Pot off, and remove the lid. The yogurt will be semi-solid, but will become smooth when whisked. Pour yogurt through a fine-mesh strainer and transfer to a clean glass container. Chill at least 6 hours before serving.
Before serving, sweeten with honey, agave, or maple syrup and top with your favorite yogurt toppings such as granola, nuts, oats, and/or fruit.
Homemade Instant Pot Greek Yogurt
I love Greek yogurt. My kids love it, too, and for whatever reason, they like it plain and tangy, which I call a mom win since I dont have to add loads of sugar and things to get them to eat it. As a bonus, Greek yogurt is fantastic in so many different things, and when I make it at home, I get the added benefit of having all the yogurt whey to do things with as well!
If you have an Instant Pot, its a cinch to make your own yogurt from scratch as well. It only requires two ingredients and time, and you can make as much as your Instant Pot can hold. If you have one of the pots with the Yogurt setting, its a simple matter of figuring out your preferred level of incubation after some trial and error. Then you can keep making your own yogurt over and over again!
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How To Make Desserts In An Instant Pot
Crisp, golden desserts are not going to happen in your multicooker. Instead, as cookbook author Jessie Sheehan wrote for us, focus on items that benefit from cooking with steam: The Instant Pot excels at baking up luscious custards and puddings, cakes with a dense, moist crumb think sticky toffee pudding or dense snacking cakes , creme brulee, rice pudding, flan, clafoutis, chocolate pots de crème, lemon pudding cake and cheesecake and bread pudding. As she points out, desserts contained in a 7-inch cake pan work well, as do those you can make in individual ramekins.
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Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe
Various probiotic bacteria play important roles in the production of yogurt. Most often species of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus are the microbes found in various types of yogurt. Specific types of yogurt, such as Greek and Belgian, are distinguished by the species of bacteria used to culture animal-sourced milk into yogurt. When in animal-sourced milk, the bacteria can use up lactose present for energy. This produces a byproduct of lactic acid. Lactic acid builds up in the milk causing the coagulation of milk proteins. This is what transforms the milk into a semi-solid mass with a drastic change in taste. Its delicious!
Heres the species of microbes that classify yogurt as Greek:
- Streptococcus thermophilus
- Lactobacillus bulgaricus
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How Do You Make Delicious Greek Yogurt
How to eat plain Greek yogurt and enjoy it:
How Long Does It Take To Make Yogurt In The Instant Pot
Add milk to a 6-qt Instant Pot® close and lock the lid. Select yogurt setting, then adjust pressure boil mode for one hour to make your homemade yogurt! This process can take up to an hour since you want it to boil enough that all bacteria are killed off by heating up at this temperature. Once cooled down , set aside 1 cup of milk as a starter culture, which will turn into delicious fresh dairy goodness after just 8 hours of incubation time.
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How To Make Homemade Yogurt In The Instant Pot
Introducing my good friend and fellow real food proponent, Stephani Jenkins! Steph writes at The Cheapskate Cook about eating healthy on a budget, and Im so pleased to have her on the team as a regular KS contributor. You are going to fall right in love with her , let me tell you
Ive written before about why I dont make yogurt in my Instant Pot, but I know many people love Instant Pot yogurt! I was glad to have Steph write a tutorial for those of you who want to try making yogurt in an Instant Pot. Let me know what your preferred method of yogurt making is in the comments! -Katie
Whats The Difference Between Cold
Cold Start and Boil methods will both give you easy, delicious yogurt from the Instant Pot. The primary differences lie in the milk used and the start-up time after that, both take about the same time to incubate in the Instant Pot.
Cold Start Yogurt requires ultra-pasteurized, flash-pasteurized, or shelf-stabilized or powdered milks. Thats because this method doesnt have you heat the milk, so you have to start with a milk that has already been boiled to kill any bacteria. These milks can be harder to find in certain markets and are more expensive, but they save you between 25 minutes and an hour of prep time.
Traditional Boil Yogurt can be made with any almost any milk including coconut, almond, soy, organic, and raw or even half-and-half or heavy cream. But this method does require two things: more upfront time and a probe thermometer.
In terms of flavor and texture, some folks prefer to Cold Start because its a little thicker and tangier right out the gate, but you can incubate it for longer for more thickness and tang, too. Were sharing the basic Boil method here so anyone, anywhere can make yogurt with whatever milk is available to them.
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How Does The Instant Pot Yogurt Setting Work
The yogurt setting on the Instant Pot had two modes, the boil mode and the incubate mode. Press the yogurt button until it says boil for the boil mode press until it shows a timer for the incubate mode it defaults to eight hours.
The boil mode is used first and brings the milk to the proper temperature to kill any bacteria, in effect pasteurizing it at home allowing you to add your own bacteria to make yogurt safely, says Weinstein.
After boiling, the milk is cooled to a specific temperature and the starter is added. The incubate mode is what turns the milk into yogurt, holding it between 110 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours, encouraging the good bacteria to grow. The bacteria causes the milk to thicken and gives yogurt its signature tang.
While the Instant Pot defaults to eight hours for incubation, your yogurt may be done in as little as a few hours. However, its best to disturb the mixture as little as possible, since it is delicate in its early stages. If you prefer a less thick and less tangy yogurt, you can check it as early as five hours. Weinstein doesnt recommend leaving the yogurt to incubate for longer than ten hours.
Quick tip:
Tips For The Best Instant Pot Yogurt
Strain for thicker yogurt: If youd like it thicker, strain it in a yogurt strainer like this one or line a colander with 3 layers of cheese cloth and set it in a large bowl. Let it strain for 2 to 3 hours depending on how thick youd like it.
Whole milk makes the creamiest yogurt: You have LOTS of options when it comes to milk. Whole milk yields the thickest and creamiest yogurt. You can also make it with 2% and skim milk, and I know people also have success using lactose free milk.
Boil unpasteurized milk: If your milk is not pasteurized, you can boil it before using. Just be sure to bring it down in temperature to no higher than 110 degrees F. before adding your yogurt to the milk.
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Why Does Greek Yogurt Taste So Bad
But, first of all, why is it so bitter? Well, turns out that after the fermentation process, Greek yogurt is strained more times than regular yogurt. This makes it have that signature thick texture and, most importantly, brings out the strong and bitter flavors that bacteria may cause once the yogurt is fermented.
Cold Start Or No Boil Yogurt
The traditional way of making yogurt requires you to heat your milk to a temperature of 160 180 degrees and then to cool it before adding your yogurt starter. This scalding of the milk kills bacteria in the milk before making yogurt.
This step is not necessary with the cold start method, because we use a ultra pasteurized, ultra high temp, or shelf stable milk such as Fairlife milk. These milks have already been heated to a very high temperature before being packaged and sold.
What Kind of Milk do I need to make instant pot yogurt?
You need a ultra pasteurized, ultra high temp, or shelf stable milk. Fairlife milk is the most popular brand.
Do not use regular, pasteurized milk for this recipe. These milks may contain bacteria that will grow along with your yogurt cultures if the milk is not heated prior to making the yogurt.
Milks that are higher fat and protein will yield a thicker yogurt. Low fat milks may need additional straining to reach the thicker consistency you may desire.
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Whats The Best Milk For Instant Pot Yogurt
Whole milk is my favorite for making Instant Pot yogurt. I tend to buy a half-gallon of whatever local milk is on sale, but you can also make Boil start yogurt with low-fat milk or non-dairy milk.
Lower fat milks require a thickening ingredient such as heavy cream, half-and-half, or nonfat dried milk. You can find suggested amounts for those in the recipe below.
Non-dairy milks are a little trickier. Thickness and flavor will vary depending on the non-dairy milk in question and the starter yogurt used. The tricky bit is that to make a true non-dairy yogurt, you need to find non-dairy starter yogurt with live cultures, or buy a vegan starter . So theres a little more upfront investment and some trial-and-error required. I had the most success with a blend of soy and coconut milks and a non-dairy yogurt from the grocery store, but it was thinner in texture than the whole-milk versions.
