Instant Pot Yogurt

This is a recipe for making yogurt using an Instant Pot.

1. Equipment
2. Ingredients
3. Directions
   1. Sterilize Equipment
   2. Heat Milk
   3. Cool Milk
   4. Add Starter Yogurt
   5. Incubate

Equipment:

• Instant Pot
  • After a while, the silicon ring in the lid may develop an odor. Consider a separate ring (available cheap on Amazon) only for yogurt. I’ve read that baking the silicon ring in an over can remove odors (unverified).
• Small mixing bowl, fork, and spoon.
• Food thermometer accurate to 1 degree Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:

• Milk
  • Any fat-level milk can be used. There are many opinions online about which brands, organic or no, etc produce the best results.
  • 1/2 or 1 gallon. There’s roughly a 1-to-1 ratio of milk to yogurt.
• Starter Yogurt
  • Must be plain (nothing added).
  • Must have live cultures. This will be on the label.
  • Yogurt from a previous batch can be used. It’s recommend using store bought after a couple rounds of using homemade starter.
  • The starter yogurt has a big effect on the flavor. Consider experimenting with various brands.

Directions:

The process can be summarized as follows:

• Sterilize Equipment
• Heat Milk to 180℉+
• Cool Milk to 105℉ - 114℉
• Add Starter Yogurt
• Incubate

The process becomes straightforward after making it once or twice.

Sterilize

1. Make sure instant pot is clean.
2. Everything that contacts the milk needs sterilizing.
   1. Place trivet and 1-2 cups of water in pot.
   2. Place any utensils, e.g. the mixing bowl and fork, inside the pot.
   3. Run Instant Pot’s “Sterilize” mode (or high pressure mode) for at least 5 minutes.
3. Sterilize the food thermometer using boiling water.
4. Once the pot’s sterilization cycle is complete, carefully remove everything. Avoiding contamination and burning yourself. Dump out the water.

Heat Milk to 180℉+

1. Add milk to the instant pot.
2. Put the lid on. Even though it won’t be under pressure, the lid helps it reach temperature quicker.

For the following steps, there are two Instant Pot modes that can now be used. Notes:

• Use the “Ultra” mode if the “Yogurt” mode fails to heat the milk properly.
• Not all Instant Pot models have an “Ultra” setting.

1. Regardless of the mode, use the thermometer to measure the milk after heating. More time and/or another cycle may be needed for milk to reach temperature.
2. The longer you keep it at temperature, the creamier/thicker the yogurt will be. Aim for 30 minutes at >180℉.

Cool Milk to 105℉ - 114℉

1. Take the inner pot out. Use the thermometer to monitor. Options for cooling:
   • Leave it on the counter. Will take a long time.
   • Place in the sink with some ice water. Takes about 15min. Take care not to contaminate.
2. Skim any “skin” that forms off the top of the milk using sterilized fork. This helps make it creamier. Do not scrape the bottom of the pot, since there may be scalded milk.

Add Starter Yogurt

1. Place 1 spoonful of starter yogurt in the sterilized bowl using sterilized spoon. Only a small amount is needed. This can be done while the milk is cooling to bring the starter closer to room temperature.
2. Spoon in some milk to the bowl with starter and mix until smooth. Idea is to equalize temps and remove lumps.
3. Pour the mixed starter back into the milk.
4. Place inner pot back into instant pot (making sure the pot exterior is dry before placing inside if you used a water bath).

Incubate

1. Set pot to “yogurt” setting and then “medium” temp. For time: Anywhere between 6-24 hrs. I usually set it to 24hrs, but then actually remove it the next day whenever is convenient. More time = more tart.
2. Place the lid on, even though it won’t be under pressure.
3. Once incubation is complete, place the pot in the fridge. This helps the yogurt to “set”. There will be some liquid on top and maybe slight yellow color. Normal.

Enjoy!